KARACHI: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) on Wednesday slapped provisional countervailing duty for four months on the import of Indian fine cotton yarn.

The duty, ranging from Rs26.89 to Rs55.8 a kilogram, will apply on the import of cotton having 55.5 or more counts originating or imported from India.

The commission opened a countervailing investigation on April 20, 2016 under Section 11 of the Coun­tervailing Duties Act of 2015, after a complaint lodged by All Pakistan Textile Mills Association on behalf of the domestic industry.

The countervailing duty is an import tax imposed on certain goods to prevent dumping or counter export subsidies.

Under the investigation, three Indian producers of fine cotton yarn (carded or combed) were selected for determining subsidies on the basis of the information provided by them and the government of India.

The NTC concluded that the subsidised imports had hurt the domestic industry as they suppressed domestic prices.

Furthermore, the subsidised imports of fine cotton yarn also adversely affected domestic industry’s market share, sales, profits and profitability, cash flows, inventories return on investment and its ability to raise capital.

The three India exports which were selected for investigation by the NTC were slapped with Rs26.89, 50.81 and 48.10 per kg provisional amount of countervailing duty, while a duty of Rs55.8 per kg has been imposed on other Indian exports of fine cotton yarn.

However, fine cotton yarn imported from countries other than India and cotton yarn having less than 55.5 counts will not be subjected to the provisional countervailing duty, the NTC’s decision said.

The duty will not be levied on imports of the investigated product that are to be used as inputs in products destined solely for exports and are covered under any scheme exempting customs duty for exports under the Customs Act of 1969.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2017