India may impose anti-dumping duty on a certain type of sheet used in solar cell

New Delhi: India may impose anti-dumping duty on a certain type of sheet used in solar cell making from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand for five years in order to safeguard domestic players from cheap imports from these countries.

The commerce ministry's dumping investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the duty in the range of USD 537 to USD 1,559 per tonne on imports of "Ethylene Vinyl Acetate sheet for solar module". The final decision to impose the duty would be taken by the finance ministry.

"The authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on the imports...originating in or exported from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, for a period of five years," the DGTR has said in a notification. In its findings, the DGTR said imposition of the duty is required to offset dumping and injury caused by dumped imports from these countries.

Following a complaint by a domestic company, the directorate had initiated the probe in April last year. The product is a polymer based component used in the manufacturing of solar PV (Photo Voltaic) modules.

Imports of the sheets from these countries increased to 6,367 tonnes during the period of investigation (October 2016 to September 2017) from 4,674 tonnes in 2016-17. The imports stood at USD 1,025 tonnes in 2015-16 and USD 594 tonnes in 2014-15. Imports of components used in solar industry have increased as India launched an ambitious national solar policy named Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in January 2010. Under this, the country has a target of generating 20,000 megawatt (MW) of solar power by 2022.

Several countries are interested in supplying solar equipment to tap into the growing sector in India. Countries carry out anti-dumping probes to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of WTO. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers with regard to foreign producers and exporters.