ADD imports of Isopropyl Alcohol exported from China PR

EXTRAORDINARY PART I —Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 242] NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023/ASVINA 7, 1945 CG-DL-E-03102023-249107 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Department of Commerce (DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF TRADE REMEDIES) INITIATION NOTIFICATION New Delhi , the 29th September , 2023 Case No. AD(OI) –09/2023 Subject: Anti -dumping investigation concerning imports of “Isopropyl alcohol” (IPA) originating in or exported from China PR. F. No. 6/09/2023 -DGTR .—M/s Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corpo ration Limited (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant”) has filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Authority’), in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter ref erred as the ‘Act’) and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Anti -Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules’), seeking init iation of an anti -dumping investigation on imports of “isopropyl alcohol” (hereinafter referred to as the ‘product under consideration’ or ‘subject goods’ or ‘IPA’), originating in or exported from China PR (hereinafter referred to as the “subject country” ). 2. The applicant has alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to the alleged dumped imports, originating in or exported from the subject country and has requested for the imposition of anti - dumping duties on the imports of the subject goods from the subject country. A. Product under Consideration 3. The product under consideration is isopropyl alcohol. 4. IPA is a compound with the chemical formula CH 3CHOHCH 3. It is a colorless, flammable liquid with a strong odor. It is used to man ufacture a wide variety of industrial and household chemicals, and finds major applications in the production of bulk drugs and drug formulations which are vital in the pharmaceutical manufacturing. It is also used as common ingredient in chemicals such as antiseptics, disinfectants, and detergents. The essential parameters that define the product are its percentage purity, specific gravity, residual impurities, water content, and refractive index. 5. The product under consideration is classified under Chapter 29 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 under the HS Code 2905 12 20 of the Customs Tariff Classification. The customs classification is indicative only and not binding on the scope of the product unde r consideration for the proposed investigation. 6. The parties to the present investigation may provide their comments on the PUC and propose PCNs, if any, within 15 days of circulation of the non -confidential version of the documents filed before the Authori ty as indicated in paragraph 24 of this initiation notification. B. Like Article 7. The applicant has submitted that there are no significant differences in the subject goods produced by the applicant and exported from the subject country and both are like art icles. The product produced by the applicant and imported from the subject country are comparable in terms of essential product characteristics such as physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process & technology, functions & usage, product sp ecifications, pricing, distribution & marketing and tariff classification of the goods. Consumers can use and have been using the two interchangeably. The two are technically and commercially substitutable, and hence, should be treated as ‘like article’ under the Rules. Thus, for the purposes of initiation of the present investigation, the article produced by the applicant has been prima facie considered as like article to the product being imported from China PR. C. Domestic Industry & Standing 8. The applicati on has been filed M/s Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited. Apart from the applicant, there is one other producer in India, viz. M/s Deepak Phenolics Limited , which has supported the instant application filed by the applicant. The appl icant and M/s Deepak Phenolics Limited are the only two producers of the product under consideration in India. Their production together constitutes 100% of the total domestic production in India. 9. In view of the above, the Authority notes that the applica nt constitutes ‘domestic industry’ within the meaning of Rule 2(b) of the AD Rules and the application satisfies the criteria of standing in terms of Rule 5(3) of the AD Rules. D. Subject Country 10. The subject country in the present investigation is China PR. E. Period of Investigation 11. While the applicant has proposed the period of investigation (POI) from January 2022 to December 2022, the Authority has adopted the POI from April 2022 to March 2023 (12 months) for the subject investigation. The injury period pr oposed to be examined is 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020, 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021, 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022 and the POI. F. Procedure 12. The provisions stipulated in of Rule 6 of the Anti -Dumping Rules shall be followed in this investigatio n. G. Basis for alleged dumping Normal Value for China PR 13. The applicant has submitted that China PR should be treated as a non -market economy, and that producers from China PR should be directed to demonstrate that market economy conditions prevail in the in dustry with regard to the production and sales of the subject goods. Unless the producers from China PR show that such market economy conditions prevail, their normal value should be determined in accordance with Para 7 of Annexure -I to the Anti - Dumping Ru les,1995. 14. Therefore, for the purpose of initiation of the investigation, the normal value has been constructed based on the estimates of cost of production of the applicant duly adjusted with selling, general and administrative expenses, along with a reas onable profit margin. Export Price 15. The Export price of the subject goods from the subject country has been estimated by considering transaction -wise import data provided by DGCI&S. Price adjustments have been made on account of port expenses, inland freigh t, ocean freight, marine insurance, bank commission & credit cost to arrive at the net export price. Dumping Margin 16. The normal value and the export price have been compared at the ex -factory level, which prima facie establishes that the dumping margin is above the de minimis level with respect to the subject goods imported from China PR. Thus, there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the product under consideration from China PR is being dumped in the domestic market of India by the exporters from Chi na PR. H. Injury and Causal Link 17. The applicant has provided prima facie evidence with respect to the injury suffered by the domestic industry because of the dumped imports. The volume of the subject imports from the subject country is significant in absolut e as well as relative terms. The price undercutting from the subject country as a whole is positive and significant. The production of the domestic industry has declined. The capacity utilisation of the domestic industry has declined. The price suppression and depression caused by the dumped imports have been preventing the domestic industry from increasing its prices to recover the full cost and achieve reasonable rate of returns. The market share of the domestic industry is below the demand which it can c ater. The subject imports have had an adverse impact on the profitability parameters of the domestic industry due to which the cash profits, PBIT, and ROCE have registered a very significant decline. There has also been a significant increase in the invent ory levels of the domestic industry. I. Initiation of Anti -Dumping Investigation 18. On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted by the applicant and having reached satisfaction based on the prima facie evidence submitted by the applica nt concerning the dumping of the product under consideration originating in or exported from the subject country, the consequential injury to the domestic industry as a result of the alleged dumping of the subject goods and the causal link between such inj ury and the dumped imports, and in accordance with Section 9A of the Act read with Rule 5 of the AD Rules, the Authority, hereby, initiates an anti -dumping investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of the dumping with respect to the produ ct under consideration originating in or exported from the subject country and to recommend the appropriate amount of anti -dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. J. Submission of Information 19. All communi cation should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at email addresses dd11 - [email protected] and [email protected] with a copy to adg1 [email protected] and adv13 [email protected] . It must be ensured that the narrative part of the submission is in searchable PDF/MS -Word format and data files are in MS -Excel format. 20. The known producers/exporters in the subj ect country, the Government of the subject country through its Embassy in India, and the importers and users in India who are known to be associated with the subject goods are being informed separately to enable them to file all the relevant information wi thin the time limits mentioned in this initiation notification. All such information must be filed in the form and manner as prescribed by this initiation notification, the Rules, and the applicable trade notices issued by the Authority. 21. Any other interes ted party may also make a submission relevant to the present investigation in the form and manner as prescribed by this initiation notification, the Rules, and the applicable trade notices issued by the Authority within the time limits mentioned in this in itiation notification. 22. Any party making any confidential submission before the Authority is required to make a non -confidential version of the same available to the other interested parties. 23. Interested parties are further directed to regularly visit the o fficial website of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies ( https://www.dgtr.gov.in/ ) to stay updated and apprised with the information as well as further processes related to the investigation. K. Time Limit 24. Any inf ormation relating to the present investigation should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at email address dd11 [email protected] and dd16 [email protected] with a copy to adg14 [email protected] and adv13 [email protected] within 30 days from the date on which the non -confidential version of the documents filed by the domestic industry would be circulated by the Designated Authority or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting country as per Rule 6(4) of the Rules. If no information is received within the stipulated time limit or the information received is incomplete, the Authori ty may record its findings based on the facts available on record and in accordance with the Rules. 25. All the interested parties are hereby advised to intimate their interest (including the nature of interest) in the instant matter and file their questionna ire responses within the above time limit as stipulated in this notification. 26. Where an interested party seeks additional time for filing of submissions, it must demonstrate sufficient cause for such extension in terms of Rule 6(4) of the AD Rules, 1995 an d such request must come within the time stipulated in this notification. L. Submission of information on confidential basis 27. Where any party to the present investigation makes confidential submissions or provides information on a confidential basis before the Authority, such party is required to simultaneously submit a non -confidential version of such information in terms of Rule 7(2) of the Rules and in accordance with the relevant trade notices issued by the Authority in this regard. 28. Such submissions must be clearly marked as “confidential” or “non -confidential” at the top of each page. Any submission that has been made to the Authority without such markings shall be treated as “non -confidential” information by the Authority, and the Authority shall be at lib erty to allow other interested parties to inspect such submissions. 29. The confidential version shall contain all information which is, by nature, confidential, and/or other information, which the supplier of such information claims as confidential. For the i nformation which is claimed to be confidential by nature, or the information on which confidentiality is claimed because of other reasons, the supplier of the information is required to provide a good cause statement along with the supplied information as to why such information cannot be disclosed. 30. The non -confidential version of the information filed by the interested parties should be a replica of the confidential version with the confidential information preferably indexed or blanked out (where indexati on is not possible) and such information must be appropriately and adequately summarized depending upon the information on which confidentiality is claimed. 31. The non -confidential summary must be in sufficient detail to permit a reasonable understanding of t he substance of the information furnished on a confidential basis. However, in exceptional circumstances, the party submitting the confidential information may indicate that such information is not susceptible to summary, and a statement of reasons contain ing a sufficient and adequate explanation in terms of Rule 7 of the Rules, 1995, and appropriate trade notices issued by the Authority, as to why such summarization is not possible, must be provided to the satisfaction of the Authority. 32. The interested part ies can offer their comments on the issues of confidentiality claimed by the domestic industry within 7 days from the date of circulation of the non -confidential version of the documents as indicated in paragraph 24 of this initiation notification. 33. Any su bmission made without a meaningful non -confidential version thereof or a sufficient and adequate cause statement in terms of Rule 7 of the Rules, and appropriate trade notices issued by the Authority, on the confidentiality claim shall not be taken on reco rd by the Authority. 34. The Authority may accept or reject the request for confidentiality on examination of the nature of the information submitted. If the Authority is satisfied that the request for confidentiality is warranted or if the supplier of the in formation is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or summary form, it may disregard such information. 35. The Authority on being satisfied and accepting the need for confidentiality of the information pr ovided, shall not disclose it to any party without specific authorisation of the party providing such information. 36. A list of registered interested parties will be uploaded on the DGTR’s website along with the request therein to all of them to email the no n-confidential version of their submissions to all other interested parties. M. Non-Cooperation 37. In case any interested party refuses access to and otherwise does not provide necessary information within a reasonable period or within the time stipulated by th e Authority in this initiation notification, or significantly impedes the investigation, the Authority may declare such interested party as non -cooperative and record its findings based on the facts available and make such recommendations to the Central Go vernment as it deems fit. ANANT SWARUP, Designated Authority Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi -110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi -110054.