Anti-dumping duty of up to $20.87 per kg recommended on import of a certain kind of vitamin from EU, China, Switzerland

New Delhi: As India is wary of inventory dumping from foreign markets, particularly after the US imposed additional tariffs on China and other countries, the commerce ministry's investigation arm has recommended anti-dumping duty of up to $20.87 per kilogram on import of a certain kind of vitamin, used for animal consumption from countries like China, the European Union and Switzerland for five years.

The move of the ministry comes after the recent 'warning' of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman against unfair trade practices and 'unhealthy' competition on cheap imports, which may harm small and medium enterprises in the country. Generally, India conducts anti-dumping probes from time to time to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports, and the finance ministry takes a final call to levy duty on certain items, if found any trade irregularities.

As per the directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR), a commerce ministry's investigation wing, has found that imports of ‘Vitamin A Palmitate’ have significantly increased in absolute terms. Due to the dumping, the performance of domestic industry in terms of profit, cash profits and ‘return on capital employed’ or ROCE has been adversely affected.

“The authority recommends imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports...For a period of five years,” it said. The recommended duty ranges between $0.87-20.87 per kg. The finance ministry will take the final decision to impose the duty. Piramal Pharma Ltd had filed a petition before the DGTR for imposition of the duty on the imports.

As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China. In a separate notification, the DGTR has also recommended anti-dumping duty of up to $358 per tonne on ‘Insoluble Sulphur’ exported from China and Japan for five years. The chemical is widely used in the manufacture of tyres, shoes, and all kinds of automobile rubber parts.