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Core Purpose

Preliminary findings notification in the anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resins from seven countries.

Detailed Summary

Case No. AD(OI)-30/2023, F. No. 6/33/2023-DGTR, issued by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, dated 30 October 2024, presents preliminary findings of an anti-dumping investigation into imports of "Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resins" originating in or exported from China PR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea RP, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States of America, initiated on application by Chemplast Cuddalore Private Limited, DCM Shriram Limited and DCW Limited under Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with Rule 5 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, via initiation Notification No. 6/33/2023-DGTR dated 26 March 2024. It describes procedural steps including issuance of exporter, importer/user and economic-interest questionnaires under Rule 6 to numerous foreign producers/exporters and Indian importers/users, participation by the Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL), confidentiality treatment of submissions, a stakeholder meeting on 30 April 2024, finalisation of product scope and PCN methodology via notification dated 13 May 2024, and use of DG Systems import data. The period of investigation is stated as 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023 (12 months), with the injury investigation period covering three preceding fiscal years (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) plus the POI, and the Non-Injurious Price was determined based on cost of production data maintained per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Full Text

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-04112024-258429 EXTRAORDINARY PART I—Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 306] NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2024/KARTIKA 8, 1946 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) NOTIFICATION PRELIMINARY FINDINGS New Delhi, the 30th.October, 2024 CASE NO. AD(OI) – 30/2023 Subject: Preliminary Findings in the anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of "Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resins" originating in or exported from China PR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea RP, Taiwan, Thailand and United States of America. A. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE F. No. 6/33/2023-DGTR.— 1. Chemplast Cuddalore Private Limited, DCM Shriram Limited and DCW Limited (hereinafter also referred to as the “Applicants”) filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter also referred to as the “Authority”), in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter also referred 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” or “Anti-Dumping Rules”), for initiation of an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of "Polyvinyl Chloride Suspension Resins" (hereinafter also referred to as the “product under consideration” or the “subject goods”), originating in or exported from China PR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea RP, Taiwan, Thailand and United States of America (hereinafter also referred to as the “subject countries”). 2. The Authority, on the basis of prima facie evidence submitted by the applicants, issued a public notice vide Notification No. 6/33/2023-DGTR dated 26th March 2024, published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, initiating the subject investigation in accordance with Section 9A of the Act read with Rule 5 of the Rules to determine existence, degree and effect of the alleged dumping of the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject countries, and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the alleged injury to the domestic industry. B. PROCEDURE 3. The procedure described herein below has been followed with regard to the subject investigation: i. The Authority notified the Embassies of the subject countries in India about the receipt of the present anti-dumping application before proceeding to initiate the investigation in accordance with Rule 5(5) of the Anti-Dumping Rules and the Free Trade Agreements with various members of the WTO. ii. The Authority issued a public notice dated 26th March 2024 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, initiating anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of the subject goods from the subject countries. iii. The Authority sent a copy of the initiation notification along with questionnaires to the Embassies of the subject countries in India, known producers/exporters from the subject countries, known importers/users and the domestic industry as well as other domestic producers as per the email addresses made available by the applicants and requested them to make their views known, in writing, within the prescribed time limit. iv. The Authority provided a copy of the non-confidential version of the application to the Embassies of the subject countries in India, the known producers/exporters, importers and users in accordance with Rule 6(3) of the Rules. v. The Embassies of the subject countries in India were also requested to advise the exporters/producers from their countries to respond to the questionnaire within the prescribed time limit. A copy of the letter and questionnaire sent to the producers/exporters was also sent to them along with the details of the known producers/exporters from the subject countries. vi. The Authority sent exporter's questionnaires to the following known producers/exporters in the subject countries in accordance with Rule 6(4) of the Rules: 1. China Haohua Chemical (Group) Corporation 2. Chipping Xinfa PVC Company Limited 3. Hubein Yinhua Group Company Limited 4. Inner Mongolia Sanlian Chemical Corporation Limited 5. Inner Mongolia Junzheng Chemical Industry Company Limited 6. Kingfa Sci. & Technology Company Limited 7. LG Dagu Chemical Company Limited 8. Mega Compound Company Limited 9. Ningxia Yinglite Chemicals Company Limited 10. Ningxia Jinyuyuan Energy Chemistry Company Limited 11. Ordos Zunzheng Energy & Chemical Industry Company Limited 12. SAR Overseas Limited 13. Shandong Haihua Chlor-Alkali Resin Company Limited 14. Shandong Xinfa Import & Export Company 15. Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Company Limited 16. Sinopec Group 17. Sinopec Qilu Company 18. Suzhou Huasu Plastics Company Limited 19. Qingdao Haijing Chemcial (Group) Company Limited 20. Qingdoa Haiwan Chemical Company Limited 21. Tianjin Dagu Chemical Company Limited 22. Tianjin LG Bohai Chemical Company 23. Xinjiang Shihezi Zhongfa Chemcial Company Limited 24. Xinjiang Shengxiong Chlor-Alkali Company Limited 25. Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Company Limited 26. Yibin Tianyuan Group Limited 27. Yichang Yihua Pacific Cogen Company Limited 28. Zhong Tai International Development (HK) Limited 29. Oxy Vinyl LLP 30. Visolit 31. Farmosa Plastics Corporation 32. JM Eagle Corporation 33. Oxychem 34. Shintech Inc. 35. Westlake USA Inc. 36. Ocean Plastics Company Limited 37. JNC Corporation 38. Kaneka Corporation 39. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd 40. SCG Chemicals Company Limited 41. Viynthai Public Co., Ltd. vii. The following producers / exporters filed response to the exporters’ questionnaire issued by the Authority. 1. Inner Mongolia Chemical Industry Company Ltd. 2. Inner Mongolia Erdos Electric Power and Metallurgy Group Co., Ltd. 3. Formosa Industries (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. 4. Formosa Plastics Corporation 5. Simosa International Co. Ltd. 6. Itochu Plastics Pte., Ltd. 7. ITOCHU Corporation 8. ITOCHU (Thailand) Ltd. 9. China General Plastics Corporation 10. CGPC Polymer Corporation 11. Grand Dignity Industrial Co. Ltd. 12. Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Co., Ltd. 13. Wanhua Petrochemical (Yantai) Co., Ltd. 14. Wanhua Chemical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. 15. Grand Dignity For Wanhua 16. Chiping Xinfa Polyvinyl Chloride Co., Ltd 17. Chiping Xinfa Huaxing Chemical Co., Ltd 18. Shandong Xinfa Import & Export Co., Ltd 19. Jiali Bio Group (Qingdao) Limited 20. Yue Xiu Textiles Co., Ltd 21. Xinjiang Zhongtai Import & Export Co., Ltd 22. Zhong Tai International Development (Hk) Limited 23. Xinjiang Shengxiong Chlor-Alkali Co., Ltd 24. Guangxi Huayi Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. 25. Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. 26. Joc International Technical Engineering Co., Ltd. 27. Tianjin Lg Bohai Chemical. Co. Ltd 28. LG Chem, Ltd. 29. Canko Marketing 30. TS Corporation 31. Ordos Junzheng Energy & Chemical Industry Co., Ltd 32. Inner Mongolia Junzheng Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. 33. Shaanxi Beiyuan Chemical Industry Group Co 34. Henan Pulite Import And Export Trade Co.,Limited 35. Chemdo Group Company Limited 36. United Raw Material Pte. Ltd. 37. Cosmoss Vu Limited 38. Tun Wa Industrial Co. Ltd. 39. SAR Overseas Limited 40. Kaneka Corporation 41. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd 42. Taiyo Vinyl Corporation 43. Tokuyama Corporation 44. Tokuyama Sekisui Co. Ltd 45. Tosoh Nikkemi Corporation 46. Mitsui & Co., Ltd 47. Mitsubishi Corporation 48. IVICT (Singapore) Pte. Ltd 49. Kanematsu Corporation 50. Marubeni Corporation 51. Sojitz Asia Pte Limited 52. PT Asahimas Chemical 53. AGC Vinythai Public Limited Company 54. GCM Polymer Trading DMCC Company Limited 55. PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited 56. Thai Polyethylene Co. Ltd 57. Thai Plastics and Chemicals Plc. 58. Qingdao Haiwan Chemical Co. Ltd. 59. CNSIG Jiltani Chlor – Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd. 60. China Salt Chemical International Trading Co. Ltd. 61. Yibin Haifeng Herui Co. Ltd. 62. Yibin Tianyuan Materials Industry Group Ltd. 63. Yibin Tianyuan Group Co. Ltd. 64. Tianjin Bohua Chemical Developments 65. Cheongfuli (Hongkong) Company Limited 66. Hanwa Corporation 67. Stavian Chemical JSC 68. Sunshine International Pvt Ltd 69. Texpo International Limited viii. Formosa Industries (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. has filed a response to supplementary questionnaire issued by the Authority and has claimed that it should be treated as operating in market economy conditions. No other producer from China has claimed market economy treatment. ix. The Authority sent importers and users’ questionnaire to the following known importers/users of the subject goods in India calling for necessary information in accordance with Rule 6(4) of the Rules: 1. Aasu Chemplast Private Limited 2. ABM International Limited 3. Aditya Industries 4. Amisha Vinyls Private Limited 5. Apollo Pipes Limited 6. Associated Capsules Limited 7. AVI Global Plast Private Limited 8. Avon Plastics Group 9. Caprihans India Limited 10. Chaitanya Impex Private Limited 11. Cooldeck Aqua Solutions Private Limited 12. Cosmos Corporation 13. D.R. Polymers Private Limited 14. Deluxe Kaaran Import Private Limited 15. Dhabriya Agglomerates Private Limited 16. Diamond Pipes & Tubes Private Limited 17. Dutron Plastics Private Limited 18. Fine Flow Plastic Industries Limited 19. Golden Group 20. Havells India 21. INCOM Cables Private Limited 22. Jain Irrigation Systems 23. Jewel Polymers Private Limited 24. JP Group 25. Kalpana Industries 26. Kisan Group Tex 27. KLJ Group 28. Krishna Vinyls Group 29. Kriti Industries (India) Ltd. 30. KS Plastics 31. Manish Packaging Private Limited 32. Maxx Impex Private Limited 33. Megha Industries 34. MM Plastics 35. Nouvelle Credits Private Limited 36. Omega Plasto Limited 37. Oriplast Limited 38. Oswal Cable Products Limited 39. Oxyde Chemicals & Polymers India Private Limited 40. Par Petrochem Limited 41. Poly Extrusions Private Limited 42. Polycab Cables Private Limited 43. Prakash Industries 44. Premier Polyfilm Limited 45. Prfint Crafts 46. Prince Pipes and Fittings Limited 47. R.S. Overseas Private Limited 48. Royal Cushion Vinyl Product Limited 49. Sam Polymers 50. Sandeep Organics Private Limited 51. Sankhla Industries 52. Shalimar Rexine India Limited 53. Shantilal Mahendra Kumar 54. Signet Overseas Limited 55. Sintex Industries Limited 56. Sudhakar Group 57. Supreme Industries 58. Surender Commercial 59. Tirupati Group 60. Varsha Corporation Private Limited 61. Veekay Polycoats Limited x. The following importers/users have participated in the present investigation by filing a response to the importers’ / users’ questionnaires issued by the Authority. 1. Alstone Green India Pvt Ltd 2. Asma Traexim Pvt. Ltd. 3. Atalantic Polymers Unit-II Pvt. Ltd. 4. Caprihans India Ltd 5. Prabitha Polymers 6. Purbanchal Composite Panel (I) Pvt. Ltd. 7. Shiv Industries 8. Sushila Parmar International Private Limited 9. Terra Polyplast PVT LTD 10. Wanhua International (India) Pvt. Ltd. 11. Yamuna Interiors Pvt. Ltd. xi. The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) has filed injury submission. xii. The Authority issued economic interest questionnaire to all interested parties and concerned ministry. The following parties have filed a response to the economic interest questionnaire. 1. Domestic industry 2. AGC Vinythai Public Limited Company 3. Alstone Green India Pvt Ltd 4. Asma Traexim Pvt. Ltd 5. Atalantic Polymers Unit-II Pvt. Ltd. 6. Cheongfuli (Hongkong) Company Limited 7. China Salt Chemical International Trading Co. Ltd. 8. CNSIG Jiltani Chlor – Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd. 9. GCM Polymer Trading DMCC Company Limited 10. Hanwha Corporation 11. IVICT (Singapore) Pte. Ltd 12. Kaneka Corporation 13. Kanematsu Corporation 14. Marubeni Corporation 15. Mitsubishi Corporation 16. Mitsui & Co., Ltd 17. Prabitha Polymers 18. PT Asahimas Chemical 19. PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited 20. Purbanchal Composite Panel (I) Pvt. Ltd. 21. Qingdao Haiwan Chemical Co. Ltd. 22. SAR Overseas Limited 23. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd 24. Shiv Industries 25. Sojitz Asia Pte Limited 26. Stavian Chemical JSC 27. Sunshine International Pvt Ltd 28. Sushila Parmar International Private Limited 29. Taiyo Vinyl Corporation 30. Terra Polyplast PVT LTD 31. Texpo International Limited 32. Thai Plastics and Chemicals Plc. 33. Thai Polyethylene Co. Ltd 34. Tianjin Bohua Chemical Developments 35. Tokuyama Corporation 36. Tokuyama Sekisui Co. Ltd 37. Tosoh Nikkemi Corporation 38. Yamuna Interiors Pvt. Ltd. 39. Yibin Haifeng Herui Co. Ltd. 40. Yibin Tianyuan Group Co. Ltd. 41. Yibin Tianyuan Materials Industry Group Ltd. xiii. Information provided by the interested parties on confidential basis was examined with regard to sufficiency of the confidentiality claims. On being satisfied, the Authority has accepted the confidentiality claims wherever warranted and such information has been considered as confidential and not disclosed to other interested parties. Wherever possible, parties providing information on confidential basis were directed to provide sufficient non-confidential version of the information filed on confidential basis. xiv. The interested parties were asked vide notification dated 25th June, 2024 and 30th July, 2024 to share the non-confidential version of the responses, submissions and evidence presented by them with the other interested parties. xv. The Authority conducted a meeting dated 30th April, 2024 where all the interested parties were invited to give their comments on the scope of the product under consideration and PCN methodology. Based on the submissions made by the interested parties, the Authority finalized the scope of the product under consideration and the PCN methodology vide notification dated 13th May, 2024. xvi. Request was made to the DG Systems to provide the transaction-wise details of imports of the subject goods for the past three years, and the period of investigation, which was received by the Authority. The Authority has relied upon the DG Systems data for computation of the volume of imports and its analysis after due examination of the transactions. xvii. The Non-Injurious Price (NIP) has been determined based on the cost of production and cost to make & sell the subject goods in India based on the information furnished by the domestic industry, maintained as per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), has been worked out so as to ascertain whether the present interim anti-dumping duty would be sufficient to remove injury to the domestic industry. xviii. The period of investigation for the purpose of the present anti-dumping investigation is from 1st October, 2022 to 30th September, 2023 (12 Months). The injury investigation period has been considered as the period from 1st April, 2020 - 31st March, 2021, 1st April, 2021 – 31st March, 2022, 1st April, 2022 – 31st March, 2023 and the period of investigation. xix. The information/data submitted by the applicants has been examined during desk study and relied upon for the purpose of preliminary findings, which will be verified at the appropriate stage from the original records of the applicants. xx. '***' in this preliminary finding represents information furnished on confidential basis and so considered by the Authority under the Rules. xxi. The exchange rate adopted by the Authority for the subject investigation is 1USD = ₹ 83.21 C. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION AND LIKE ARTICLE C.1 Submissions by the other interested parties 4. The following submissions have been made by the other interested parties with regard to the product under consideration and like article. i. While the domestic industry has claimed that K-Value is the most important parameter, no PCN has been proposed on the basis of K-Value. The cost and price of various grades of PVC ranges between 15-20%. ii. There is a need to devise PCN based on production process. However, other interested parties stated that the PCN-Wise assessment is not warranted in the present investigation. iii. The product excluded from the scope of the product under consideration should be specifically mentioned in the duty table. iv. Only the grades commercially produced and sold by the domestic industry during the period of investigation should be included within the scope of the product under consideration. v. Grade HRTP4000, LS070, LS170 and LS300 produced by LG Chem should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as it is ultra-high molecular weight PVC. vi. Grades SG840, SM760, SM76E and SM84E produced by TPE should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as they contain higher K-value compared to grades produced by the domestic industry. The price of such grades is higher than the grades supplied by the domestic industry. These grades are not produced by the domestic industry and are not commercially substitutable with the grades produced by the domestic industry. vii. Grades S-400 : KV51, S1007 : KV58, S1008 : KV61, S1004 : KV73, KS-1700 : KV77, KS-2500 : KV85 and KS-3000 : KV88 produced by Kaneka Corporation should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as like article for such grades is not produced by the domestic industry. viii. Grades TK-2500HE, GR-600S, GR-700S, TK-800, TK-500, TK-600, TK-1700E, TK-2000E, TK 2500LS, TK-2500HS, TK-2500PE, GR-800T, GR-1300T, GR-1300S, and GR-2500S produced by Shin-Etsu should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as the domestic industry does not produce a like article to these grades. ix. Grades ZEST 700Z, ZEST 1000Z and ZEST 1300SI produced by Tokuyama should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as the domestic industry does not produce a like article to these grades. x. Taiyo produces Ethylene and PVC Copolymer, EVA PVC Graft Copolymer and Modified High Polymerization PVC Resin which are copolymer PVC and cross-linked PVC, such products should be considered outside the scope of the product under consideration. xi. Grades TH-800, TH-1700, TH-2500, TH-2800, TH-3000 and TH-3800 produced by Taiyo should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as the domestic industry does not produce a like article to these grades. xii. Grade TL700 should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as it has a very low-K value which is not produced by the domestic industry. xiii. Grade WH800 produced by Wanhua should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as the same falls in the range of K-Value 60-64 which is not produced by the domestic industry. xiv. PVC resin off grade, PVC resin floor sweep, PVC resin pond resin (PVC off grade) should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration as these are mixed with prime grades in order to produce flooring. Such product is imported in smaller quantities and is priced much lower than the prime grade. xv. PVC Suspension Resins with K value 57 should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration since the same is not produced by the domestic industry. xvi. The domestic industry is not supplying K value 55 and 60 and such product should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration. xvii. The scope of the product under consideration may be revised as the domestic industry has the capacity to manufacture PVC Suspension Resins with K-Value from 57 to 72 only. xviii. The reason for excluding mass polymerization from the scope of the product under consideration must be clarified since both are used to produce CPVC and have similar specifications and applications. xix. The user industry is using specialty grade of PVC Suspension Resins which are similar to characteristics of mass PVC for manufacturing C-PVC. Since the domestic industry is not supplying the same or technically and commercially substitutable grade, it should be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration. xx. The grades imported by Epigral are of higher porosity and higher apparent density. Such grades are not supplied by the domestic industry. xxi. The domestic industry also imports specialty grades for manufacturing C-PVC and does not use PVC manufactured by it captively. This is evident from the transcript of investors call of DCW Limited. Thus, such grades are not produced by the domestic industry. C.2 Submissions made by the Domestic Industry 5. The submissions made by the domestic industry with regard to product under consideration and like article are as follows: i. The product under consideration is Homopolymer of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (suspension grade) also known as PVC Suspension Resins. ii. PVC Resins produced through emulsion polymerization process, bulk mass polymerization process and micro suspension polymerization process are excluded from the scope of the product under consideration. iii. The scope of the product under consideration excludes cross-linked PVC, CPVC, VC-Vac, PVC Paste Resins, Mass Polymerization PVC and PVC Blending Resin. iv. The subject goods are manufactured using vinyl chloride monomer which is polymerized through suspension process. Vinyl chloride monomer can be obtained through either EDC (ethylene) route or carbide route. In either case, the final product is the same. v. The product under consideration has a dedicated HS code 39041020. However, 17% of the imports of the product under consideration have been made under other HS Codes during the period of investigation. vi. There is no need for PCN wise analysis in the present investigation. Contrary submissions have been made by the other interested parties with regard to need for PCNs. Most of the interested parties have submitted that PCNs are not required. vii. As opposed to the submissions of the other interested parties, PCN based on production process is not required since the production process does not lead to change in price of the product and the difference is less than 5%. viii. As opposed to the submissions made by Hanwha, the price of product does not vary significantly between various K-values. ix. The domestic industry produces PVC Suspension Resins with K-Value between 57 and 75.5 and there is a + / - 1 K-value tolerance. The Authority may exclude product with K value below 56 and above 76 from the scope of the product under consideration. x. A product type can be excluded only if it is imported into India and a like article is not offered by the domestic industry. No exclusion is warranted for the product types not imported into India. xi. As opposed to the submissions of the other interested parties, there is nothing called a specialty grade of PVC Suspension resins. In case, an exclusion is given for “specialty grades”, the exporters may classify everything as specialty grade and circumvent the duty. xii. In case there were some “specialty grades” of PVC, the cost of production of such grades should have been different, but Epigral Limited has not filed any submission regarding different PCN for such grades. xiii. As analysed from import data, Epigral Limited has imported regular grade of the product under consideration which has also been imported by other consumers in India. xiv. Since DCW Limited commenced production of CPVC in the new plant, it is using its own PVC suspension resins for making CPVC. Further, the company used SPVC produced by other producers to test suitability of different SPVC for making CPVC. It is not regularly importing any foreign producer’s material for manufacturing of CPVC. DCW plans to use its own PVC suspension resins for production of CPVC. xv. DCW purchased SPVC from a number of traders during the period of investigation for testing the same in its CPVC plant. At this time, the domestic industry was testing use of SPVC for manufacturing CPVC. xvi. DCW Limited has used PVC suspension resins manufactured by various suppliers for manufacturing CPVC. xvii. Reliance Industries Limited is also setting up a new plant for C-PVC and plans to use captively produced PVC Suspension Resins. xviii. IS 17988 related to C-PVC does not mention any specialty grade for manufacturing C-PVC but only mentions PVC Suspension Resins. Further, even the investor call for Epigral Limited does not mention any specialty grade for C-PVC. xix. All domestic producers of the subject goods hold BIS licenses for manufacturing PVC Suspension resins and adhere to the standards specified. xx. BIS standards do not mention porosity or heat stability as one of the essential characteristics of PVC suspension resins. xxi. While DCW Limited holds BIS license to manufacture CPVC, Epigral Limited does not even hold a BIS license in this regard. xxii. Epigral Limited produces only 2 grades of CPVC, namely, MM67K and MM57K and has imported mass PVC as well as suspension PVC from various manufacturers. This establishes the interchangeability of different suspension resins for manufacturing CPVC. xxiii. Since PVC suspension resins are manufactured in batches, no two batches have exact same specifications which is evident from the range specified in BIS as well as TDS. Thus, Epigral has used PVC of different specifications to manufacture CPVC. xxiv. SPVC supplied by the Indian industry has porosity and apparent viscosity both lower and higher than grades imported by Epigral. xxv. Epigral cannot claim its viability based on dumped prices of PVC. Since it uses Mass PVC as well which is higher priced, its viability will not be impacted due to fair prices of PVC suspension resins. xxvi. Epigral has not shown that it has approached domestic producers of the product and tested their product for manufacturing CPVC and hence, found that the grades manufactured by the domestic industry are not appropriate for manufacturing CPVC. xxvii. The product manufactured by the domestic industry is commercially and technically substitutable and is being used by the consumers interchangeably. Thus, product produced by the domestic industry is like article to the product imported from the subject countries. C.3 Examination by the Authority 6. At the time of initiation of the present investigation, the Authority considered the product under consideration as “Homopolymer of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (suspension grade)” also known as PVC Suspension Resin. This type of resin has various polymer chains that are not linked to each other. The product under consideration has also been referred to as “Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) Resin”, “Suspension Grade” or “PVC Suspension Resin”. 7. The Authority conducted a meeting dated 30th April, 2024 regarding scope of the product under consideration and PCN. Post receiving comments from all the interested parties, and after examining them, the scope of the product under consideration was modified vide notification dated 13th May 2024 to exclude certain product types. The Authority has considered the product under consideration as following for the purpose of the present investigation. “Homopolymer of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (suspension grade) also known as PVC Suspension Resin manufactured through suspension polymerisation process with K-value above 55 and upto 77.” 8. The Authority notes that the other interested parties have requested exclusion for specialty grade of PVC Suspension Resins used for manufacturing C-PVC. The domestic industry has submitted that there is nothing called “specialty grade” of PVC Suspension Resins. As per the analysis of import data, and information made available by interested parties, Epigral has imported the grades of PVC Suspension Resins which have also been imported by other importers (non-manufacturers of C-PVC) in India, as well as by DCW Ltd during the post POI. 9. The Authority notes that the Bureau of Indian Standards has issued “IS 17988:2022” related to C-PVC. The relevant extract of the said standard is as below. “5.1 Basic Resin: CPVC resin is manufactured by chlorination of PVC Homopolymer confirming to IS 17658” The Authority notes that the standard does not refer to any specialty grade of PVC Suspension Resins for manufacturing C-PVC. 10. The Authority notes that as per the evidence on record, the domestic industry holds the BIS license for manufacturing PVC suspension resins and it produces the subject goods as per the specifications listed in the BIS standards. Further, the domestic industry has provided evidence of grade wise comparison of imported product with the product manufactured by the domestic producers. It is noted that the domestic producers of subject goods have produced like article to the product imported from the subject countries. 11. As per the evidence on record only DCW Limited holds license for manufacturing of CPVC. DCW Limited has provided evidence that it has used captively produced subject goods for manufacturing CPVC as well as used grades supplied by multiple producers. Thus, it is provisionally noted that there is no requirement for a specific grade of subject goods for manufacturing C-PVC. 12. With regard to the submissions that the domestic industry does not manufacture and supply like article to grades used for manufacturing C-PVC, the Authority notes the following as per the press release of DCW Limited: “DCW Limited's competitive edge lies in its ability to use its own S-PVC (Suspension PVC) as a raw material when market conditions are favourable. This capability guarantees a consistent quality and supply of inputs for CPVC production, further strengthening the company’s position in the market.” Hence, it is provisionally concluded that the domestic industry has the capacity to manufacture and supply grades used for manufacturing of C-PVC. 13. Further, the Authority notes that prior to issuance of the present preliminary findings, Epigral Limited had approached Hon’ble Gujarat High Court against the ongoing investigation for consideration of the exclusion request. The Hon’ble Court held that the petition filed was pre-mature, and was accordingly dismissed. 14. The Authority notes that Epigral Limited has requested exclusion of few grades of PVC Suspension Resins terming the same as “specialty grades”. Epigral has claim confidentiality with regard to its additional submissions on exclusion of specialised grades imported for manufacture of C-PVC. Such confidentiality claimed is excessive and thus, does not allow other interested parties including the domestic industry to rebut the claims made by Epigral. The Authority is advising to Epigral to share a proper non-confidential version of the submissions which allow reasonable understanding of the same. The Authority intends to examine the issue of exclusions requested by Epigral post circulation of such submissions and receiving comments from the domestic industry, thereafter. 15. The interested parties may provide further information and evidence with regard to the possible need for exclusion of any grade. The authority would consider all the submissions made by Epigral, domestic industry and interested parties for the purpose of final determination, after providing opportunity of submissions by the interested parties and an opportunity of being heard orally. 16. The product under consideration in the present investigation excludes the following i. Ultra-Low K-Value PVC Suspension Resins (K-value upto 55) ii. Ultra-High K-Value PVC Suspension Resins (K-value above 77) iii. Cross-linked PVC iv. Chlorinated PVC (CPVC), v. Vinyl chloride – vinyl acetate copolymer (VC-VAC), vi. PVC paste resin/emulsion resins vii. Mass Polymerisation PVC viii. Polyvinyl Chloride Blending Resins. Further, PVC resins manufactured through emulsion polymerisation, PVC resins manufactured through bulk mass polymerization, and PVC resins manufactured through micro suspension polymerization process are also excluded from the scope of the product under consideration. 17. PVC Suspension Resins is produced using suspension polymerization technology. In order to produce the subject goods, Vinyl Chloride Monomer (“VCM”) is converted into Vinyl Polymer through polymerization process. VCM is either produced using ethylene dichloride (“EDC”) or by using Calcium Carbide (“Carbide”). PVC produced vide ethylene route as well as carbide route is included within the scope of the product under consideration. 18. The Authority notes that a number of interested parties have filed comments on requirement of PCN in the present investigation. Most of the interested parties have submitted that there is no requirement of PCN in the present investigation. The Authority notes that there have been a number of investigations into imports of the product under consideration from various countries in the past, and the Authority has not adopted any PCN in any of the past investigations. 19. The interested parties, which have requested for adoption of a PCN methodology, have based the same on K Value and the production process. However, the foreign producers have not provided any information to show that there is a substantial difference in the costs of the products produced having different K-values. As per the data available on record, the cost and price of the product does not vary significantly between different K-Values. Further, the price of the product under consideration does not vary based on the production process as the final product manufactured using both the routes is the same and is used by the users interchangeably. Accordingly, there is no requirement of PCN in the present investigation. 20. With regard to the contention that certain grades produced by certain foreign producers must be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration, the Authority notes that the domestic industry has provided evidence that it produces PVC Suspension Resins with K-value 57 and 75.5. The Authority has excluded ultra-low and ultra-high k-value which has not been manufactured by the domestic industry. The grades specified by the other interested parties with ultra-low K value and ultra-high K value have been automatically excluded with the said exclusions. 21. With regard to the grades which fall within the range of K-value included in the product under consideration, the Authority notes that the like article for such grade has been supplied by the domestic industry and hence, there is no need for exclusion of such product from the scope of the product under consideration. 22. With regard to exclusion of off-grade PVC, the Authority notes that off-grade product cannot be excluded from the scope of the product under consideration. Off-grade product is not produced specifically by any manufacturer but is a result of the normal production process of any article. Merely because a product has been sold as off-grade product, the same does not imply that it does not constitute product under consideration. It is also noted in this regard that the Authority has consistently held that the mere difference in quality is immaterial to decide the scope of the product under consideration. Further, exclusion of off-grade PVC is likely to lead to circumvention of anti-dumping duty. In any case, the interested parties have not provided any evidence to demonstrate that these lower quality grades are not competing with the like article manufactured by the domestic industry. 23. The subject goods are classified under Chapter 39 of Schedule I to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 under the Customs classification 3904 10 20. However, the product under consideration is also being imported under HS Codes 3904 10 90, 3904 21 00, 3904 10 10, 3904 22 00, 3904 90 10, 3904 90 90, 3904 30 00 and 3904 21 10. The Customs classification is only indicative and is not binding on the scope of the product under consideration. 24. The product produced by the domestic industry is like article to the goods imported from the subject countries. The product produced by the domestic industry and imported from the subject countries are comparable in terms of physical & chemical properties, functions & uses, product specifications, pricing, distribution & marketing and tariff classification of the goods. Even though there are different manufacturing process/technologies involved for production of the subject goods, the end product has comparable specifications and is used interchangeably. The product produced by the domestic industry and imported into India from the subject country is technically and commercially substitutable, and the consumers are using the two interchangeably. In view of the same, the product manufactured by the domestic industry has been considered as like article to the product imported into India, in accordance with Rule 2(d) of the Rules. D. SCOPE OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY & STANDING D.1 Submission of other interested parties 25. No submissions have been made by the other interested parties with regard to the scope of the domestic industry and standing. D.2 Submissions made by the Domestic Industry 26. The submissions made by the domestic industry with regard to scope of the domestic industry and standing are as follows: i. The application has been filed by Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Limited, DCM Shriram Limited and DCW Limited. ii. There are two other domestic producers in India, namely, Finolex Industries Limited and Reliance Industries Limited. The other domestic producers have imported the product under consideration from the subject countries during the period of investigation. Thus, such producers should be considered ineligible for constituting the domestic industry in the present investigation. iii. Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Limited and DCW Limited produce the subject goods using the EDC Route, while DCM Shriram Limited produces the subject goods using the carbide route. iv. The applicants have not imported the product under consideration from the subject countries and are not related to any importer in India or any exporter from the subject countries. v. In case, the other domestic producers are considered ineligible, the applicants account for 100% production of like article in India. vi. In case, the other domestic producers are not considered ineligible, the applicants still account for a major proportion of domestic production in India and thus, satisfy the requirement as per Rule 2(b) and Rule 5 of the Anti-Dumping Rules. D.3 Examination by the Authority 27. Rule 2(b) of the Rules defines domestic industry as follows: “(b) "domestic industry" means the domestic producers as a whole engaged in the manufacture of the like article and any activity connected therewith or those whose collective output of the said article constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of that article except when such producers are related to the exporters or importers of the alleged dumped article or are themselves importers thereof in such case the term 'domestic industry' may be construed as referring to the rest of the producers.” 28. The application for initiation of the present investigation has been filed by Chemplast Cuddalore Private Limited, DCM Shriram Limited and DCW Limited. The applicants have submitted that there are two other producers of the subject goods in India, that is Finolex Industries Limited and Reliance Industries Limited. It is noted that the applicants have not imported the product under consideration and are not related to any importer in India or any exporter from the subject countries. 29. The applicants have submitted that the other domestic producers have imported the product under consideration from the subject countries during the period of investigation. The Authority notes that the other domestic producers have not made any submissions in this regard. Accordingly, the Authority has relied upon the data received from DG Systems and the submissions made by the applicants. Since Finolex Industries Limited and Reliance Industries Limited are involved in importing the product under consideration, the Authority has, provisionally, considered them ineligible for the purpose of determining standing of domestic industry. 30. Accordingly, the Authority, provisionally, holds that for the purpose of this investigation, the applicants account for 100% of the domestic production in India and satisfy the standing requirement of Rule 2(b) read with Rule 5(3) of the Rules. 31. The Authority further notes that, in case, the production of Finolex Industries Limited and Reliance Industries Limited are considered for the purpose of determining standing, the applicants still account for major proportion of domestic production in India and thus, satisfy the requirement of Rule 2(b) read with Rule 5(3) of the Rules. E. CONFIDENTIALITY E.1 Submission of other interested parties 32. The following submissions have been made by the other interested parties with regard to confidentiality. i. The applicants have claimed excessive confidentiality as they have failed to share aggregate data for sales value, sales value and price for captive consumption, PBIT, interest and finance cost, depreciation and amortization expenses and calculation of non-injurious price and normal value. ii. The applicants have not provided sales quantity, price and value under two separate headings, that is, domestic sales – SSI and domestic sales – other than SSI. iii. The domestic industry has not disclosed the name of the producer whose information has been used to calculate the normal value for countries other than China PR. iv. The domestic industry has claimed the details of plant shutdown confidential when the information for DCW Limited is already in the public domain. v. While the applicants have claimed that they have not imported the product under consideration during the period of investigation, imports have been reported in Proforma IV-A which have been claimed confidential. vi. Quantum of anti-dumping duty considered for calculation of impact has not been disclosed. vii. The applicants have claimed the entire sentences confidential in the petition due to which the other interested parties are unable to comprehend the information submitted. viii. The domestic industry has not provided details of funds raised in the application. E.2 Submissions made by the Domestic Industry 33. The submissions made by the domestic industry with regard to confidentiality are as follows: i. A number of foreign producers have claimed the names of traders and exporters which have exported their product to India confidential. ii. A number of producers / exporters have claimed excessive confidentiality as they have not disclosed the distribution and marketing channel as well as details about related companies, nature of expenses claimed as adjustment, production process and names of raw material. iii. Product catalogue and brochure as well as list of products sold which is routinely shared with the customers have been claimed confidential. iv. A number of parties have not provided justification for confidentiality in accordance with Trade Notice 01/2013. v. A number of producers and exporters have claimed company affiliations, shareholding and names of producers of the product exported by them as confidential. vi. Details and nature of post invoicing discount given has been claimed confidential. vii. The other interested parties have not adhered to the requirement of Trade Notice 10/2018. viii. Formosa Industries (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. has not provided the organization chart and structure to enable the domestic industry to comment upon the involvement of Government of China in the functioning of the entity. List of shareholders, details of whether raw material and utilities have been purchased from related or unrelated entity situated in China, selection procedure for recruitment of personnels and governing laws have been claimed confidential. E.3 Examination by the Authority 34. Rule 7 of the Anti-Dumping Rules provides as follows: “7. Confidential Information: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rules (2), (3) and (7) of rule 6, sub-rule (2) of rule 12, sub-rule (4) of rule 15 and sub-rule (4) of rule 17, the copies of applications received under sub-rule (1) of rule 5, or any other information provided to the designated authority on a confidential basis by any party in the course of investigation, shall, upon the designated authority being satisfied as to its confidentiality, be treated as such by it and no such information shall be disclosed to any other party without specific authorization of the party providing such information. (2) The designated authority may require the interested parties providing information on confidential basis to furnish non-confidential summary thereof and if, in the opinion of a party providing such information, such information is not susceptible of summary, such party may submit to the designated authority a statement of reasons why summarisation is not possible. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2), if the designated authority is satisfied that the request for confidentiality is not warranted or the supplier of the information is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in a generalized or summary form, it may disregard such information.” 35. The information provided by all the interested parties on confidential basis was examined with regard to sufficiency of the confidentiality claims. On being satisfied, the Authority has accepted the confidentiality claims, wherever warranted and such information has been considered confidential and not disclosed to the other interested parties. Wherever possible, the parties providing information on confidential basis were directed to provide sufficient non-confidential version of the information filed on confidential basis. 36. A list of all registered interested parties was uploaded on the DGTR’s website along with the request therein to all of them to email the non-confidential version of their submissions to all the other interested parties. 37. With regard to the submissions that the domestic industry has not shared certain parameters, the Authority notes that certain parameters do not form part of the requirements notified vide Trade Notice No. 05/2021. With regard to the pricing information not disclosed by the domestic industry, the Authority notes that the domestic industry has submitted that such information is business proprietary in nature and disclosure of same will adversely impact its interest in the market and provide an estimate of prices being charged and margins being retained by the applicants to other domestic producers, exporters as well as the consumers of the product. Disclosure of such average pricing would also allow the customers to benchmark the prices being paid by them, versus the average price in the market. The Authority has hence, accepted the confidentiality claim of the domestic industry in this regard. F. MISCELLENEOUS SUBMISSIONS F.1 Submission by the other interested parties 38. The following miscellaneous submissions have been made by the other interested parties. i. The import data filed by the applicants in the form and manner that it was taken on record must be shared with the other interested parties. ii. The applicants must submit and circulate updated petition for the period of investigation considered by the Authority in the initiation notification. iii. Initiation of the present investigation is without any basis as the applicants have not presented substantive evidence to prove condition of initiation of anti-dumping investigations. iv. The applicants are taking undue advantage of anti-dumping duty as the product has been subject to anti-dumping duty for a long period of time. v. There is a need to select a longer period of investigation as the PVC prices were low during the base year and increased significantly due to COVID-19. The prices have stabilized only in 2023. vi. The domestic producers in India have increased their prices after initiation of the present investigation. F.2 Submissions made by the Domestic Industry 39. The following miscellaneous submissions have been made by the domestic industry. i. PLEXCONCIL does not have locus standi as an interested party in the present investigation since it is an association of exporters and not importers or users and the submissions made by such association should not be considered. F.3 Examination by the Authority 40. The other interested parties have submitted that the domestic industry must share the import data. The Authority notes that the domestic industry has relied upon its market intelligence at the time of filing the application and the summary of the import data has been shared will all the interested parties. A non confidential summary of the same was shared with all interested parties. None of the interested parties have provided any cogent evidence to refute the information contained in the non-confidential version of the import data. 41. With regard to the contention that the domestic industry is required to file updated petition based on the period of investigation decided by the Authority in the initiation notification, the Authority notes that the domestic industry has submitted and circulated updated data based on the period of investigation considered by the Authority. There is no requirement for the domestic industry to file an updated petition post initiation of investigation. A petition is filed under Rule 5 of the Anti-Dumping Rules for the purpose of initiation of anti-dumping investigation. However, once the investigation is initiated, Rule 6 becomes applicable, which does not require the domestic industry to file a petition. In any case, the updated data has been circulated to all the interested parties and hence, no prejudice has been caused to the interest of any party. 42. The Authority does not find merit in contention of the other interested parties that the present investigation is initiated without any basis. The Authority notes that the domestic industry had submitted the prima facie evidence of dumping, injury and causal link in their application. Only after examining the prima facie evidence, the Authority proceeded to initiate the present investigation. 43. With regard to the contention that the applicants are taking undue advantage of trade remedial measures, the Authority notes that the subject goods have been subject to anti-dumping duty in various investigations. The anti-dumping duty has been recommended by the Authority on being satisfied with regard to evidence of dumping, injury and causal link. In each of the findings, the Authority has examined the relevant parameters and have come to a conclusion that the exporters have engaged in unfair trade practice of dumping. Accordingly, the anti-dumping duty has been recommended. 44. With regard to selection of longer period of investigation, the Authority has selected the period of investigation as per the Rules and trade notices. Since the Authority has examined the performance of the domestic industry as well as imports in the period of investigation compared to base year as well as year on year performance, no prejudice has been caused to the interest of any interested party for selecting a one year long period of investigation. 45. The Authority notes that the increase in selling price of the subject goods by the domestic producers have to be seen in light of the changes in the cost of sales of the subject goods. Mere change in selling price alone is not sufficient to show that the dumping of subject goods in India has stopped causing injury to the domestic industry. G. MARKET ECONOMY TREATMENT (MET), NORMAL VALUE, EXPORT PRICE & DETERMINATION OF DUMPING MARGIN G.1 Submissions by the other interested parties 46. The following submissions have been made by the other interested parties with regard to the market economy treatment, normal value, export price and dumping margin. i. The dumping margin determined by the domestic industry is inflated and the actual data of the exporters must be used to determine the normal value, export price and dumping margin. ii. While Formosa Taiwan has participated in the present investigation, its related party Formosa USA has not exported to India during the period of investigation directly or indirectly and thus, has not filed a response. iii. China PR cannot be treated as a non-market economy the practice of treating China PR as a non market economy was bound to expire on 11th December 2016. iv. Appellate Body report in Fastener case against EU has provided strong justification that China PR should automatically obtain market-economy status. v. Following the principles of “pacta sunt servanda”, India is obligated under the international law to recognize China PR as a market economy. Article 15 of China’s accession protocol clearly establishes that no country can treat China PR as a non-market economy post 11th December 2016. India does not have a legal basis to do otherwise. vi. The sampling has been notified at a belated stage, that is, after 80 days of the initiation, contrary to what has been provided for in the Manual. vii. Sufficient time has not been provided to the interested parties for filing comments on sampling notification. viii. Reason for not undertaking sampling in case of USA must be given, as the difference in approach taken for sampling for Japan and USA is arbitrary. Sampling of producers from Japan and not the US, indicates discretion contrary to the obligation under Rule 17(3). ix. Sampling must not be undertaken as the subject goods constitute of many grades, all of which are not produced by all of the producers. x. Sampling was not undertaken in previous investigations with multiple subject countries. xi. In the Sunset Review Investigation of PVC from Taiwan, China PR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea RP, Malaysia, Thailand and USA, sampling was undertaken for only for producers from China PR. xii. Since the exporters have filed voluntary responses, the same must be considered for determination of individual dumping margin in accordance with Rule 17 (3) of the AD Rules 1995 and Article 6.10.2 of Anti-dumping Agreement. The term “shall” used under Rule 17(3) creates a mandatory obligation to determine an individual dumping margin for a voluntary respondent. xiii. Tianjin and Wanhua Group must be sampled for individual margin as they have significant share in Indian market, are regular suppliers of the subject goods, and their exports are comparable to exports made by sampled exporters. xiv. Tianjin and Formosa Industries (Ningbo) Co. Ltd. are 100% FDI companies, unlike the sampled companies, and operate under market economy conditions. Formosa has also filed a Market Economy Treatment questionnaire. xv. Wanhua Group must be sampled as it produces the subject goods with an ethylene-based process, comparable with the domestic industry; which has higher prices and will be subject to a lower duty. xvi. The sample companies notified for China PR are located in North China. Yibin Haifeng Herui Co, (along with its related traders) are located in South China and operate on different costs and sales prices. Yubin Herui, Yibin Tianyuan and Yibin Tianyuan Materials must be included in the sample. G.2 Submissions by the Domestic Industry 47. The following submissions have been made by the domestic industry with regard to market economy treatment, normal value, export price and dumping margin: i. China PR should be treated as a non-market economy in accordance with Article 15(a)(i) of China’s accession protocol, and the normal value should be determined in accordance with Para 7 of Annexure I to the Rules. ii. The normal value for the China PR has been determined based on cost of production of [DCM Shriram Limited] duly adjusted for selling, general and administrative expenses and reasonable profits. iii. The normal value for other subject countries has been determined based on cost of production of [ Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Limited] duly adjusted for selling, general and administrative expenses and reasonable profits. iv. The applicants have made adjustments with regard to ocean freight, marine insurance, commission, port expenses, bank charges and inland freight in order to determine ex-factory export price. v. The dumping margin is positive and significant. vi. 28 producers/exporters from China and 5 producers/exporters from Japan have filed questionnaire responses as per the interested party list, which is a high number to permit individual determination. vii. Given low volumes of exports by certain parties, it is obvious that their product profile and exports pattern is not representative of exports into India, in terms of both product profile and time period. viii. In the past, Chinese producers who have had negligible export volumes in the period of investigation, after getting individual lower duty, flood the Indian market, such as in the case of PET resin. ix. Global norm in sampling is to consider at most three companies: a. In Ceramic Tiles from India, Europe originally considered three companies and refused to extend sampling size to four companies even following aggressive representations from the company at number 4. b. In Wood Pulp from Canada, the MOFCOM refused to individually determine dumping margin for the company at number 3, even though the companies in the first three places were exporting almost equal volume. c. In Ceramic Tiles and Sanitarywares, the GCC sampled three companies while keeping a reserve of 2 companies, as is the standard of practice in the GCC. d. The USA considers more than two companies as ‘unduly burdensome’. In the matter of Quartz Surface from India, out of 50 companies considered, investigation and determination of dumping margin was carried out only for two companies, the results of which were extended to the others. x. Filing of questionnaire response on voluntary basis cannot be grounds to determine individual dumping margin. xi. Exports of niche grade or special products cannot be grounds for inclusion in the sampled group as such supply would indicate that the response and the data of the company would not be representative of the responding companies and imports from China PR. G.3 Examination by the Authority 48. The Authority had sent questionnaires to the known producers/exporters from the subject countries, advising them to provide the information in the form and manner prescribed by the Authority. Responses to questionnaire response has been filed by the following producers/exporters. i. Inner Mongolia Chemical Industry Company Ltd. ii. Inner Mongolia Erdos Electric Power and Metallurgy Group Co., Ltd. iii. Formosa Industries (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. iv. Formosa Plastics Corporation v. Simosa International Co. Ltd. vi. Itochu Plastics Pte., Ltd. vii. ITOCHU Corporation viii. ITOCHU (Thailand) Ltd. ix. China General Plastics Corporation x. CGPC Polymer Corporation xi. Grand Dignity Industrial Co. Ltd. xii. Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Co., Ltd. xiii. Wanhua Petrochemical (Yantai) Co., Ltd. xiv. Wanhua Chemical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. xv. Grand Dignity xvi. Chiping Xinfa Polyvinyl Chloride Co., Ltd xvii. Chiping Xinfa Huaxing Chemical Co., Ltd xviii. Shandong Xinfa Import & Export Co., Ltd xix. Jiali Bio Group (Qingdao) Limited xx. Yue Xiu Textiles Co., Ltd xxi. Xinjiang Zhongtai Import & Export Co., Ltd xxii. Zhong Tai International Development (HK) Limited xxiii. Xinjiang Shengxiong Chlor-Alkali Co., Ltd xxiv. Guangxi Huayi Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. xxv. Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. xxvi. Joc International Technical Engineering Co., Ltd. xxvii. Tianjin Lg Bohai Chemical. Co. Ltd xxviii. LG Chem, Ltd. xxix. Canko Marketing xxx. TS Corporation xxxi. Ordos Junzheng Energy & Chemical Industry Co., Ltd xxxii. Inner Mongolia Junzheng Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. xxxiii. Shaanxi Beiyuan Chemical Industry Group Co xxxiv. Henan Pulite Import And Export Trade Co., Limited xxxv. Chemdo Group Company Limited xxxvi. United Raw Material Pte. Ltd. xxxvii. Cosmoss Vu Limited xxxviii. Tun Wa Industrial Co. Ltd. xxxix. SAR Overseas Limited xl. Kaneka Corporation xli. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd xlii. Taiyo Vinyl Corporation xliii. Tokuyama Corporation xliv. Tokuyama Sekisui Co. Ltd xlv. Tosoh Nikkemi Corporation xlvi. Mitsui & Co., Ltd xlvii. Mitsubishi Corporation xlviii. IVICT (Singapore) Pte. Ltd xlix. Kanematsu Corporation l. Marubeni Corporation li. Sojitz Asia Pte Limited lii. PT Asahimas Chemical liii. AGC Vinythai Public Limited Company liv. GCM Polymer Trading DMCC Company Limited lv. PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited lvi. Thai Polyethylene Co. Ltd lvii. Thai Plastics and Chemicals Plc. lviii. Qingdao Haiwan Chemical Co. Ltd. lix. CNSIG Jiltani Chlor – Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd. lx. China Salt Chemical International Trading Co. Ltd. lxi. Yibin Haifeng Herui Co. Ltd. lxii. Yibin Tianyuan Materials Industry Group Ltd. lxiii. Yibin Tianyuan Group Co. Ltd. lxiv. Tianjin Bohua Chemical Developments lxv. Cheongfuli (Hongkong) Company Limited lxvi. Hanwa Corporation lxvii. Stavian Chemical JSC lxviii. Sunshine International Pvt Ltd lxix. Texpo International Limited 49. As per the provisions of Rule 17, while the Authority shall determine individual dumping margin in respect of all those producers/exporters who have filed questionnaire responses, in a situation where a large number of producers/ exporters have filed questionnaire responses, the Authority may resort to sampling by limiting the response to a limited number of producers. The Rules provides as follows in this regard. 17(3) The designated authority shall determine an individual margin of dumping for each known exporter or producer concerned of the article under investigation: Provided that in cases where the number of exporters, producers, importers or types of articles involved are so large as to make such determination impracticable, it may limit its findings either to a reasonable number of interested parties or articles by using statistically valid samples based on information available at the time of selection, or to the largest percentage of the volume of the exports from the country in question which can reasonably be investigated, and any selection, of exporters, producers, or types of articles, made under this proviso shall preferably be made in consultation with and with the consent of the exporters, producers or importers concerned : Provided further that the designated authority shall, determine an individual margin of dumping for any exporter or producer, though not selected initially, who submit necessary information in time, except where the number of exporters or producers are so large that individual examination would be unduly burdensome and prevent the timely completion of the investigation. 50. In view of the large number of responses, the Authority considered sampling of producers. The same was proposed vide notification dated 28th August 2024. After receiving comments from various parties, the sampled producers were notified vide notification dated 23rd September 2024. The sample considered was based on the volume of exports to India, with the producers having the largest volume of exports, being considered as a part of the sample. The Authority notes that even though only three producers are selected within sample, the number of producers/exporters, for whom duty would be quantified, is much higher. 51. The interested parties have contended that the time allowed for furnishing comments on sampling was too low. The Authority notes that 2 working days were allowed to all interested parties. However, no request for further time was received from any party. 52. Some of the interested parties have questioned why no sampling has been proposed for USA. The Authority notes that in case of USA, a response has been filed by

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