ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce on Wednesday approved amendments to the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015 (Act XIV of 2015), proposed by the National Tariff Commission (NTC), an attached department of the Ministry of Commerce, to strengthen protection of domestic industry against unfair trade practices and streamline the recovery and appellate mechanisms.
The committee cleared the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2026 after Chairman NTC Dr Jawwad Awais Agha briefed members on the proposed amendments, which seek to align Pakistan’s anti-dumping framework with international best practices, improve operational efficiency, safeguard public revenues and rationalise litigation procedures.
The proposed amendments provide greater flexibility in the imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures, streamline recovery of duties, introduce safeguards against unjustified refunds and expedite appellate proceedings.
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Under amendments proposed to Section 45, the NTC would be allowed to apply provisional anti-dumping measures for extended periods of six to nine months while examining the lesser duty rule, enabling the Commission to provide greater relief to domestic industry suffering injury from dumped imports.
The proposed amendments to Section 51 expressly incorporate recovery mechanisms alongside collection under customs laws and rationalise interim court stay procedures by clarifying security requirements, including bank guarantees or pay orders, and their encashment upon the upholding of anti-dumping duty determinations.
The amendments also simplify the determination of residual duty rates applicable to unknown exporters and producers by linking them to rates established for cooperating exporters and producers examined during an investigation.
To prevent unjust enrichment, amendments to Sections 52, 55 and 60 seek to introduce a statutory restriction on refunds of anti-dumping duties, cash deposits following negative final determinations and newcomer reviews where the incidence of duty has already been passed on to buyers, consumers or other persons.
The proposed changes would also require refund applications to be processed in accordance with prescribed procedures.
The amendments to Section 70 seek to expedite appellate proceedings by restricting appeals against the mere initiation of anti-dumping investigations and allowing appeals at the initial stage only against preliminary determinations.
The proposed legislation also explicitly includes final determinations of anti-circumvention investigations within the scope of matters appealable before the Appellate Tribunal.
To accelerate adjudication, the limitation period for filing appeals before the Appellate Tribunal would be reduced from 45 days to 30 days.
The Appellate Tribunal would also be empowered to issue clear interim directions regarding collection or suspension of anti-dumping duties during remand proceedings.
Furthermore, the proposed amendments establish a 30-day limitation period for appeals against Appellate Tribunal decisions and designate the Islamabad High Court as the competent forum to ensure uniformity in jurisdiction.
The amendments are intended to strengthen the effectiveness of Pakistan’s anti-dumping regime, improve enforcement of trade remedies and provide a more predictable legal framework for domestic industry, importers and other stakeholders involved in anti-dumping proceedings.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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