The Ministry of Finance has notified the levy of a countervailing duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value on the imports of textured and tempered (whether coated or uncoated) glass from Malaysia.

The countervailing duty imposed under this notification would be applicable for five years (unless revoked) from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and would be payable in Indian currency.

In December 2020, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR)had announced that it would levy countervailing duty on tempered glass from Malaysia to mitigate the benefits enjoyed by producers of the glass in Malaysia.

Indian solar glass manufacturer Gujarat Borosil Limited had petitioned the DGTR to impose a countervailing duty on imports of textured toughened (tempered) glass from Malaysia.

Borosil had said that the producers of tempered glass in Malaysia had benefitted from subsidies provided at various levels by the government of Malaysia and other public bodies. The subsidies comprised both direct and potential transfers of funds or liabilities.

The latest notification states that the duty is applicable if:

• The tempered glass has been exported to India from Malaysia at subsidized prices
• The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to the subsidization of tempered glass
• The material injury has been caused by the subsidized imports of the tempered glass originating in or exported from Malaysia.

The exchange rate applicable for the calculation of such countervailing duty would be the rate specified in the Government of India’s notification.

The countervailing duty will be applicable as follows:

In August 2020, DGTR had published a list of parties interested in its anti-subsidy investigation concerning the import of solar glass from Malaysia. Eight parties expressed their interest in the investigation.

Xinyi Solar (Malaysia) submitted an exporter questionnaire response, and the Embassy of Malaysia offered a government response. Waaree Energies, Isolation Energy, Patanjali Renewable Energy, and Goldi Solar Private Limited had also responded to importer questionnaires.

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