The finance ministry has rejected recommendation from Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties to impose anti-dumping duty on import of two key drug ingredients i.e. Penicillin-G and 6-APA from China and Mexico used to make antibiotics worth about Rs 3,000 crore.
In January, the commerce ministry recommended duty of $2.5 per billion on units of Penicillin-G imported from China and Mexico. Further, it had also proposed duty of around $9.28 per kg on 6-APA imported from China after Indian suppliers complained Chinese and Mexican firms are shipping it at a low price to kill competition from Indian manufacturers. This is the second time the finance ministry has rejected recommendations by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties, the nodal investigating agency of the commerce ministry.
Several brand drugmakers who prefer to buy the antibiotics from low-cost Chinese suppliers said that the two Indian firms are unable to meet the local industry’s demand. The suppliers such as Alembic and SPIC, on whose complaints the DGFT carried out the study before making the recommendation, said they can meet the demand of local market.
