India Imposes Anti-Dumping Duty on Thai, Japanese Chemical.

India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to USD 94.96 per tonne on imports of a chemical mainly used in pharmaceuticals,from Japan and Thailand to protect domestic players.

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

The duty would range between USD 94.96 per tonne to 85.85 per tonne on the imports of acetone from these two countries, 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"The anti-dumping duty imposed shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty that is, the 9th April, 2010," the department said.

Acetone is also used in manufacturing agro chemicals, dyes and certain explosives.

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 dumped imports of the product from Japan and Thailand.

The country had already imposed 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.

Source : deccanherald.com