Judgment

Ruma Pal, J.—The appellant-company carries on the business of manufacturing lead acid batteries in Shenyang, China. It is a subsidiary of Mastsushita S. Electric Industries Corporation, a multinational company registered in Japan.

2. The dispute in this appeal is whether the appellant-company operated on Market Economy Principles during the period 1st ­January 2000 to 30th September 2000 for the purposes of the Customs Tariff Act and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injuries) Rules, 1995. (referred to hereafter as ‘the Rules’).

3. The principle behind anti dumping laws is to protect the domestic industry from being adversely affected by import of goods at export prices which are below the normal value of the goods in the domestic market of the exporter. Anti dumping duty is leviable under Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (referred to as ‘the Act’) read with the Rules which are framed under Section 9A(6). The duty is calculated on the margin of dumping which is the difference between the export price and the normal value.

4. The phrase ‘normal value’ in relation to an article