The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry believes imported textured, tempered coated and uncoated glass originating in or exporting from Malaysia has caused material injury to the domestic industry. Concluding its investigation in response to the petition of Gujarat Borosil Limited, DGTR has recommended imposing a duty of $114.58 per metric ton (MT) on the product.
Final findings of the DGTR in its report read as, "The domestic industry has suffered material injury on account of price suppression and undercutting by imports from subject country. The financial parameters on profitability and Return on Investment are also noted to be adverse."
The product concerned is 'textured toughened (tempered) glass as having a minimum of 90.5% transmission, having thickness not exceeding 4.2 mm and where at least one dimension exceeds 1500 mm, whether coated or uncoated. Such a glass is used as a component in solar PV panels and solar thermal applications.'
However, DGTR let M/s Xinyi Solar Sdn. Bhd. off the hook since it was not found to be actually dumping according to anti-dumping rules. The applicant submitted details about 2 companies. Only Xinyi responded to DGTR's queries, while the other company M/s Gar Lightglass SDN BHD did not.
The duty will be imposed for other non-cooperating producers for whom dumping margin and injury margin has been evaluated. DGTR recommends the duty remains in effect on such producers, other than Xinyi Solar, for a period of 5 years.
Indian tempered solar glass manufacturer Gujarat Borosil Limited had approached the government to look into dumping of textured tempered glass from Malaysia, and was accepted by the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD) in February 2018 (see New-Anti-Dumping Petition For Solar Glass in India).
The investigation period was from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017, but the injury investigation period also covered data of the previous 3 years from FY2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. DGTR says an appeal against its notification may be submitted before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal.
In August 2017, India imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese tempered glass used in solar panels ranging from $64.04 to $136.21 per MT, responding to a petition also filed by Gujarat Borosil Limited (see India Anti-Dumping Duty On Chinese Solar Glass).
Before that, the country also slapped such a duty of $55.59 per ton on clear float glass imported from Iran into India (see India Anti-Dumping Duty On Iran Glass).
In 2018, the Indian solar industry was caught in an environment of uncertainty and confusion that led to delays of tenders and project installations as the government enforced a 25% safeguard duty on solar cells imported from Malaysia and China.