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2025 Supreme(Cal) 356

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
OM NARAYAN RAI, J.
The Kuwait Olefins Company K.S.C.C – Petitioner 
Versus
Directorate General of Trade Remedies & Ors. – Respondents
WPA 26134 of 2025
Decided On : 22-12-2025

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Rishi Raju, Adv., Ms. Shreya Mundra, Adv., Mr. Sarthak Yadav, Adv., Mr. Rohan Aloor, Adv.
For the Respondents: Mr. Asoke Kumar Chakraborty, Ld. ASGI, Mr. Vipul Kundalia, Sr. Adv., Mr. Kumar Jyoti Tewari, Sr. Adv., Mr. Dibashis Basu, Adv., Mr. Arun Bandyopadhyay, Adv., Mr. Anirban Ray, Sr. Adv., Mr. V. V. V. Sastry, Adv., Mr. Anirudh Goyal, Adv., Mr. Utkarsh Srivastava, Adv., Ms. Shilpa Balani, Adv., Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Adv., Ms. T. Sinha, Adv.

Territorial jurisdiction under Article 226 requires a part of the cause of action to arise within the jurisdiction; mere apprehension of harm does not suffice.

Headnote:(A) Customs Tariff Act, 1975; Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 - Writ petition challenging Final Findings by Designated Authority recommending anti-dumping duty on imports from specified countries. Petitioner's grievance was based on alleged violations of principles of natural justice, specifically failure to disclose essential data and reliance solely on one domestic producer's information. The court held that no cause of action arose within its jurisdiction as the essential facts were centered in Delhi and not West Bengal. (Paras 50-70)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a Kuwaiti company, contested the recommendations made by the Designated Authority after a request by a competitor for an anti-dumping investigation. Multiple investigations led to the current challenge, with the petitioner alleging unfair treatment based on selective data usage.

Findings of Court:
The court found it lacked jurisdiction due to the absence of any part of the cause of action arising in West Bengal, emphasizing that the challenge centered on actions in Delhi.

Issues: The primary issue was whether the court had territorial jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition due to the nature of the claims.

Ratio Decidendi: The court determined that mere apprehension of harm in West Bengal does not provide a basis for jurisdiction since the primary actions were centered elsewhere, reiterating that facts must constitute a cause of action relevant to the jurisdiction.

Result: Writ petition dismissed.

Table of Content
1. overview of proceedings and investigation. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. preliminary objections regarding jurisdiction. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12)
3. arguments emphasizing jurisdiction and statutory provisions. (Para 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)
4. petitioner’s rebuttal and arguments. (Para 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33)
5. respondents' reply emphasizing jurisdiction and procedural issues. (Para 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45)
6. court's analysis on jurisdiction and grounds for dismissal. (Para 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69)
7. conclusion and order from the court. (Para 70 , 71 , 72)

JUDGMENT :

Om Narayan Rai, J.

1. This writ petition assails the Final Findings rendered by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (hereafter "the Designated Authority") on September 23, 2025 under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti- Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 (hereafter "the said Rules) framed thereunder.

2. The impugned Final Findings reveal that the same have been rendered by the Designated Authority upon conducting an investigation based on an application filed before it by the Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturers Association of India (i.e. the respondent no. 3 herein) requesting for initiation of an anti- dumping investigation concerning imports of Mono Ethylene Glycol (hereafter the “subject goods”) originating in or exported from the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Singapore. It further reveals that the data pertaining to injury information was provided by Reliance Industries Limited (the respondent no. 4 herein).

FACTS OF THE CASE:-

3. A brief factual foundation of the writ petition may first be noticed:-

a. The petitioner is a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Kuwait. It is aggrieved by the Final Findings rendered by the Designated Authority whereby the Designated Authority has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of subject goods from the subject countries which includes Kuwait.

b. The petitioner asserts that the impugned determination by the Designated Authority has been done pursuant to an application filed by the respondent no.3 and the same is based on the date provided by the respondent no.4 alone. It has been alleged that the Designated Authority has conducted a unilateral analysis treating the respondent no.4 as the sole domestic producer and has ignored information related to other known domestic producers.

c. It has been alleged that the investigation leading to the impugned determination is the third in series with the first two having ended without imposition of anti-dumping duty. While one of the earlier investigations that was initiated on December 9, 2019 got terminated on November 20, 2020 upon the request of the respondent no. 4, the later investigation which was initiated by the Designated Authority on June 28, 2021 ended with a determination by the Designated Authority on October 27, 2022 observing that there was no requirement for imposition of anti-dumping duty.

d. The writ petition further avers that such Final Findings were subjected to appeal before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (hereafter “CESTAT”) as well as at the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi whereupon both the forums remanded the matter back to the Designated Authority for fresh investigation. However, the second investigation got terminated on November 27, 2024 upon a request for withdrawal made by the respondent no. 4.

e. It has been then stated that by a notification dated September 27, 2024, the Designated Authority invited comments from the petitioner and other participants regarding the scope of the products to be covered under the investigation and the Product Control Numbers.

f. The writ petition th

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