Jindal Stainless, SAIL and other stainless steel makers got a reprieve from cheap imports of the alloy as government on Friday re-imposed anti-dumping duties of 4.6-57.39% on specified cold-rolled flat products for five years. Anti-dumping duties had existed on these products until April, 2015.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) imposed the duties again on the recommendation of Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD). “The dumping is likely to continue and the performance of the domestic industry is likely to deteriorate, should the present anti-dumping duty is revoked, and has recommended the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports…,” DGAD said in its finding.
Earlier in June this year, the government had imposed anti-dumping duty on certain category of HR flat products of stainless steel having a width of 600-1,250 mm originating from China, Malaysia and Korea in the range between $108/tonne and $ 316 a tonne.
The new duties are on cold rolled flat products with width of 600-1,250 mm. Industry said the definition of the products under the new levy left a vast scope for circumvention. “The duty extension will have only a limited impact as circumvention will continue to take place till the time the government takes a stern action after carrying out a through anti-circumvention investigation. The width limit should be removed,” said a Jindal Stainless spokesperson.
Imports of stainless steel have nearly doubled in the last four years to 2014-15 at 4.59 lakh tonnes. Cold rolled flat products of stainless steel constitute nearly 75% of the total imports.
The anti-dumping duty will be 57.39% on the imports from China, 5.39 to 13.44% from South Korea, 15.93% from Chinese Taipei, 9.47% from the US, 29.41 to 52.56 % from the European Union, 4.58-5.39% from Thailand and 12.34 to 36.91% from South Africa.