| Short title |
1. This Act may be cited as the Customs
Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act. |
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| Interpretation |
2. In this Act: |
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"fair market price" means
the price determined in accordance with the provisions of section 9; |
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"General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade" means the Agreement concluded in Geneva in the year
nineteen hundred and forty-seven; |
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"importer" in relation to
any goods at any time between their importation and the time they are
delivered out of customs charge, includes any owner or other person
for the time being possessed of or beneficially interested in the
goods. |
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| Cases where customs duties may be
imposed |
3. (1) Where it appears to the Cabinet:
(a) that goods of any description are being or have been imported into
Antigua and Barbuda in circumstances in which they are under the
provisions of this Act to be regarded as having been dumped; or |
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(b) that some Government
or other authority outside Antigua and Barbuda has been giving a
subsidy affecting goods of any description which are being or have
been imported into Antigua and Barbuda, and that, having regard to all
the circumstances it would be in the interest of Antigua and Barbuda,
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they may exercise the
power conferred on them by this Act to impose and vary duties of
customs in such manner as they think necessary to meet the dumping or
the giving of the subsidy: |
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Provided that, where the
Cabinet is not satisfied that the effect of the dumping or of the
giving of the subsidy is such as to cause or threaten material injury
to an established industry in Antigua and Barbuda or is such as to
retard materially the establishment of an industry in Antigua and
Barbuda, the Cabinet shall not exercise that power if it appears to
them that to do so would conflict with the provisions for the time
being in force of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. |
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(2) For the purposes of
this Act imported goods shall be regarded as having been dumped: |
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(a) if the export price
from the country in which the goods originated is less than the fair
market price of the goods in that country; or |
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(b) in a case where the
country from which the goods were exported to Antigua and Barbuda is
different from the country in which they originated: |
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(i) if the export price
from the country in which the goods originated is less than the fair
market price of those goods in that country; or |
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(ii) if the export price
from the country from which the goods were so exported is less that
the fair market price of those goods in that country. |
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(3) References in this Act
to giving a subsidy are references to giving, directly or indirectly,
a bounty or subsidy on the production or export of goods (whether by
grant, loan, tax relief or in any other way and whether related
directly to the goods themselves or to materials of the goods or to
something else) and shall include: |
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(a) the giving of any
special subsidy on the transport of a particular product; and |
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(b) the giving of
favourable treatment to producers or exporters in the course of
administering any governmental control over the exchange of currencies
where such treatment has the effect of assisting a reduction of the
prices of goods offered for export, |
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but do not include the
application of restrictions or charges on the export of materials from
any country so as to favour producers in that country who use those
materials in goods produced by them. |
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| Order imposing duties |
4. (1) The power which the Cabinet may
exercise under this Act is a power by order to impose on goods of a
description specified in the order a duty of customs chargeable on the
import of the goods into Antigua and Barbuda at a rate specified in
the order. |
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(2) The matters by
reference to which the description of goods in an order is framed
shall include either the country in which the goods originated or the
country from which the goods were exported to Antigua and Barbuda. |
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(3) Subject to the
provisions of subsection (2), an order under this section may include
such provisions with respect to the description of the goods
chargeable with duty and with respect to the cases in which duty is
chargeable as may appear to the Cabinet to be required for the
purposes of this Act, and in particular: |
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(a) provisions limiting
the description of the goods by reference to the particular persons or
organizations by whom the goods were produced or who were concerned
with the production of the goods in some specified manner; |
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(b) provisions defining
the rate of duty by reference to value or weight or other measure of
quantity; |
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(c) provisions directing
that duty be charged for any period or periods whether continuous or
not, or without any limit of period, or at different rates for
different periods or parts of periods; and |
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(d) in connection with the
commencement, variation or termination of a duty, provisions
authorizing repayment in respect of duty where it is shown that the
prescribed conditions are fulfilled. |
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(4) Any duty chargeable
under this Act on any goods shall be chargeable in addition to any
other duty of customs for the time being chargeable thereon, and
notwithstanding the provisions of any other law for the time being in
force in Antigua and Barbuda, the charge of duty under this Act shall
not affect liability to customs duty chargeable under any other Act or
the amount of any such duty. |
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| Relief in respect of duties |
(5) (1) Where it appears to the Cabinet
that relief under this section should be available as respects a duty
imposed by an order under this act (being an order made to afford
protection against dumping) they may, if they think fit, in that or a
subsequent order under this Act apply the provisions of this section
in relation to the duty. |
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(2) Where this section
applies in relation to any duty, the importer of any goods chargeable
with the duty as being goods originating in or, as the case may be,
exported from a specified country may apply to the Cabinet for relief
from the duty on those goods. |
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(3) If on an application
so made the Cabinet is satisfied that the export price of the goods
from that country with the amount of the duty added to it exceeds the
fair market price of the goods in that country, the Cabinet shall
cause the Comptroller of Customs to be notified of the amount of the
excess, and the Comptroller of Customs shall remit or repay the duty
up to that amount. |
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(4) An application under
this section as respects any goods shall not be made more than six
months after the duty has been paid on the goods, and in connection
with any such application the applicant shall furnish such information
and evidence as the Cabinet may require from him for ascertaining the
said export price or fair market price. |
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(5) The foregoing
provisions of this section shall have effect in relation to a duty
imposed by an order under this Act, (being an order made to afford
protection against the giving of a subsidy) as if references to the
fair market price in a country were references to the export price
from that country increased by such amount (if any) as may be
necessary to offset the effect of the giving of the subsidy. |
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(6) If a person for the
purposes of an application under this section: |
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(a) makes any statement
which is false in a material particular; or |
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(b) produces any account,
estimate, return or other document which is false in a material
particular, |
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the amount of any duty
remitted or repaid under this section on the application shall be
recoverable as a debt due to the Crown and if the statement was made
or the document was produced knowingly or recklessly that person shall
be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding five thousand
dollars. |
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| Drawback, etc., of duties |
6. (1) The Cabinet may by order provide
for the allowance of drawback in respect of all or any duties under
this Act on the export of goods in such circumstances and subject to
such conditions as they may specify. |
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(2) The drawback may be in
respect of duty paid on the goods or in respect of duty paid on
materials used in the manufacture of the goods and the rate of the
drawback may be determined in such manner and by reference to such
matters as the Cabinet may specify. |
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| Power to require information from
importers |
7. (1) The Comptroller of Customs may
require the importer of any goods to state such facts concerning the
goods and their history as he may think necessary to determine whether
the goods are goods originating in a country specified in an order
under this Act or are goods exported from any country and to furnish
him in such form as he may require with proof of any statements so
made; and if such proof is not furnished to his satisfaction or the
required facts are not stated, the goods shall be deemed for the
purposes of this Act to have originated in, or as the case may be, to
have been exported from, such country as he may determine: |
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Provided that the
Comptroller of Customs shall require proof of the country in which
goods originated in relation to any duty under this Act in the case
only of goods exported from such countries as the Cabinet may direct
in relation to that duty. |
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(2) Where an order under
this Act limits the description of goods in respect of which duty is
chargeable under this Act or the cases in which duty is so chargeable
so that the question whether any and if so what duty is chargeable on
the goods depends on other matters besides the country in which the
goods originated or from which they were exported, the Comptroller of
Customs may also require the importer to state such facts as he may
think necessary to determine that question so far as regards those
other matters and to furnish them in such form as he may require with
proof of any statement so made; and if such proof is not furnished to
his satisfaction or the required facts are not stated, those facts
shall be deemed for the purposes of duty under this Act to be such as
he may determine. |
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| Ascertainment of export price |
8. In relation to goods imported into
Antigua and Barbuda the export price from the country in which the
goods originated or from which they were exported shall be determined
as follows: |
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(i) If the goods are
imported under a contract of sale which is a sale in the open market
between buyer and seller independent of each other and the Cabinet is
satisfied as to that fact, as to the price on that sale and as to such
other facts as are material for this purpose, the export price shall
be the price on that sale subject to a deduction for the cost of
insurance and freight from the port or place of export in the said
country to the port or place of import, and for any other costs,
charges or expenses incurred in respect of the goods after they left
the port or place of export, except so far as any such costs, charges
or expenses have to be met separately by the purchaser. |
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(ii) If paragraph (i) does
not apply, the Cabinet shall determine the export price by reference
to such sale of the goods (or of any goods in which the
first-mentioned goods were incorporated) as they may select with such
adjustments as may appear to them to be proper. |
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| Ascertainment of fair market price |
9. The fair market price of any goods
in a country shall for the purposes of this Act be determined as
follows: |
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(i) Subject to the next
following paragraph, the fair market price shall be taken to be the
price at which goods of the description in question (that is to say,
any identical or comparable goods) are being sold in the ordinary
course of trade in the said country for consumption or use there, but
subject to any necessary adjustments whether for differences in
conditions and terms of sale, for differences in taxation or
otherwise, which may be required for the purpose of ensuring that the
comparison between the fair market price and the export price is
effectively a comparison between the prices on two similar sales. |
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(ii) If it appears to the
Cabinet that goods of that description are not being sold in the said
country, or not in such circumstances that the fair market price can
be determined in accordance with paragraph (i), the fair market price
shall be determined by the Cabinet, by reference to any price obtained
for goods of that description when exported from the said country,
with adjustments made for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (i) or,
if the Cabinet think fit, by reference to the cost or estimated cost
of production of the goods the dumping of which is in question, with
such additions in respect of selling cost and profit as may appear to
the Cabinet to be proper. |
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(iii) No account shall be
taken under this section of any application of restrictions or charges
on the export of materials from any country so as to favour producers
in that country who use those materials in goods produced by them. |
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| Construction of references to
country of origin, etc. |
10. (1) Goods shall be regarded for the
purposes of this Act as having originated in a country: |
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(a) if those goods were
wholly produced in that country; or |
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(b) if some stage in the
production of the goods was carried out in that country and the cost
of carrying out such stages, if any, in the production of the goods as
were carried out after those goods last left that country (but before
the import of the goods into Antigua and Barbuda) was less than
twenty-five per centum of the cost of production of the goods as so
imported; or |
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(c) if some stage in the
production of any components or materials incorporated in the goods
was carried out in that country and the cost of carrying out such
stages in production as were carried out after those components or
materials last left that country to convert those components or
materials into the goods as imported into Antigua and Barbuda was less
than twenty-five per centum of the cost of production of the goods as
so imported. |
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(2) Where the export price
of any goods from the country in which they originated is in question
and some stage in the production of the goods, or of any components or
materials incorporated in the goods, was carried out after they last
left that country, the deductions to be made by the Cabinet in the
price by reference to which the export price is to be ascertained
shall include a deduction for the cost of carrying out any such stage
in the production of the goods and in the production of any components
or materials incorporated in the goods; and the fair market price
shall be the fair market price of those goods or, as the case may be,
of those components or materials in the state in which they left that
country. |
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(3) Any reference in this
Act to the country in which goods originated shall be taken, in a case
where there are two or more countries which answer to that
description, as a reference to any of those countries. |
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| Regulations |
11. The Cabinet may by regulations
prescribe for the purposes of this Act: |
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(a) the costs, charges and
expenses to be taken into account in ascertaining costs of production
or the cost of any stage in production; |
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(b) the manner in which
cost of production is to be ascertained in cases where different
stages are carried out by different persons; |
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(c) the manner in which
the cost of different stages or production is to be ascertained. |
