ADD investigation imports of Sodium Nitrite from China PR

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-27062026-273870 EXTRAORDINARY PART I—Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 170] NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026/ASHADHA 2, 1948 4649 GI/2026 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Department of Commerce) (DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF TRADE REMEDIES) INITIATION NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 23rd June, 2026 Case No. AD (OI)-034/2026 Subject: Initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of "Sodium Nitrite" from China PR. 1. F. No. 6/34/2026-DGTR.— Having regards to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Anti- Dumping Duty Rules, 1995) as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules'), Deepak Nitrite Limited ('DNL') (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 duty investigation concerning imports of "Sodium Nitrite" (hereinafter referred to as "subject goods" or "product under consideration") from China PR (hereinafter referred to as subject country). 2. The applicant has alleged that dumped imports of the subject goods from China PR are causing material injury to the domestic industry and has requested for imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods from the subject country. A. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION (PUC) 3. The product under consideration is "Sodium Nitrite" SNI. 4. SNI is an industrial chemical sold in solid or liquid form. It does not have any other chemical names. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder or granular or flake or briquette solid that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic, but not soluble in standard organic solvents. 5. The product under consideration is classified under Chapter 28 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 under sub- heading 28341010. The customs classification is indicative and not binding on the scope of the product under consideration. 6. The prescribed unit of measurement for the product under consideration is Metric Tons (MT) or Kilogram (Kg). 7. The interested parties in the subject investigation may provide their comments on the scope of PUC/PCN methodology, if any, within 15 days from the date of initiation of this investigation. B. LIKE ARTICLE 8. The applicant has submitted that there is no difference in the goods produced by the applicant and exported from the subject country. The product produced by the applicant and imported from the subject country are comparable in terms of characteristics such as physical characteristics, manufacturing process & technology, functions & uses, product specifications, pricing, distribution & marketing, and tariff classification of the subject goods. The two are technically and commercially substitutable. The consumers are using the two interchangeably. Therefore, for the purpose of initiation of the present investigation, the subject goods produced by the domestic industry are being treated as "like article" to the product under consideration produced and imported from the subject country. C. SUBJECT COUNTRIES 9. The present investigation is in respect of alleged dumping of the product under consideration from China PR. D. PERIOD OF INVESTIGATION (POI) 10. The applicant has proposed the period of 1st April 2025 to 31st December 2025 (9 months) as period of investigation (POI). However, the Authority has considered POI from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2025, which is a 12-month period. The injury period covers the period of 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and POI. E. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY AND STANDING 11. Rule 2(b) of customs tariff (identification, assessment and collection of antidumping duty on dumped articles and for determination of injury) rules, 1995 defines domestic industry as under: ". "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 "domestic industry" may be construed as referring the rest of the producers. 12. The application has been filed by Deepak Nitrite Limited (‘DNL'). Kutch Chemical Industries Limited has supported the application. 13. The applicant has provided the details of the other Indian producers. Apart from the applicant and the supporter, there are three other producers in India – a) National Fertilizers Limited b) Punjab Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited c) Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited. The applicant has submitted evidence to show that Rashtriya Chemical Industries Limited shut down its production of several industrial chemicals including SNI, due to unviability and cheap import. 14. The applicant has certified that it is neither related to any exporter in the subject country nor importer of the subject goods. 15. Based on information available on record, the Authority is satisfied that the applicant constitutes domestic industry within the meaning of Rule 2(b). The application satisfies the requirements of standing in terms of Rule 5(3). F. BASIS OF ALLEGED DUMPING a. Normal value. 16. The applicant has cited and relied upon Article 15(a)(i) of China's Accession Protocol and has claimed that China PR should be treated as a non-market economy and that producers from China should be directed to demonstrate that market economy conditions prevail in the industry with regard to production and sale of the product under consideration. Unless the Chinese producers show that such market economy conditions prevail, their normal value should be determined in accordance with Para 7 and 8 of Annexure – I to the Anti-Dumping Rules. 17. The applicant has submitted that they attempted to get evidence of the price at which the product under consideration is being sold by the producers in a market economy third country to the consumers in these countries (i.e., domestic price) or cost of production in the market economy third country. No verifiable evidence of the actual selling price was publicly available. The applicant has determined the normal value based on the import price from European Union. The applicant has claimed that the imports from European Union are in significant quantity and spread over the entire injury period. Since the price is a CIF export price, the same has been adjusted for the expenses including ocean freight, marine insurance, port handling charges, credit costs and inventory carrying costs. However, the for the purpose of the initiation, the DG Systems transaction wise data has been relied upon which shows that imports from European Union during POI have only 1% share in total imports. Since the imports from European Union are insignificant in volume, therefor, the same cannot be relied upon. 18. Since the normal value cannot be determined based on any other methodology, accordingly, the normal value has been determined based on the price paid or payable in India with reasonable adjustments for selling and administrative expenses and profit in India. The interested parties are advised to offer their comments and make duly substantiated claims with regard to methodology to be adopted for determination of normal value. b. Export Price 19. The export price of the product under consideration has been determined by considering the CIF price of the product under consideration as reported in DG System data. Adjustments have been made for ocean freight, marine insurance, handling charges, port handling charges, commission, credit cost. b. Dumping Margin 20. The normal value and the export price have been compared at ex-factory level, which prima facie shows that the dumping margin is above the de-minimis level and is significant with respect to the product under consideration exported from the subject country. Thus, there is prima facie evidence to show that the product under consideration from the subject country is being dumped in the Indian market by the exporters from the subject country. G. INJURY AND CAUSAL LINK 21. The applicant have provided prima facie evidence with respect to the injury suffered by the domestic industry due to the dumped imports. The volume of the subject imports from the subject country has increased in both absolute as well as relative terms. The imports are undercutting the prices of the domestic industry and having depressing effect on their prices. The applicant has claimed that their performance has deteriorated in respect of production and sales. The subject imports have had an adverse impact on the profitability parameters of the domestic industry resulting into losses, cash losses and negative return on investment in the POΙ. 22. The information provided by the applicant prima facie, shows injury being caused to the domestic industry due to dumped imports from the subject country. H. INITIATION OF THE INVESTIGATION 23. 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 dumping and consequent injury to the domestic industry, the Authority hereby initiates an anti-dumping investigation into the alleged dumping and consequent material injury to the domestic industry in accordance with Section 9A of the Act read with Rule 5 of the Rules, to determine the existence, degree, and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of dumping duty, which if levied would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. I. PROCEDURE 24. The provisions stipulated in Rule 6 of the anti-dumping rules shall be followed in this investigation. J. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION 25. 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 onto the SETU portal under their registered name and corresponding case AD (OI)-034/2026. 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. 26. 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. 27. 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. 28. 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. 29. 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. K. TIME LIMIT 30. Any information relating to the present investigation should be uploaded on the SETU porta (https://setu.dgtr.gov.in) under their registered name and corresponding case AD (OI)-034/2026. 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 in SETU portal or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting country as per Rule 6(4) of the AD 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 AD Rules, 1995. 31. 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. 32. The 15-day period to file comments on the scope of PUC/PCN Methodology shall run concurrently with the time limit mentioned in para 27 above of this initiation Notification. 33. Extension due to Modification of PUC/PCN: An extension of time by 15 days shall be granted if the Authority, through 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 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 Rule 7(4) of the AD Rules. 34. 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 27 above. Requests submitted after this time will not be considered. L. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION ON CONFIDENTIAL BASIS 35. Where any party to the present investigation makes confidential submissions or provides information on a confidential basis before the Authority, such party is required to simultaneously submit a non-confidential version of such information in terms of Rule 7(2) of the AD 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. 36. 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. 37. 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. 38. 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. 39. 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. 40. 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 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. 41. 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. 42. 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. 43. 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. 44. 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. M. INSPECTION OF PUBLIC FILE 45. 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. N. NON-COOPERATION 46. 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 Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.