Win for ‘Made in India’ plates!

As a big relief to domestic manufacturers, the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of anti-dumping on imports of Digital Offset Printing Plates originating in or exported from China PR, Japan, Korea RP, Taiwan and Vietnam.

In the wake of the proceedings initiated by Ministry of Finance, Govt of India on the appeal of TechNova Imaging, the sole manufacturer of digital and analogue aluminium plates in India, with over 70 percent market share, a provisional anti-dumping duty had been announced in 2012. With this additional duty, all printers using digital plates coming from China and Japan had to shell out extra money in the range of 25-40 percent depending on violet, thermal or CtcP plates. This resulted into further increase in the cost of jobs, printed by using those digital plates. There was a long battle going on whether to impose or remove this anti-dumping duty.

As a matter of the fact, the imports of these plates have increased to 16.32 million sqm during the period of investigation covers (July 2018 to March 2019) from 8 million sqm in 2015-16.

More recently, the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on digital printing plates from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the duty after it found through investigation that there is a substantial increase in imports of digital offset printing plates from these countries in absolute terms.

After examining the submissions made by the interested parties and issues raised therein; and considering the facts available on record, the Authority concluded that:

1. There is substantial increase in imports of subject goods from subject counties in absolute terms as well as in relation to production & consumption in India during the POI as compared to the previous years.
2. The product under consideration has been exported to India from the subject countries below their normal value.
3. The Domestic Industry has suffered material injury.
4. Material injury has been caused by the dumped imports of subject goods from the subject countries.

Some of the recommendations made included:

1. The Authority notes that the investigation was initiated and notified to all interested parties and adequate opportunity was given to the Domestic Industry, exporters, importers and other interested parties to provide positive information on the aspect of dumping, injury and causal link. Having initiated and conducted the investigation into dumping, injury and causal link in terms of the provisions laid down under the Rules, the authority is of the view that imposition of Anti-Dumping Duty is required to offset dumping and injury. Therefore, Authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of subject goods from the subject countries.
2. Having regard to the lesser duty Rule followed by the Authority, the Authority recommends imposition of anti-dumping duty equal to the lesser of margin of dumping and the margin of injury, so as to remove the injury to the Domestic Industry. The duty recommended was in the range of USD 0.77 per sqm to USD 0.13 per sqm.
3. The duty recommended would be applicable for a period of 5 years from the date of imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty imposed vide Customs Notification No. 02/2020-Customs (ADD) dated 30th January 2020.
4. An appeal against the order of the Central Government that may arise out of this recommendation shall lie before the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate tribunal, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act.