International Commercial Law is a set of legal norms, conventions, treaties, local legislation, and commercial customs and usages that govern international commercial and business transactions. When elements from more than one country are engaged in a transaction, it is considered international. States might fulfil their international commitments by ratifying international treaties or adhering to tradition. International law, on the other hand, makes no precise conditions for fulfilling duties to adopt treaties or customs into domestic legal systems. Furthermore, the process of adopting international law into local law is not governed by international law. There is no international authority in charge of enforcing the law. States incorporate international law into their domestic legal systems in a variety of ways, depending on domestic law, such as constitutional requirements and customs. Furthermore, each state's constitutional provisions for the execution of international law differ.
India has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since January 1995, and of the WTO's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), since July 1948. India has played a crucial role in WTO procedures as a developing country, particularly in voicing its concerns as well as those of the entire developing world. So, there are certain Indian laws which are made in order to control various business and commercial transactions all around the world which are coming to the country.
The legal framework of both international commercial laws and Indian laws tells us about the effect they make through various measures that have been discussed below[2]:
● Anti-dumping measures: Anti-dumping actions are governed by Article VI of the GATT (The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994[3] under international law (the Anti-Dumping Agreement). Anti-dumping rules allow a country to levy temporary tariffs on items exported by a foreign manufacturer if the export price is less than the typical value of 'similar articles' sold in the exporter's home market, causing harm to domestic producers.
The Indian government, through the Ministry of Finance, may apply an anti-dumping duty not exceeding the margin of dumping in regard to any article exported from any nation or territory to India at less than its normal value upon the importation of the article into India. Sections 9A, 9AA, 9B, and 9C of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 (the Act) and the Customs Tariff (Identification,
Assessment, and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules 1995 (the Anti-dumping Rules), as amended from time to time, govern anti-dumping actions in India.
● Subsidies and countervailing measures: The control of subsidies and the employment of countervailing measures to counteract the injury caused by subsidised imports are dealt with in Article XVI of the GATT 1994 [4] and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). A subsidy is presumed to exist under the ASCM whenever a government or any public body makes a financial contribution inside a member's territory, or if a kind of price support is provided, and a benefit is consequently conferred.
Sections 9, 9B, and 9C of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 govern countervailing proceedings in India. The Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidised Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules 1995 (the Countervailing Rules) were enacted in 1995 to establish the methods for identifying subsidised articles liable for countervailing duty, determining the amount of subsidy provided, and collecting and assessing the duty under the Act.
● Safeguard measures: The underlying rules for safeguard actions are laid out in Article XIX of the GATT 1994[5] as well as the Agreement on Safeguards (AOS). A member may apply safeguard measures to a product if it has determined that it is being imported into its territory in such large quantities, absolute or relative to domestic production, that it is causing serious injury to the domestic industry that produces identical or similar, or directly competitive products, according to the AOS. Article 9 of the AOS guarantees developing countries particular and differentiated treatment.
Similarly to the AOS, Indian law provides that if the central government determines, after conducting an investigation, that any article is imported into India in such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten serious injury to domestic industry, it may impose safeguard duty on that article by notification in the Official Gazette. It should be noted that any safeguard duty imposed under the Safeguard Rules will be non-discriminatory and will apply to all imports of such an article, regardless of their origin.
Overall, international trade provides buyers and sellers with the opportunity to be exposed to new market environments as well as new products. The domain of international trade and commerce has a significant impact on industrialization, sophisticated technology, globalisation, multinational firms, and outsourcing. As a result, it is critical in the domain of international trade that there are effective regulations and statutes in place that are applicable and compelling to all member countries of the WTO as well as other international trade federations.
As a result, corporate law has a huge influence on the industrial sector. Its increasing utility in diverse subject issues relevant to various sectors of commercial law aids in the progress of business law. Businesses, as one of the most diverse platforms available to the general public, must be updated on a regular basis. As a result, the many provisions included in all of the components of business law function in tandem to deliver diverse benefits. Its effectiveness may be immediately recognised while managing various business tasks, and it eventually leads to business improvement. As a result, it plays a critical role in protecting and preserving the rights of many people throughout the corporate sector.
References
1. Article 6 of the GATT 1994.
3. Article 19 of the GATT 1994.
4. Article 16 of the GATT 1994.
This article is written by Sarvesh Kathpalia of Punjabi University, Patiala.