The Islamabad High Court recently delivered a landmark judgment clarifying the conditions necessary to initiate sunset reviews of anti-dumping duties Pakistan importers face. The Court ruled that the National Tariff Commission (NTC) lacked authority to commence sunset reviews after anti-dumping duties expire.
We successfully represented multiple petitioners challenging the NTC’s attempt to initiate sunset reviews through a notice dated 2 November 2023. The NTC issued this notice months after Pakistan anti-dumping duties imposed on paper imports expired on 31 March 2023.
The central issue concerned Section 58(3) of the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015, which requires sunset reviews to be initiated before duty expiration. The specific question was whether this provision constituted a mandatory or merely directory provision. The NTC contended that its dysfunction caused by lack of appointed members during the expiry period justified the delayed review. However, we argued that expired duties cannot undergo retrospective revival through belated reviews.
In a comprehensive judgment, Justice Babar Sattar examined Pakistani jurisprudence alongside World Trade Organisation dispute resolution precedents. The Court definitively held that the timing requirement was mandatory. Once anti-dumping duties Pakistan implements complete their five-year term and expire, the NTC cannot resurrect them through belated sunset reviews. Furthermore, the judgment also clarifies that extending duties beyond five years should be the exception, not the norm. This principle had faced unnecessary controversy despite the statute’s clear language.
“This judgment provides essential certainty for international trade, protecting importers from retrospective penalties that would disrupt concluded commercial arrangements,” observed Yousaf Khosa, Partner and head of the disputes practice at RIAA Barker Gillette’s Islamabad office.
This victory exemplifies our integrated approach as a full-service firm. Yousaf Khosa appeared as counsel before the High Court. Omair Saleem Malik, Senior Litigation Counsel, and Momin Taufiq Khan, Senior Associate, in our International Trade practice, supported him. The matter built upon our international trade practice’s extensive expertise. Mazhar Bangash, Partner and Head of our International Trade practice, led the engagement in the underlying NTC proceedings.
The Court’s analysis emphasised that Pakistan’s anti-dumping legislation implements the country’s WTO obligations. Additionally, the judgment recognized that sunset reviews serve a forward-looking purpose. They assess whether duty expiration would likely lead to renewed dumping and injury. However, this prospective analysis becomes impossible once duties have already lapsed.
The judgment’s clarification of these fundamental principles allows Pakistan’s trade remedy framework to move past procedural controversies and focus on more substantive issues in international trade law.
For advice on complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution, contact Yousaf Khosa today. For anti-dumping matters, trade remedies, and international trade disputes, contact Mazhar Bangash.
This article is not legal advice; it provides information of general interest about current legal issues.
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