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TMI Blog2003 (3) TMI 125X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 02 under the proceedings No. 14/19/2002-DGAD. It has been further prayed that Rule 7 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules") as illegal and unconstitutional. 3.Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (hereinafter called as 'the Act') empowers the Central Government to impose Anti-Dumping duty on any article exported from any country into India at less than its normal value. Section 9B(2) empowers the Central Government to make rules which may provide in the manner in which investigation may be made and the factor which should be considered at any stage of investigation and for all matter ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y form, it may disregard such information." It is also appropriate to notice some of the other relevant rules : Rule 5 relating to initiation of investigation and Rule 6 which incorporates principles governing investigations. Rule 12 provides that designated authority shall record preliminary finding regarding export price, normal value and margin of dumping, and in respect of the imports from specified countries, the injury to the domestic industry. Rule 13 empowers the Central Government to levy provisional duty on the basis of the preliminary findings recorded by the designated authority. Rule 16 mandates the designated authority to inform all interested parties of the essential facts under consideration which forms the basis f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ule 7 and subsequently without following the principles of natural justice, the Designated Authority has submitted his preliminary findings. The legality of such preliminary findings and validity of Rule 7 have been questioned in these writ petitions. 6.Even though the legality and propriety of the conclusion in the preliminary findings have been challenged on several grounds indicated in the writ petitions, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners has confined his submissions to two points viz., the validity of Rule 7 and the question of non-compliance of principles of natural justice, in the shape of giving an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioners. 7.The validity of Rule 7 has been challenged herein on the gro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... titioners has submitted that the aforesaid decision is now the subject-matter of the appeal, pending before the Division Bench of this Court and, therefore, the question of validity of Rule 7 has to be reconsidered. 10.When a decision is rendered by a Court of Record such decision, apart from being binding on the parties to the litigation, becomes precedent for the very same court as well as Courts subordinate to such courts. Merely because an appeal is filed and is pending, "precedent" value of a decision is not taken away. In the present case, in the normal course, I am bound to follow the earlier decision. 11.Apart from the reasoning given in the said earlier decision, it is apparent that the exercise undertaken by the Designated Aut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... those materials, has, therefore, receded into background. In the present case, the designated authority, while giving his preliminary findings, has referred to the information furnished by the exporters of various countries and the preliminary findings is not at all based on any information furnished by the complainant. In other words, the petitioner has not suffered any prejudice on account of the withholding of the information since the conclusion are based merely on the information furnished by the exporters from whom the petitioner has imported materials. It is not the case of the petitioners that the petitioners and the exporters from whom the petitioners have imported have got conflict of interest. 14.Learned Counsel appearing for t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... several other grounds have been raised in the writ petitions challenging the propriety of the conclusions reached by the Designated Authority, but at the time of hearing of the matter, as already indicated, learned Senior Counsel has raised only two contentions which have been considered and negatived in the preceding paragraph. The other contentions raised in the grounds in the writ petitions have not been pressed into service and relate to the propriety of the findings and regarding the sufficiency of the materials. 17.It is settled law that in a writ of Certiorari, the High Court cannot act as an appellate authority over the decision of the inferior Court or Tribunal. The High Court is required to examine the decision making process a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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