Customs imposes anti-dumping duty on jute from Nepal and Bangladesh

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Government imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of jute and jute products from Nepal and Bangladesh on Jan 5. In its notification no.01/2017-Customs (ADD) dtd Jan 5, 2017, the government details that anti-dumping duty ranging from $6.30 to $351.72 has been imposed on these products originating from Nepal and Bangladesh to protect the interests of the domestic manufacturers. The anti-dumping duty shall be effective for five years beginning from the date of publication of this notification and the duty shall be paid in Indian currency.

The import restrictive levy has been imposed on jute yarn/twine, Hessian fabric and jute sacking bags in "all forms and specifications".

The DGAD, based on the complaints received from the local players had initiated an investigation last year. Based on those investigations the DGAD had in its final order in Oct 20th, 2016, come to the conclusion that –

i. there is dumping of these goods from the subject countries;

ii. imports from these countries are undercutting and suppressing the prices of the domestic industry;

iii. performance of domestic industry has deteriorated in the terms of profitability return on investments and cash flow;

iv. injury to domestic industry has been caused by dumped imports.

The revenue department "after considering" the final findings of the DGAD imposed the anti-dumping duty.

West Bengal is the major player in the jute industry, with 3.5-4 lakh people being employed in the sector.