SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (“Act”), are references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless ( printed page 58586) otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the regulations codified at 19 CFR part 351 (2001).

Background

On January 29, 2002, we published a notice of initiation of a review of SSWR from India covering the period December 1, 2000 through November 30, 2001. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, January 22, 2002 (67 FR 4236). On July 9, 2002, we published a notice of extension of the preliminary results of administrative review from September 2, 2002, to November 1, 2002. See Stainless Steel Wire Rod from India: Extension of Time Limit of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, July 9, 2002 (67 FR 45481) (“Preliminary Extension Notice”).

Extension of Time Limit of Preliminary Results

Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act states that if it is not practicable to complete the review within the time specified, the administering authority may extend the 245-day period to issue its preliminary results by 120 days. Because the Department has already extended these preliminary results only 60 days, we are allowed to further extend the preliminary results an additional 60 days. Completion of the preliminary results of this review within the 305-day period is not practicable for the following reasons, which were also cited in the Preliminary Extension Notice:

• The review involves four companies, a large number of transactions and complex adjustments.
• All companies include sales and cost investigations which require the Department to gather and analyze a significant amount of information pertaining to each company's sales practices, manufacturing costs and corporate relationships.

Additionally, responses from three of the four companies required the Department to issue multiple supplemental questionnaires which further delayed the planned verification schedules.

Therefore, in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, we are extending the time period for issuing the preliminary results of review by 30 days until December 1, 2002. The final results continue to be due 120 days after the publication of the preliminary results.