DGS recommends safeguard duty on particle board

The Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) has recommended imposition of additional 30 per cent safeguard duty, an emergency import duty, on particle board for a period of 200 days.

The product, which is used in plywood and panel boards, has witnessed a surge in imports in the last few months, a preliminary investigation by the DGS, which functions within the Ministry of Finance, has concluded.

The investigation was initiated after domestic manufacturers, led by Shirdi Industries Ltd, Mumbai, and Bajaj Eco-Tec Products Ltd, Uttar Pradesh, who among them account for 60 per cent of the domestic production, sought such a protection for four years.

Particle board, a low-cost variant of conventional wood and plywood, is commercially sold as bamboo jute or panel board.

The inflow of the item from importers, including from China, the EU, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, led to decline in their sales volumes and capacity utilisation of the plants, the domestic industry complained in its petition to the DGS.

In particular, the local industry demanded levying of duty against imports from South Africa and Indonesia.