Per C.N.B. Nair : These appeals arise out of imposition of Anti Dumping duty under Notification No. 100/98 dated 27.11.98 of the Ministry of Finance. Hot Rolled Iron and Steel Products are the goods on which duty has been imposed. That too category wise, on Hot Rolled Coil, Hot Rolled Sheets/Strips and Boiler Quality plates. The rate of duty is the difference between the amount mentioned in the notification and the Landed Price of each items of import Per MT. The "amount mentioned" is the Fair Selling price of like goods produced in India. The affected exports are the said goods produced in or exported from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (except for Hot Rolled Coils originating in or exported from Kazakhstan). These duties were imposed pursuant to Final Findings of the Designated Authority, Ministry of Commerce, notified on 18th November, 1998. The Findings were the result of investigation carried out by the Designated Authority for the period 1st April 1996 to 31st March 1997, on petition regarding dumping of the said goods, from the domestic industry, represented mainly by SAIL and Essar Steel.

2. The present appellants are M/s. JSC Severstal, a manufacturer of the said goods in Russia, M/s. Metalrussia, Russia, the exporter of the products of M/s. JSC Severstal to India and M/s. Jai Corporation Ltd. an Indian importer of the said goods. This Tribunal had passed Final Order No. 1 to 3/2000-AD dated 19.1.2000 on these appeals, and allowed the appeals. That order was set aside in appeal by the Supreme Court vide Order in Civil Appeal Nos. 1024-1026/2000, 2108-2110/2000 and 1502-1504/2000 and the appeals were restored to consider the matter afresh in the light of the decision of the Supreme Court in Designated Authority (Anti Dumping Directorate) Ministry of Commerce Vs. Haldor Topsoe A/S, 2000 (39) RLT 1017 (SC) = 2000 (6) SCC 626. Hence, the present proceedings.

3. As already stated, the Anti Dumping duties were imposed pursuant to the Final Findings dated 18th November, 1998 of the Designated Authority, Ministry of Commerce. Therefore, the challenge in the present appeals are to the Findings regarding dumping of the said goods produced by M/s. JSC Severstal, Russia, injury to domestic industry, the causal link between the injury and dumping and the quantum of duty recommended.

4. The appeals have challenged the finding regarding dumping of the goods produced by M/s. JSC Severstal on the ground that actually there was no dumping of the goods produced by M/s. JSC Severstal inasmuch as the export prices to India were above the Normal Value (domestic sale price) of the said goods in Russia. It is the appellant's contention that when export prices are above the Normal Value no dumping occurs. It has been vigorously canvessed that the Designated Authority was grossly in error in reaching the finding regarding dumping after discarding the information furnished by the appellant and treating the appellant as a non-cooperating exporter. On this point it has been submitted that the Designated Authority acted in violation of the principles of natural justice in treating the appellant as a non-co-operating exporter, without giving them an opportunity to produce their cost of production and without verifying the cost of production in their factory of production. This grievance is the result of the Designated Authority rejecting the appellant's contention regarding export price being above the Normal Value on the ground that in the absence of cost of production data, it was not possible to verify whether the domestic sale price satisfied the criterion regarding it being not below the cost of production. It has also been submitted that the Designated Authority grossly erred in the Final Findings that there was a dumping margin of 113.37% in respect of the export of the products of M/s. JSC Severstal as against the dumping margin of 1% reached in the Preliminary Findings. A related submission on this point is that the Designated Authority