Govt imposes anti-dumping duty on a Chinese film

India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to $0.538 per kg on imports of a film used by the advertisement industry to protect domestic players from cheap Chinese shipments.

The restrictive duty on the import of 'PVC Flex Film' would be imposed for a period of five years, the Department of Revenue said.

The duty would range between $0.034 per kg and $0.538 per kg on imports of the film from China, it said.

"The anti-dumping duty imposed shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of imposition of provisional duty, that is, July 30, 2010, and shall be payable in Indian currency," the Department said.

PVC Flex Films, also known as PVC Flex Banners, are used as advertising signage and billboards.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), a nodal agency under the Commerce Ministry, had recommended the imposition of the duty after an investigation.

The DGAD concluded in its probe that the domestic industry had suffered a material injury on account of dumping of the product by China.

The country has already imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of fabric, yarn, nylon tyre cord and several chemicals. Anti-dumping duty is recommended by the Commerce Ministry, while the finance ministry imposes the same.

Unlike safeguard duties, which are levied in a uniform way, anti-dumping duties vary from product to product and from country to country.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to check if domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.