India has initiated an investigation into an alleged circumvention of the anti-dumping duty imposed on export of jute sacking bags from Bangladesh.Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties of the Indian commerce ministry on Tuesday issued a notification on the initiation of the probe.Circumvention of anti-dumping duty occurs when exporters adopt different techniques to avoid the duty imposed on export of certain goods.Exporters may modify the nature of goods on which anti-dumping duty is applicable, may export the item changing the harmonised system code and through other companies which are not facing the duty.India in January, 2017 imposed anti-dumping duty ranging from $19 to $351.72 a tonne on import of jute products including jute yarn, twine, hessian fabric and jute sacking bags from Bangladesh for five years.Of the products, jute sacking bag is facing the anti-dumping duty ranging from $126 to $138 a tonne. Jute sacking cloth falls outside the purview of the duty.According to the notification, the DGAD started the investigation after Indian Jute Mills Association filed an application with the authorities alleging that Bangladesh has been exporting jute sacking cloth to avoid or circumvent the anti-dumping duty imposed on jute sacking bags.The association sought extension of the anti-dumping duty to jute sacking cloth saying that the item is an unfinished and penultimate form of jute sacking bags and it has no other main known use.Finding prima facie evidence of circumvention of the duty, the DGAD initiated the investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of the alleged circumvention and to examine the need to extend the existing anti-dumping duty to the product, the notification said.It stated that the DGAD might extend the anti-dumping duty to jute sacking cloth and the duty might apply retrospectively from the date of initiation of the investigation.The DGAD will consider from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017 as the period of investigation.Bangladeshi exporters and other parties concerned will have to submit their opinions or comments within 40 days of getting letter from the DGAD. Exporters and commerce ministry officials said that they were yet to get any letter from India though they unofficially came to know the India’s move.Bangladesh Tariff Commission, however, has started ground work on the issue, they said.Bangladesh Jute Mills Association secretary Abdul Barik Khan told New Age that they were informed about the investigation.He said that exporters would take every single step to avoid any possible anti-dumping duty on the product.Jute goods export to India dropped by almost 40 per cent after imposition of the anti-dumping duty, he said, adding that any duty imposition would hurt Bangladesh’s export of jute sacking cloth badly.Many mills would not be able to absorb the shock, he said.The government should take initiatives to fully implement the mandatory jute packaging act and extend the coverage of the act along with imposition of duty on export of raw jute to save the local industry, he said.Janata Jute Mills Ltd, one of the largest jute goods exporters of the country, deputy managing director Mahmudul Huq told New Age that jute sacking cloth was exporting to India as per requirement of importers of that country.Now Bangladeshi exporters will have to prove that the jute sacking cloths are not being dumped on India and are not being sold at lower prices than that of domestic prices to avoid the duty, he said.He also apprehended that jute goods export from Bangladesh might get a fresh blow if exporters failed to face the issue successfully.
