Full Text
REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99
The Gazette of India
C.G.-DL-E-25012025-260477
EXTRAORDINARY
PART I-Section 1
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 26]
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025
632 GI/2025
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(Department of Commerce)
(Directorate General of Trade Remedies)
New Delhi,the 24th January, 2025
INITIATION NOTIFICATION
CASE No. AD (OI) - 31/2024
Subject: Initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of “Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
Paste Resin" originating in or exported from European Union and Japan.
1. F. No. 6/33/2024 -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 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'), M/s Chemplast Sanmar
Limited (hereinafter referred to as the 'applicant') has filed an application before the Designated
Authority (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Authority'), for initiation of an anti-dumping investigation
on imports of 'Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin' also known as 'PVC Paste Resin' (hereinafter
referred to as the 'product under consideration' or 'subject goods'), originating in or exported from
European Union and Japan (hereinafter referred to as the 'subject countries').
2. The applicant has alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to the
dumped imports, originating in or exported from the subject countries and has requested for the
imposition of anti-dumping duties on the imports of the product under consideration from the subject
countries.
A. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION
3. The product under consideration in the present application is ‘Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin' also
known as 'PVC paste resin' or 'Emulsion PVC Resin'.
4. PVC Paste Resin is produced using vinyl chloride monomer and is usually sold in the form of
white/off-white powder. The PUC is primarily used for manufacturing artificial leather and the other
uses of the product are in the manufacturing of rexene, coated fabrics, tarpaulins, conveyer beltings,
toys, automotive sealant, adhesives, and gloves.
Unit of measurement
5. The product is traded in kilogram (KG) or metric ton (MT). Therefore, KG/MT has been considered
as the unit of measurement.
Exclusions
6. The following products are excluded from the scope of PUC:
i. Product under consideration with K value below 60K
ii. PVC Blending Resin
iii. Co-polymers of the PVC paste resin
iv. Battery separator resins
Tariff classification
7. The product under consideration is classified under Chapter 39 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975
under subheading 390410 of the Tariff Classification and has a dedicated classification under ITC
HS Code 39041010. The customs classification is indicative only and is in no way binding on the
scope of the PUC in the present investigation.
8. The domestic industry has proposed the following Product Control Numbers (PCNs) for the product
under consideration into different grades based on their K value in the present investigation:
+-----+-----------+---------+--------+
| S.No| Parameter | Range | Code |
+=====+===========+=========+========+
| 1. | | 60-70 | Medium |
+-----+-----------+---------+--------+
| | K Value | | |
+-----+-----------+---------+--------+
| 2. | | Above 70| High |
+-----+-----------+---------+--------+
9. The parties to the present investigation may provide their comments on the scope of PUC and
proposed PCNs, if any, within 15 days of the receipt of intimation of initiation of the investigation.
B. LIKE ARTICLE
10. The applicant has submitted that there are no significant differences in the subject goods produced by
the applicant and exported from the subject countries and both are like articles. The product
produced by the applicant and imported from the subject countries are comparable in terms of
essential product characteristics such as physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process
& technology, functions & usage, product specifications, 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
the subject countries.
C. SUBJECT COUNTRY
11. The subject countries in the present investigation are European Union(EU) and Japan.
D. PERIOD OF INVESTIGATION
12. The period of investigation (POI) adopted by the Authority for the present investigation is from 1st
April 2023 to 30th September 2024 (18 months). The injury examination period covers the periods 1st
April 2020- 31st March 2021, 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022, 1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023
and the POI.
13. The POI is appropriate as an examination of the period from April 2023 to March 2024 and
thereafter April 2024 to September 2024 will allow for a comprehensive assessment of the conditions
of the market and injury to the domestic industry, as it will cover the period during which no duties
were in force as well as a period when anti-dumping duties were in force on the product under
consideration from other countries.
E. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY & STANDING
14. The application has been filed by M/s Chemplast Sanmar Limited. It has been submitted in the
petition that there is one another producer of the subject goods in India, namely M/s Finolex
Industries Limited. Further, as per the information provided by the applicant, the production of the
applicant accounts for major proportion of the total domestic production of the like article in India. It
is also submitted that the applicant has neither imported the subject goods from the subject countries
nor is related to any exporter or producer in the subject countries or any importer in India.
15. On the basis of the information available on record, Authority is prima facie satisfied that the
applicant, namely M/s Chemplast Sanmar Limited constitutes eligible domestic industry within the
meaning of Rule 2(b) of the Rules and the application satisfies the criteria of standing in terms of
Rule 5(3) of the Rules.
F. BASIS FOR ALLEGED DUMPING
a. Normal value for EU & Japan
16. The applicant has constructed the normal value for European Union based on the selling price of the
product under consideration in the EU, as reported in the trade journal publication- Argus Media.
17. The applicant has proposed to compute the normal value for Japan based on best estimates of cost of
production of the applicant, duly adjusted for material, utilities, and labor to reflect cost in Japan.
18. However, for the purpose of initiation, the Authority has prima facie determined the normal value for
the subject countries based on cost of production of the applicant, after duly adjusting the
administrative, selling & general expenses with reasonable profits. The interested parties may offer
their comments on the methodology proposed by the applicant for EU.
b. Export price
19. The export price for the subject goods from subject countries has been estimated by considering
transaction-wise import data from DG System. The Authority has, thereafter, made necessary
adjustments to arrive at the net export price.
c. Dumping margin
20. The normal value and the export price have been compared at the ex-factory level, which prima facie
shows that the dumping margin is above the de minimis level and significant in respect of the product
under consideration exported from the subject countries. Thus, there is sufficient prima facie
evidence that the product under consideration from the subject countries is being dumped in the
domestic market of India by the exporters from the subject countries.
G. INJURY AND CAUSAL LINK
21. Information furnished by the applicant has been considered for assessment of injury to the domestic
industry on account of dumped imports of the subject goods from the subject countries. The volume
of the subject goods from the subject countries has increased in absolute as well as relative terms.
The price suppression and depression caused by dumped imports have been preventing the applicant
from increasing its prices to recover the full cost and achieve a reasonable rate of return. The
applicant has also claimed that because of the adverse volume and price effect of the dumped
imports, their performance has deteriorated in respect of market share, cash profit, profits and return
on investment etc. There is sufficient prima facie evidence that the domestic industry has suffered
material injury due to dumped imports from the subject countries.
H. INITIATION OF ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATION
22. On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted by the domestic industry, and
having reached satisfaction based on the prima facie evidence submitted by domestic industry about
dumping of subject goods originating in or exported from the subject countries, the injury to the
domestic industry and the causal link between such alleged dumping and injury, 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 alleged dumping in
respect 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 injury to the
domestic industry.
I. PROCEDURE
23. The provisions stipulated in Rule 6 of the AD Rules shall be followed in this investigation.
J. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION
24. All communication should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at email addresses adv13-
dgtr@gov.in, consultant-dgtr@govcontractor.in., dd16-dgtr@gov.in and dd12-dgtr@gov.in. 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.
25. The known producers/exporters in the subject countries, the government of the subject countries
through its Embassy in India, 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
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.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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 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.
K. TIME LIMIT
29. Any information relating to the present investigation should be sent to the Designated Authority via
email at email addresses adv13-dgtr@gov.in, consultant-dgtr@govcontractor.in, dd16-dgtr@gov.in
and dd12-dgtr@gov.in within 30 days from the date on which it was sent by the Designated
Authority or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting country as per
Rule 6(4) of the AD Rules. If no information is received within the prescribed 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 AD Rules.
30. 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.
L. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION ON CONFIDENTIAL BASIS
31. Any party making confidential submission or providing information on a confidential basis before
the Authority, is required to simultaneously submit a non-confidential version of the same
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. Failure to adhere to the above may lead to rejection of the
response/submissions.
32. 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.
33. Such submissions must be clearly marked as ‘confidential' or ‘non-confidential' at the top of each
page. Any submission made without such marking 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.
34. 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 that
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.
35. The non-confidential version of the information filed by the interested parties is required to 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. The non-
confidential summary must be in sufficient 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 as to why such summarization is not possible, must be provided to the satisfaction of the
Authority.
36. The interested parties can offer their comments on the issues of confidentiality claimed by the other
interested parties within 7 days from the date of circulation of the non-confidential version of the
documents.
37. 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 not
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.
38. Any submission made without a meaningful non-confidential version thereof or a good cause
statement on the confidentiality claim shall not be taken on record by the Authority.
M. INSPECTION OF PUBLIC FILE
39. 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 non-confidential version of their
submissions/responses/information to all other interested parties. Failure to circulate non-confidential
version of the submissions/responses/information might lead to consideration of an interested party
as non-cooperative.
N. NON-COOPERATION
40. 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 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.
DARPAN JAIN, Designated Authority