Countervailing duty investigation on imports of Textured Tempered Coated and Uncoated Glass from Vietnam

Directorate General of Trade Remedies, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India with Case No.

CVD (01) – 04/2023 has issued an initiation notification for a countervailing duty investigation concerning imports of "Textured Tempered Coated and Uncoated Glass" originating in or exported from Vietnam.

Here are the highlights on what has been initiated, why, and who all should be concerned.

M/s Borosil Renewables Limited,(hereinafter referred to as the “applicant”), has filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as the 'Authority’), on behalf of domestic industry, in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act,1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred as the 'Act’) and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules’), seeking initiation of countervailing duty investigation by alleging subsidization of textured tempered glass whether coated or uncoated”, originating in or exported from Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the 'subject country’).

The applicant has alleged that the producers/exporters of the subject goods in the subject country have benefitted from the actionable subsidies provided at various levels by the government of the subject country, including the government of different provinces and municipalities in which producers/exporters are located, and other public bodies.

The applicant has relied upon the relevant laws, rules, regulations and other notifications of the relevant government agencies and public bodies as available in the public domain and in the determination of other investigating authorities who had conducted comprehensive investigations of such schemes and concluded the existence of countewailable subsidy programs.

In terms of Article 13 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) pre-initiation consultations were held on 26.12.2023 with the representatives of the Government of Vietnam.

The comments received from the Vietnamese government have been taken on record and the same will be duly taken into consideration during the course of the investigation.

The prima facie evidence provided by the applicant shows that the producers and exporters of the subject goods in the subject country have benefitted from a number of subsidy schemes/programs, granted by the government of Vietnam and/or their respective public bodies as listed below.

The alleged subsidies consist of direct transfer of funds and potential direct transfer of funds or liabilities; government revenue that is otherwise due is foregone or not collected; provision of goods and services for less than adequate remuneration; etc.

Import duty exemption on imports of raw materials for enterprises in non-tariff zones

Import duty exemption on imports of machinery and equipment

It has been alleged that the above-mentioned schemes are subsidies since these involve a financial contribution from the government of Vietnam or other regional or local, including public bodies and confer a benefit on the recipient(s).

These schemes are also alleged to be limited to certain enterprises or groups of enterprises and/or products and/or regions and therefore specific and countervailable.