India to levy taxes on measuring tapes amid dumping from China

THE GOVERNMENT HAS EXTENDED THE DUTY TO IMPORTS FROM OTHER SOURCES SO CHINESE PRODUCTS ARE NOT REROUTED VIA A THIRD COUNTRY

NEWDELHI:India has imposed antidumping duty on steel and fibre glass measuring tapes and their components originating from China and other countries after finding that the Chinese products were entering India through locations such as Singapore and Cambodia to circumvent Indian laws, government officials said.

The finance ministry not only imposed the anti-dumping duty on Chinese measuring tapes on July 8, but also extended it to imports from other sources so that the Chinese products are not re-routed through a third counAn try, the officials said, requesting anonymity. As influx of measuring tapes and their components from China had been hurting the domestic industry, prompting the government to impose antidumping duties on them from July 9, 2015. The punitive duties would have expired on July 8.

investigation launched in December last year found that while imports of these items from China had declined after the imposition of the duties, there was a significant jump in their imports from other countries such as Singapore and Cambodia although they do not manufactures these products, the officials cited above said.

The finance ministry then imposed anti-dumping duty of $1.83 per kg on steel measuring tapes and their components, and $2.56 per kg on fibre glass tapes and their components originating from China or any other country for five years from July 8, 2020, one of the officials said.