Government imposes anti-dumping duty on Ofloxacin import from China

The Revenue Department in the Finance Ministry has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of ‘Ofloxacin’, a pharma product used in treatment of certain infections from China. It was imposed for three years following recommendations of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) to protect domestic producers from below-cost shipments. In its probe DGAD had found that Ofloxacin exported to India from China was below its normal value, resulting in dumping. It had caused material injury to the domestic industry.

Ofloxacin

Ofloxacin is in class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. It is used to treat certain infections including bronchitis, pneumonia and infections of skin, bladder, urinary tract, reproductive organs, and prostate (a male reproductive gland). It works by killing bacteria that cause infections.

Anti-dumping duty

It is an import duty imposed by government on imported products which have prices less than their normal values or domestic price. It act as a protectionist and counter import measure used by a country under multilateral World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime to protect its domestic producers and market from below-cost/cheap imports. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practises and creating level-playing field for domestic producers with regard to foreign producers and exporters. It varies from product to product and from country to country. In India, anti-dumping duty to be levied is recommended by Ministry of Commerce (i.e. by DGAD), while Finance Ministry imposes it.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2018