Full Text
REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99
The Gazette of India
CG-DL-E-30092025-266538
EXTRAORDINARY
PART I-Section 1
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 278]
NEW DELHI, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2025/ASVINA 7, 1947
6509 GI/2025
(1)
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(Department of Commerce)
(Directorate General of Trade Remedies)
INITIATION NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, 29th September, 2025
Case No.-AD (OI)–13/2025
Subject: Initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of “Mobile Covers” originating
in or exported from China PR.
1. F. No. 6/13/2025- 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"), All India Mobile Covers
Manufacturers Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Applicant" or "Applicant association") has
filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as the “Authority”), for
initiation of an anti-dumping investigation on imports of "Mobile Covers” (hereinafter referred to as the
"product under consideration” or “PUC” or “subject goods"), originating in or exported from China PR
(hereinafter referred to as the "subject country").
2. The Applicant has alleged that dumping of the product under consideration from the subject country is
causing material injury to the domestic industry and has requested for the imposition of anti-dumping
duties on the imports of the product under consideration from the subject country.
A. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION
3. The product under consideration in the present application is “Mobile Covers” also known as mobile
phone cases, smartphone cases, protective mobile shells, mobile phone protective covers, for mobile
phones. These are protective accessories designed to shield and protect mobile phones including,
generally smartphones, from physical damage. Mobile Covers are also used as an accessory and
contribute to the personal style of the users. They are functional and serve as a personal accessory.
Mobile Covers are available in a number of designs, colors, and patterns.
Unit of measurement
4. The subject goods are normally produced and sold in terms of numbers and hence, for this investigation
unit of measurement has been taken as Numbers (Nos).
Tariff classification
5. The product under consideration does not have a dedicated customs classification. The subject goods are
being imported under various codes under Chapter 39 and Chapter 85 under sub heading 392690,
392610, 392640, 392620, 851779, 851769, and 851770. The custom classification is indicative only and
is in no way binding on the scope of the product under consideration in the present investigation.
6. The parties to the present investigation may provide their comments on the scope of PUC and propose
product control numbers (PCN) methodology, if any, within 15 days of circulation of the receipt of
intimation of initiation of the investigation.
B. LIKE ARTICLE
7. The Applicant has submitted that there are no significant differences in the subject goods produced by
the Applicant and exported from the subject country and both are like articles. The product produced by
the Applicant and imported from the subject country are comparable in terms of essential product
characteristics such as physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process & technology,
functions & usage, product 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 country.
C. SUBJECT COUNTRY
8. The subject country in the present investigation is China PR.
D. PERIOD OF INVESTIGATION
9. The period of investigation (POI) adopted by the Authority for the present investigation is from 1st April
2024 to 31st March 2025 (12 months). The injury examination period covers the period 1st April 2021-
31st March 2022, 1st April 2022 - 31st March 2023, 1st April 2023 - 31st March 2024 and the POI.
E. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY & STANDING
10. The application has been filed by All India Mobile Covers Manufacturers Association (AIMCMA). The
following member companies of the Applicant Association- Accord Plastic, DS Mobicase, JP Case,
Ugam Industries, Ugam Manufacturing, Zhenyu Technology Pvt. Ltd., SK Industries, Gayatri Industrial
Corporation, KK Product, H&K Cover, J Mart Online, S.R. Plastic, Balaji Inmould, Vidya Polymers,
Sun Polyplast, Pavansut Plastopack, and TK Case ("hereinafter referred to as "Applicant Companies")
have provided the requisite information for the purpose of the present investigation.
11. The Applicant association represents the producers of subject goods. As per the information provided by
the Applicant companies, the production of the Applicant companies accounts for 'major proportion' of
the total domestic production of the like article in India. The Applicant companies have neither imported
the subject goods from the subject country nor are related to any exporter or producer of the subject
goods in the subject country or any importer of the product under consideration in India.
12. The Authority noted that the Indian industry is fragmented in nature, and belongs to the MSME category.
Information on record shows that AIMCMA represents 43 producers, of which 17 producers have
provided injury information. It is also submitted that the Applicant has neither imported the subject goods
from the subject country nor is related to any exporter or producer in the subject country or any importer
in India. Therefore, on the basis of the information available on record, the Authority is prima facie
satisfied that the representation has been made by or on behalf of the domestic industry in terms of the
provisions contained in Rule 2(b) of the Rules and the application satisfies the criteria of standing in
terms of Rule 5(3) of the Rules.
13. Further, considering the MSME and fragmented nature of the industry, and the number of producers
involved, the Authority, in terms of Trade Notice 09/2021 dated 29th July 2021, seeks information from
the domestic producers as per Annexure I referred to in the trade notice based on which Authority shall
undertake sampling of domestic producers for the purpose of determination of injury margin. Therefore,
while the information concerning all producers constituting domestic industry will be considered for
injury analysis, the non-injurious price and injury margin will be determined based on data of a sample.
F. BASIS FOR ALLEGED DUMPING
a. Normal Value for China PR
14. The Applicants have cited and relied upon Article 15(a) (i) of China's Accession Protocol and Para 7 of
Annexure-I to the Anti-Dumping Rules, 1995, the normal value for Chinese producers may be
determined based on the cost or domestic selling price prevailing in China PR, only if the responding
Chinese producers demonstrate that their cost and price information are based on market driven
principles and allow for fair comparison in terms of paras 1 to 6 of Annexure-I to the AD Rules, failing
which, normal value for Chinese producers must be determined based on paras 7 and 8 of Annexure-I to
the Rules.
15. The Applicant has submitted that the data relating to cost or price in market economy third country or
recourse to other alternative methods are not available. With regards to the price at which the product
under consideration has been sold from the market economy third country to any other country, including
India, it is submitted that the import volume from other countries is not sufficient in volume to be
considered as a basis for normal value. The Applicant has therefore determined normal value based on
the best estimates of the cost of production of the domestic industry of the subject goods as per the best
information available after duly adjusted to include reasonable profits.
16. For the purpose of initiation, the normal value methodology claimed by the applicant has been
considered.
b. Export Price
17. For determination of export price, the Authority has considered transaction wise import data procured
from DGCI&S. The CIF prices have been adjusted for ocean freight, marine insurance, commission,
bank charges, port expenses, handling charges, and inland freight expenses to determine the ex-factory
export price on best available information.
c. Dumping Margin
18. Accordingly, based on the normal value and the export price as computed above, there is sufficient
prima facie evidence that the normal value of subject goods in the subject country is higher than the
ex-factory export price, indicating, that the subject goods are being dumped into the Indian market by
the exporters from the subject country, The dumping margins are estimated to be above de minimis.
G. INJURY AND CAUSAL LINK
19. Based on information available with the Authority, it is prima facie noted that the Indian industry is
getting injured as a result of the alleged dumping in the form of an increased volume of dumped imports
in absolute as well as relative terms over the injury period. The landed value of subject imports is
undercutting and suppressing the prices of the domestic industry in the POI. The market share of
domestic industry has declined significantly over the injury period. 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 cash profit, profits, 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 country.
H. INITIATION OF ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATION
20. On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted filed in the form and manner
prescribed 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 country, 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
country 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
21. The provisions stipulated in Rule 6 of the AD Rules shall be followed in this investigation.
J. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION
22. All communication should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at email addresses- adv13-
dgtr@gov.in, dir14-dgtr@gov.in dd12-dgtr@gov.in and consultant-dgtr@govcontractor.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.
23. The known producers/exporters in the subject country, the government of the subject country 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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
27. Any information relating to the present investigation should be sent to the Designated Authority via
email at email addresses- adv13-dgtr@gov.in, dir14-dgtr@gov.in, dd12-dgtr@gov.in and consultant-
dgtr@govcontractor.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.
28. 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
29. Any party making any 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
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 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.
36. 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
37. 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
38. 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.
SIDDHARTH MAHAJAN, 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. GORAKHA
NATH YADAVA
Digitally signed by GORAKHA
NATH YADAVA Date: 2025.09.30 14:10:11 +05'30'