Government mulls withdrawal of anti-dumping duties on imported soda ash
The government is considering the withdrawal of anti-dumping duties imposed on the import of soda ash sourced from the US, China, Pakistan and other countries. Soda ash, also called Disodium Carbonate (Na2CO3), is mainly used in the manufacturing of detergent, soap and float glass products. To protect the domestic producers and suppliers of the chemical, the finance department had in July 2012 imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from $2.3 per tonne to $38.79 a tonne of import of the product for five years. The duty was imposed after the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) had found that soda ash was imported from China, the US, Pakistan, Iran, Ukraine, Kenya and European Union countries at below its normal rate. Now, the All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation (AIGMF), a representative body of importers/users of the goods, has asked for a review of the duties. “They have claimed that the circumstances that were prevalent during the period of investigation of the original investigation have changed significantly leading to a situation where the existing anti-dumping duties are no longer warranted,” read a notification issued by the Finance Ministry on Thursday. According to the applicant, the import prices of soda ash have increased significantly and so has the cost of the major raw material, but not in proportion to the increase in the prices of the imports of the goods. “Coupled with a significant increase in import prices leading to an increase in the landed value of imports, the injury margin has come down and as a consequence, a need for reviewing the current level of duties has arisen,” the notification said citing the review application. As per the existing restrictions, soda ash sourced from China faces anti-dumping charges of $38.26 per tonne and shipments from the US are subjected to pay $38.79 per tonne. In case of Pakistan, the import duties are charged at the rate of $2.38, $5.60 and $10.34 per tonne, depending on the category of the product. The investigating authority has sought argument and evidences in favour of and against the withdrawal of the duty restrictions by the end of August.
July 24, 2015 | 6:15 pm IST.
to success.