Directorate General of Trade Remedies Amends Anti-Dumping Duty Framework for PET Resin Imports from China

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, acting through the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, issued an amendment notification on February 25, 2026, to modify the final findings of the anti-dumping investigation into Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET Resin) imports originating in or exported from China. This notification, issued under the authority of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Antidumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, revised the original findings previously published on December 28, 2020. The amendment introduced a mandatory documentation requirement for importers seeking to benefit from specific individual duty rates rather than the residual "all other rates" category. This measure came into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette of India.

The legislative intent behind this amendment was to streamline the collection of anti-dumping duties which are trade remedial taxes imposed on imports priced below fair market value and to ensure that individual rates were applied only to genuine manufacturers. Under the previous statutory framework, while individual rates were specified for certain Chinese exporters, the mechanism for verifying the origin and manufacturer at the point of customs clearance required further strengthening. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies addressed this limitation by inserting a new conditional clause into the existing duty structure to prevent potential duty circumvention.

The legislation provided: “The application of the individual duty rates specified for the companies mentioned in the above duty table shall be conditional upon presentation to the customs authorities of a valid commercial invoice, on which shall appear a declaration dated and signed by an official of the entity issuing such invoice, identified by his/her name and function, drafted as follows: I, the undersigned, certify that the (volume) of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET Resin) sold for export to India covered by this invoice was manufactured by (company name and address) in China PR. I declare that the information provided in this invoice is complete and correct.”

This new enforcement mechanism mandated that if an importer failed to present a valid commercial invoice containing the prescribed declaration, the customs authorities would apply the higher duty rate applicable to the "all other rates" category. The notification clarified that this requirement operated without prejudice to independent verification procedures, such as official audits or inspections, conducted by customs authorities under existing laws. By substituting the unconditional application of rates with a document-linked verification process, the government aimed to mitigate the risk of misdeclaration and ensure the integrity of the trade defense measures imposed on PET Resin, a polymer widely used in the production of plastic bottles and food containers. This amendment notification remains an integral part of the regulatory framework and must be read in conjunction with the original findings issued in 2020.

Keywords: Anti-dumping duty, PET Resin, China PR, DGTR, Customs Tariff Act, Trade Remedies, Commercial Invoice, Import Regulations

Geo Tags: India
District: Not Applicable