The Director General shall determine serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry taking into account the following principles, namely:-

(i) in the investigation to determine whether increased imports have caused or threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry, the Director General shall evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of that industry, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the article concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment;

(ii) the determination referred to in clause (i) shall not be made unless the investigation demonstrates, on the basis of objective evidence, the existence of the causal link between increased imports of the article concerned and serious injury or threat thereof and when factors other than increased imports are causing injury to the domestic industry at the same time, such injury shall not be attributed to increased imports and in such cases, the Director General may refer the complaint to the authority for antidumping or countervailing duty investigations, as appropriate.