CVD investigation imports of Calcined Gypsum Powder Originating exported from Egypt

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-21032026-271120 EXTRAORDINARY PART I-Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 62] | NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026/PHALGUNA 27, 1947 Case No.: – CVD (OI)-02/2026 Subject: Initiation of countervailing duty investigation concerning imports of "Calcined Gypsum Powder" Originating in or exported from Egypt. 1. F. No. 6/16/2026-DGTR: Having regards to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred as the 'Act') and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules'), M/s Saint Gobain India Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant"), has filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as the 'Authority'), for initiation of countervailing duty investigation by alleging subsidization of Calcined Gypsum Powder, originating in or exported from Egypt (hereinafter referred to as the 'subject country'). 1947 GI/2026 | (1) 2 | THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY | [PART I-SEC.1] A. Allegation of subsidization 2. The applicant has alleged that the producers/exporters of the subject goods in the subject country have benefitted from the actionable subsidies provided at various levels by the governments of the subject country, including the governments of different provinces and municipalities in which producers/exporters are located, and other public bodies. The applicant has relied up on the relevant Laws, Rules and Regulations, and other Notifications of the relevant government agencies and public bodies as available in the public domain and in the determination of other investigating authorities who had conducted comprehensive investigations of such schemes and concluded the existence of countervail able subsidy programs. B. Consultation 3. In terms of Article 13 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) pre-initiation consultations were held on 12.03.2026 with the representatives of the Government of Egypt. Oral submissions made by the Egyptian Government have been taken on record and the same will be duly taken into consideration during the course of the investigation. C. Subsidy programs 4. The prima facie evidence provided by the applicant shows that the producers and exporters of the subject goods in the subject country have benefitted from a number of subsidy schemes/programs, granted by the governments of Egypt and/or their respective public bodies as listed below. The alleged subsidies consist of direct transfer of funds and potential direct transfer of funds or liabilities; Government revenue that is otherwise due is fore gone or not collected; provision of goods and services for less than adequate remuneration; etc. a. Industrial Investment Cash Incentive b. Corporate Tax Incentives c. Customs duty exemptions on machinery, tools & raw materials d. Land / Infrastructure Incentives e. Free Zone / Investment Zone Benefits f. Regional / Location-based Incentives g. Export Subsidy / Export Rebate Scheme 5. It has been alleged that the above-mentioned schemes are subsidies since these involve a financial contribution from the government of Egypt or other regional or local, including public bodies and confer a benefit on the recipient(s). These schemes are also alleged to be limited to certain enterprises or groups of enterprises and/or products and/or regions and therefore specific and countervail able. 6. The Designated Authority reserves the right to investigate other subsidies, which may be found to exist and availed by the producers and exporters of the subject goods, during the course of the investigation. D. Product under consideration (PUC) 7. The product under consideration in the present application is “Calcined Gypsum Powder or Gypsum plaster" (hereinafter also referred to as "subject goods" or "product under consideration” or “PUC”). The subject goods are also known as Plaster of Paris, Gypsum Stucco and Stucco Powder". Gypsum Rock is chemically called Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate (CaSO4. 2 H2O), which when heated in controlled way it loses 1.5 water (H2O) from its crystal structure to become stucco or gypsum plaster which is chemically known as Calcium Sulphate Hemihydrate. [PART I-SEC.1] | THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY | 3 8. The subject goods are majorly used for levelling Plaster in building applications, Decorative building elements like cornices & POP sheets, etc. The subject products are classified under Chapter Heading 25 "Mineral products: Salt; Sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime and cement” of the Customs Tariff Act. The classification at the 8-digit level is 25202010. However, goods are being imported under other heads of Chapter 25 also. It is also noted that the custom classification is indicative only and in no way, it is binding upon the product scope and the product description prevails in circumstances of conflict. 9. The Applicant has not proposed any PCNs. The parties to the present investigation may provide their comments on the PUC and product control numbers (PCNs), if any, within 15 days from the date of initiation of this investigation or date of the receipt of this notice. E. Like Article 10. The applicant has stated that there are no significant differences in the article produced by the applicant and exported from the subject county. The article produced by the applicant and imported from Egypt are comparable in terms of physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process and technology, functions and uses, product specifications, pricing, distribution and marketing, and tariff classification of the subject goods. The subject goods and the article manufactured by the applicant are technically and commercially substitutable. The applicant has claimed that the consumers of the product under consideration are using the subject goods and the article manufactured by the applicant interchangeably. Thus, for the purposes of initiation of the present investigation, the article produced by the applicants have been considered as like article to the product being imported from Egypt. F. Domestic Industry and Standing 11. Rule 2(b) defines domestic industry as follows: “’domestic industry' means the domestic producers as a whole of the like article or domestic producers 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 subsidised article, or are themselves importers thereof, in which case such producers shall be deemed not to form part of domestic industry” 12. The application has been filed by M/s Saint Gobain India Pvt Ltd. (SGIPL), who is the major producer (55%) of the Calcined Gypsum Powder or Gypsum plaster in India. The Applicant has further submitted that in the present case producers of the subject goods are from fragmented industry consisting of a large number of small producers across the country. The Applicant has further stated that, it is not practically possible to collect data relating to production from each individual producer, due to nature and size of industry. It has been further submitted that there are no published records of the gross domestic production of the product in India and such information is also not collated by any governmental or market research agency however, as per their information, they account for major producers of the subject goods in India. 13. The Applicant has also certified that there are no imports of the product under consideration by the Applicant or any of its related party. Further, they are also not related to any importer of the subject goods in India. On the basis of the information available on record, the Authority has considered the Applicant as Domestic Industry within the meaning of the Rule 2(b) of the Rules, and the application satisfies the criteria of standing in terms of Rule 6(3) of the Rules supra. G. Country involved 14. The application has been filed in respect of alleged subsidization of the subject goods originating in or exported from Egypt. Therefore, the subject country for the present investigation is Egypt. 4 | THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY | [PART I-SEC.1] H. Period of Investigation 15. The period of investigation (POI) for the investigation is from 1st October 2024 to 30th September 2025 (12 months). The injury examination period is April 2022 - March 2023, April 2023 - March 2024, April 2024 - March 2025 and the proposed period of investigation. I. Allegation of injury and causal Link 16. The applicant has provided prima facie evidence with respect to the injury suffered by the domestic industry because of the subsidized imports from Egypt. The volume of the subject imports from the subject country has increased in both absolute as well as in relative terms. There are positive price undercutting and price suppression and depression caused by the subsidized imports have been preventing the domestic industry from increasing its prices to achieve reasonable rate of returns. The subject imports have an adverse impact on the profitability parameters of the domestic industry due to which the cash profits, PBIT and ROCE have declined in the POI. There has also been an increase in the inventory levels of the domestic industry. Thus, the evidence provided by the applicant prima facie shows injury to the domestic industry caused by the alleged subsidized imports from Egypt. J. Initiation of the Investigation 17. On the basis of the duly substantiated application by the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of prima facie evidence submitted by the applicant substantiating the subsidization and consequent injury to the domestic industry, the Authority hereby initiates an anti-subsidy investigation into the alleged subsidization and consequent material injury to the domestic industry in accordance with Section 9B of the Act read with Rule 6 of the Rules, to determine the existence, degree, and effect of alleged subsidy and to recommend the amount of subsidy duty, which if levied would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. K. Submission of Information 18. All the interested parties are required to register themselves on SETU Portal (https://setu.dgtr.gov.in). All communications and submissions from the interested parties shall be uploaded on the SETU portal under their registered name and corresponding case ID-CVD/OI/002/2026. It should be ensured that the narrative part of the submission is in searchable PDF/MS-Word format and data files are in MS-Excel format. 19. The known producers/exporters in subject country, the government of subject country through its Embassy in India, and the importers and users in India who are known to be associated with the product under consideration are being informed separately to enable them to file all the relevant information within 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. 20. Any other interested 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 initiation notification. [PART I-खण्ड 1] | भारत का राजपत्र : असाधारण | 5 21. 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. 22. The interested parties are further advised to keep a regular watch on the official website of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies at www. dgtr.gov. in and SETU portal (https://setu.dgtr.gov.in) for any updated information with respect to this investigation. Interested parties are directed to regularly visit the website of DGTR (https://www.dgtr.gov.in/) to stay apprised with the further developments in the subject investigation and remain informed regarding notices that may be issued from time to time regarding questionnaire formats, PCN methodology, PCN discussion/meeting schedule, notice of oral hearing, corrigendum, amendment notifications, and other such information. L. Time Limit 23. Any information relating to the present investigation should be uploaded on the SETU portal (https://setu.dgtr.gov.in) under their registered name and corresponding case ID CVD/OI/002/2026. Both versions of each submission, the confidential version (CV) and the non-confidential version (NCV) must be uploaded in the respective designated columns within 37 days from the date on which the nonconfidential version of the application filed by the domestic industry would be circulated by the Authority or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting country as per Rule 7(4) of the CVD Rules, 1995. If no information is received within the stipulated time limit or the information received is incomplete, the Authority may record its findings based on the facts available on record and in accordance with the CVD Rules, 1995. 24. All the interested parties are hereby advised to intimate their interest (including the nature of interest) in the instant matter and file their questionnaire responses within the above time limit as stipulated in this notification through SETU portal only. 25. The 15 day period to file comments on the scope of PUC/PCN Methodology shall run concurrently with the time limit mentioned in para 22 above of this initiation Notification. 26. Extension due to Modification of PUC/PCN: An extension of time by 15 days shall be granted if the Authority, through a subsequent notice, modifies the PUC, and PCN that was not previously proposed or is different from the initiation notification. This extension of 15 days shall be granted from date of such notification of modified PUC and PCN. Extension of time by 15 days stated in this paragraph is not applicable in instances where there is no change in the PUC, and PCN methodology after initiation of investigation. Requests for a further extension of time, beyond the 15-day extension (if granted), will ordinarily not be considered except in case of exceptional circumstances, in line with the Rule 7(4) of the CVD Rules. 27. Any request for an extension must be submitted by the concerned parties through the SETU portal at least one day before the original deadline specified in paragraph 22 above. Requests submitted after this time will not be considered. M. Submission of Information on Confidential Basis 28. 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 8 of the CVD Rules and in accordance with the relevant trade notices issued by the Authority in this regard. Failure to adhere to the above may lead to rejection of the response/submissions. 29. The parties making any submission (including Appendices/ Annexures attached thereto), before the Authority including questionnaire responses, are required to file confidential and non-confidential versions separately. 30. 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 liberty to allow other interested parties to inspect such submissions. 6 | THE GAZETTE OF INDIA: EXTRAORDINARY | [PART I-SEC.1] 31. 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 information 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. 32. 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 indexation is not possible) and such information must be appropriately and adequately summarized depending upon the information on which confidentiality is claimed. 33. The non-confidential summary must be insufficient detail to permit a reasonable understanding of the 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 containing a sufficient and adequate explanation in terms of Rule 8 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. 34. The interested parties 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. 35. 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 information is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or summary form, it may disregard such information. 36. Any submission made without a meaningful non-confidential version there of or a sufficient and adequate cause statement in terms of Rule 8 of the Rules, and appropriate trade notices issued by the Authority, on the confidentiality claim shall not be taken on record by the Authority. 37. The Authority on being satisfied and accepting the need for confidentiality of the information provided, shall not disclose it to any party without specific authorization of the party providing such information. N. Inspection of public file. 38. All non-confidential versions of submissions made by any interested party will be accessible to other interested parties through their respective login on the SETU portal. O. Non-Cooperation 39. 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 the Authority in this initiation notification or subsequently time period provided through separate communication, 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 Government as it deems fit. AMITABH KUMAR, Designated Authority MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) INITIATION NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 18th March, 2026 Case No. CVD (OI) – 02/2026 Subject: Initiation of countervailing duty investigation concerning imports of “Calcined Gypsum Powder" Originating in or exported from Egypt. 1. F. No. 6/16/2026 -DGTR: Having regards to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred as the 'Act') and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules'), M/s Saint Gobain