Govt recommends 12% temporary tax on some steel products for 200 days

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India has recommended a temporary tax of 12 per cent on some steel products for 200 days, known locally as safeguard duty, in a bid to curb imports, according to a government notice published on Tuesday.

"Authority considers that a provisional safeguard duty of 12 per cent will be appropriate to eliminate the serious injury and threat thereof to the domestic industry," the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which falls under the federal trade ministry, said in the notice.

The DGTR has further invited comments on its findings within 30 days, following which there would be an oral hearing before making a final decision, the notice said.

In December last year, the government launched an investigation to consider if it should impose a safeguard duty or a temporary tax to curtail steel imports.

India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, shipped in record quantities of finished steel during April-January, and was a net importer, Reuters had reported earlier.

India's finished steel imports from China, South Korea and Japan hit a record high in the first 10 months of the financial year.

An influx of cheap Chinese steel has forced India's smaller mills to scale down operations and consider job cuts, as the country joins a growing list of countries contemplating action to stem imports.