NEW DELHI, Oct 6: The designated authority set up in the commerce ministry has initiated anti-dumping investigations into hot-rolled coils originating from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan on the grounds that imports of this product have had a "significant depressing" effect on the domestic industry.

Further, the domestic industry has suffered "material" injury based on various economic parameters relating to the domestic industry, the authority has concluded, according to a notification issued by the commerce ministry on Monday. The notification says the investigations will cover the period April, 1996, to March, 1997. The authority has prima facie evidence regarding the normal values in the the above-mentioned countries, the prices at which goods have been exported from them and that the normal values of hot-rolled coils/sheets/plates/strips in these countries are significantly higher than the price at which these have been exported to India. This indicates prima facie that the goods are being dumped by the exporters in these countries.

The enquiry follows a petition filed by the Steel Authority of India Ltd and Essar Steel on behalf of the domestic industry in accordance with the prescribed rules. They have alleged dumping of hot-rolled coils/sheets/plates/strips from the above countries and requested for anti-dumping investigations and levy of anti-dumping duties.

The petitioners, accounting for approximately 78 per cent of the total domestic production, have claimed that goods imported from the countries in question are being produced by them and are being consumed interchangeably and, therefore, have characteristics closely resembling each other.

Goods produced by these countries can, therefore, be treated as like articles to those imported from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan within the meaning of the rules.

Owing to non-availability of reliable normal value data in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the petitioners have claimed the normal value on the basis of cost of production as applicable to steel plants in these countries. The cost of production has been taken on the basis of an in-depth analysis done by the internationally-reputed steel publication, World Steel Dynamics.

The petitioners want the export price on the basis of data from the directorate-general of commercial intelligence & statistics, Calcutta, and on bills of entries filed by the importers concerned with customs authorities compiled by Steel Trade Intelligence, Mumbai.

It has been alleged by the petitioners that imports into India from these countries have increased and have resulted in declining profits and piling up of inventories.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.