India has started an anti -dumping investigation into imports of vitamin C from China in the wake of the domestic manufacturers making a case for imposition of the levy. The move byof the Commerce Ministry’s the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) comes days after a provisional anti-dumping duty for six months was imposed on anti-bacterial drug Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride imports from China. The investigation is being initiated following Bajaj Healthcare alleging that the domestic industry is getting impacted due to ‘dumped imports’ of vitamin C from China, a notification on Friday said.
The firm, whose plea for imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports was supported by three other domestic manufacturers, said that there is “no known difference” between the product coming from China and that produced by the domestic industry. Between them, the four companies account for 100% of the production of Vitamin C in the country.
“Subject goods produced by the domestic industry and PUC [product under consideration] imported from subject country [China] are comparable in terms of essential product characteristics such as physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process and technology, functions and uses, product specifications, pricing, distribution and marketing and tariff classification of the goods,” the company had said.
Noting that there is prima facie evidence that the PUC from China is being dumped into the Indian market by Chinese exporters, the notification said. Bajaj Healthcare had furnished evidence regarding the price effect – “price undercutting, price depression and suppression on the domestic industry, it said.
The PUC is Vitamin C in all its form. Vitamin-C is primarily used by pharmaceutical firms in the production of various medicines. It is has used in non-pharmaceutical industry. Information related to the investigation could be shared within 30 days to the designated authority, the notification said.
Besides the decisions on pharma products, the DGTR had also recently extended the anti-dumping duty on float glass, of thickness 2 mm-12 mm, upto December 7.