REMOVE DUMPING DUTY ON STYRENE BUTADIENE RUBBER

The All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) has sought a removal of anti-dumping duty on styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), which is a synthetic substitute for natural rubber.  “There is no logic for clamping an anti-dumping duty on SBR, since it is no longer produced in the country now,” said Mr Vipin Jain, Managing Committee Member of AIRIA and Chief Executive Officer of Enkay (India) Rubber Company Pvt. Ltd. The duty was imposed based on an original plea filed by Synthetics and Chemicals Ltd.  According to Mr Jain, the said company was already sick at the time when proceedings were initiated.  “Today, when there is no production of the material in the country, paying the anti-dumping duty (in place since 2000) has no meaning at all,” he told Business Line.  Currently, India imports SBR from the US, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, France, Germany, Korea, Poland and the European Union.  The anti-dumping duty varies from country to country and also on the grade of SBR.  “For example, on the 1700 Series, imported from the US, the duty that companies pay is $97.49 per tonne and on the 1900 Series it is $189.89 per tonne.  On an average the duty ranges from $25.67 to $430.08 per tonne,” Mr Jain explained.  He claimed that while it is ordinarily viable to import SBR, the presence of anti-dumping duty pushes up the cost.

Duty on natural rubber

AIRIA has also expressed concern over the 22.5 per cent import duty on natural rubber, which it feels is on the higher side.  “In fact, the finished products made from the natural rubber are today importable at a lower duty than natural rubber,” Mr Jain said.  “Also the availability of natural rubber at the competitive international price remains an open question due to Governmental intervention through Rubber Board as well as through anti-dumping authority. We will also be raising these issues in our representation,” he added.

Quality check

According to Mr Jain, natural rubber is the only raw material which is still governed and controlled by Government and insists on account of pressure from the plantation lobby that all imported rubber must undergo quality check before being allowed import into the country.  “This indirect measure desists users from importing rubber freely.  It may also be highlighted that natural rubber is the only raw material amongst the huge array of goods imported into the country which is subjected to such a pre-import quality check.  “It only adds to the transaction cost and keeps away genuine small industry from importing the rubber so as to avoid unnecessary hassle.  On the other hand, finished products can be imported without any check from the Rubber Board — thus, leading to large scale imports of low quality rubber products,” he added.  The Association is in the process of finalising the proposals that it wants to present to the Government and expects it to submit them by the middle of October.  “We are not saying that there should not be import duty, all we want the Government to do is to lower the duty on natural rubber to around 5 per cent and also to remove the Rubber Board quality import inspection so that the industry can compete in the international market”