India imposes import restrictive tax on PTA for 5 years

The Revenue Department on recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), has imposed import restrictive tax on chemicals (Purified Terephthalic Acid) used in textile industry for five years, said a notification of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

The imports of the chemical from the five countries (China, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan) will attract anti-dumping duty in the range of USD 83.08 per tonne to USD 168.76 per tone, to protect domestic manufacturers.

Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.

In December last year, the Department had imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on the imports.

The DGAD, after an investigation, had found that the chemical ‘Purified Terephthalic Acid’ was being exported to India from the five countries below its normal value. Thus the chemical was being dumped into India.

MCC PTA India Corp and Reliance Industries had jointly filed an application seeking anti-dumping probe. It had made the case for anti-dumping duty on the chemical to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multi-lateral WTO regime.