Stiff anti-dumping duty on Chinese CFLs in the offing

the directorate-general of anti-dumping in the commerce ministry has asked for stiff anti-dumping duties of $1.426 per compact fluorescent lamp without choke and $3.115 per cfl with choke on imports from both china and hong kong. in its preliminary findings issued on 2 november, the authority concluded that dumped imports are below the calculated price in china. the investigations are said to have caused injury to the two domestic manufacturers osram and indo-asian fusegear, the two petitioners representing the domestic industry. the investigation was based on the constructed value concept applied to non-market economies like china during the one-year period april-march 2000-2001. the actual price in china was not used in arriving at the calculations of dumping margin. both petitioners are sourcing the electronics parts of cfls from outside india. minor manufacturing of some of the stampings like cap is being done in india to add local colour to the product. the import of the lamps through the normal channels will be impossible now. the incidence of anti-dumping duty itself is in the region of rs 175 per piece after the complex calculations based on different sets of value. on top of this, goods suffer the normal total customs duty of 67 per cent. our investigations in the market show that the landed cost of cfl imported from china is about rs 30 per piece after attracting peak customs duty of 35 per cent and mrp-based cvd and special additional duty which may be in the region of 75 per cent or so on the c.i.f price. the margin of rs 170 per piece based on the selling price of rs 200-225 in the wholesale market is now at the disposal of the assemblers. circumvention of the measures on a large scale will be the main business now. apart from straight smuggling through the long land and sea borders, the assemblers will have a tough time convincing customs that what is imported are low duty parts and the complete item. third country sourcing through taiwan will also be in order. the hong kong route has been closed in the measure by clubbing the region with mainland china. gem & jewellery at airports: the customs has cleared the way for sale of gem and jewellery manufactured in the export processing zones and eous at the departure lounges of the four metros and five other points in kerala and andhra pradesh. in the same notification, the development commissioner has also been authorised to allow exports of jewellery on consignment basis for sale or display or exhibitions abroad with the condition that the sale proceeds must be brought back into india within 60 days of close of the exhibition. the design of the facility shows the typical style of the working of the department. it takes away with one hand what it gives with the other. thus, the nri going back to work in the gulf after visiting his family in calicut will hardly buy jewellery at the time of his departure, unless he has a companion waiting for him on the other side! the other foreign tourist who is going back from india after a short visit would rather buy from the large stock in main city and not from the limited range available at the airports. the measure must assure returns to the good business houses to come forward and show interest in the scheme. computerisation: the monthly return system in the excise commissionerates is being phased out as the cbec has decided to use only electronic data filed with the directorate of systems from the new year. the monthly telegraphic summary will be reported electronically for january, 2002 onwards and the manual data will not be required. the data will be posted on the web site of the respective commissionerate for use of the authorised persons at a senior level. the data on the assessments and excise collections from the bigger units will also be available only through web sites. a number of reports are also being discontinued as the information will be culled from the databases themselves on real time basis as required. the use of edi and the electronic revolution in the cbec is one the best examples of how technology can be used for efficiency. it is ironical that excellence in one field should co-exist with trade laws designed to oppress and harass businessmen! cd drives: the cbec has finally clarified that all cd drives, including those for only reading are storage devices and will be classified in the zero duty subheading 8,471.70. in the earlier cbec clarification covered in this column, the duty free status was given only to cd drives which write from the computer to the disc. the speed of the clarification is commendable and shows that the government is responsive to the needs of the industry. apparently, audit was responsible for confusion on the subject. extension in export obligation period: the government has allowed extension in export obligation period in respect of advance licences issued on or after april 1, 1997 against execution of bank guarantee. the request for extension has to be filed with the concerned licensing authority within a period of 60 days from november 7, 2001. the licensing authority which originally issued the licence can grant extension. in cases where bank guarantee bond has been initially executed with the customs, the licence holder is required to furnish a certificate to this effect along with request for extension of export obligation within 60 days from the date of public notice from concerned assistant commissioner of cbec with whom the bank guarantee has been executed for seeking extension. (academy of business studies) -

Stiff anti-dumping duty on Chinese CFLs in the offing

THE DIRECTORATE-GENERAL of anti-dumping in the commerce ministry has asked for stiff anti-dumping duties of $1.426 per compact fluorescent lamp without choke and $3.115 per CFL with choke on imports from both China and Hong Kong.

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