Anti-dumping duty revoked on PTA import

New Delhi: Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) producers such as Reliance Industries Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, JBF and MCPI face a hit on their margins as the government has abolished anti-dumping duty on the chemical, which is a raw material for synthetic textile. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said chemicals are vital feedstocks for downstream users.

“PTA, for example, is a critical input for textile fibres and yarns. Its easy availability at competitive prices is desirable to unlock immense potential in textile sector, which is a significant employment generator,” she said in her budget speech. For PTA producers, the elimination of anti-dumping duty would cut current margin of about $120 per tonne by about 20%, said K Ravichandran, analyst at rating agency ICRA.

The anti-dumping duty, imposed by two orders in July 2016 and July 2019, has been revoked on PTA imported from China, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea RP and Thailand. Reliance is the biggest PTA manufacturer in the country with a domestic capacity of 4.4 million tonnes per annum. Indian Oil makes 550,000 tonnes per annum.