The office of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has initiated an investigation on import of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) sheets for solar modules imported from China PR, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Thailand.

The DGAD has taken this step in response to a petition filed by Renewsys India Private Limited which sought the imposition of anti-dumping duty on EVA imports.

EVA sheets are integral to the process of production of solar modules. In the petition, Renewsys has said that they can produce EVA sheets of all widths and thicknesses as desired by solar module manufacturers in India.

According to the petition, Renewsys is the largest producer of EVA sheets in India. The petition is also backed by Vishakha Renewables Private Limited and Allied Glasses Private Limited. In the petition, it has been mentioned that there is no known difference between the EVA sheets imported from the above-mentioned countries and that produced by the petitioner, and the consumers can use the two interchangeably.

The investigation will focus on the EVA sheets exported to India between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017.

Exporters of EVA sheets from the countries mentioned in the petition, and other interested parties must submit their data and communication documents to the DGAD’s office within the next 40 days.

This is the third anti-dumping petition filed within the past 12 months in relation to the Indian solar manufacturing sector, including the anti-dumping petition against the import of solar cells and modules and another anti-dumping petition against imports of solar glass.

The Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) had filed an anti-dumping petition against solar imports from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia with the DGAD, Ministry of Trade and Commerce, requesting levy of interim duty on importers on June 5, 2017.

Since then, Indian solar manufacturers have withdrawn the anti-dumping petition filed with the Ministry of Trade and Commerce against solar cell and module imports from China, Taiwan and Malaysia on June 5, 2017. The petitioners will be filing the case again in the next few weeks.

The ISMA also filed a petition with the Directorate General of Safeguards Customs and Central Excise in December 2017 that sought the imposition of a safeguard duty on imported solar cells from China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. In a preliminary finding issued in January, the Directorate General of Safeguards Customs and Central Excise had recommended a 70 percent safeguard duty be imposed on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia for a period of 200 days. In response to a petition filed by Shapoorji Pallonji, on January 22, 2018, the Madras High Court put a temporary stay on the recommendation to levy a 70 percent safeguard duty on solar components imported to India.

In February 2018, Indian solar glass producer Gujarat Borosil filed a petition requesting the imposition of an anti-dumping duty on import of textured tempered glass (solar glass), whether coated or uncoated, to India from Malaysia.

In August 2017, the Indian Ministry of Finance imposed an anti-dumping duty on tempered glass (solar glass) imported from China in the range of $64.04 per metric ton (MT) to $136.21/MT.

This new case adds another layer of uncertainty to the Indian solar sector already besieged by trade cases.