Council Regulation (EC) No 2744/2000 of 14 December 2000 amending Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of sacks and bags made of polyethylene or polypropylene originating, inter alia, in India
Date: 2000-12-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: India, anti-dumping legislation, import policy, originating product, packaging product, plastics

15.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 316/67

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2744/2000

of 14 December 2000

amending Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of sacks
and bags made of polyethylene or polypropylene originating, inter alia, in India

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22
December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from
countries not members of the European Community (1), and in
particular Article 11(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission
after consulting the Advisory Committee,

Whereas:

A. PREVIOUS PROCEDURE

By Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 (2), the Council imposed
a definitive anti-dumping duty of 36,0 % on imports of
sacks and bags made of polyethylene or polypropylene
(hereinafter ‘product concerned’) originating, inter alia, in
India, with the exception of imports from several Indian
companies
specifically mentioned, which are either
subject to a lesser rate of duty or to no duty at all.
This Regulation was
by
Regulation (EC) No 96/1999 (3). The product is currently
classifiable under CN codes 6305 32 81, 6305 33 91,
ex 3923 21 00, ex 3923 29 10 and ex 3923 29 90.

subsequently

amended

B. CURRENT PROCEDURE

The Commission subsequently received an application to
initiate a ‘new exporter’ review of Regulation (EC) No
1950/97, pursuant to Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC)
from the Indian
No 384/96 (the ‘basic Regulation’),
producer Subham Polymers Ltd (hereinafter referred to
as ‘the company concerned’). The company concerned
claimed that it was not related to any of the exporting
producers in India subject to the anti-dumping measures
in force with regard to the product concerned. Further-
more, it claimed that it had not exported the product
concerned during the original period of investigation (1
April 1994 to 31 March 1995), but had exported the
product concerned to the Community since then.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The product covered by the current review is the same
product as the one under consideration in Regulation
(EC) No 1950/97.

(11)

The Commission examined the evidence submitted by
the Indian exporting producer concerned and considered
it sufficient to justify the initiation of a review in accord-
ance with the provisions of Article 11(4) of the basic
the Advisory
consultation
Regulation. After
Committee and after the Community industry concerned

of

had been given the opportunity to comment,
the
Commission initiated, by Regulation (EC) No 621/
2000 (4), a review of Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 with
regard to the company concerned and commenced its
investigation.

By the Regulation initiating the review, the Commission
also repealed the anti-dumping duty imposed by Regula-
tion (EC) No 1950/97 with regard to imports of the
product concerned produced and exported to the
Community by the company concerned and directed
customs authorities, pursuant to Article 14(5) of the
basic Regulation, to take appropriate steps to register
such imports.

services officially

the
The Commission's
advised
the
company concerned and the representatives of
exporting country. Furthermore,
it gave other parties
directly concerned the opportunity to make their views
known in writing and to request a hearing. However no
such request was received by the Commission.

The Commission's services sent a questionnaire to the
company concerned and received a reply within the
deadline.

The investigation of dumping covered the period from 1
January 1998 to 31 December 1999 (the ‘investigation
period’).

The same methodology as that used in the original
investigation was applied in the current investigation.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

C. SCOPE OF THE REVIEW

(10) As no request for a review of the findings on injury was
made in this investigation, the review was limited to
dumping.

D. RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION

1. New exporter qualification

confirmed

investigation

The
company
concerned had not exported the product concerned
during the original period of investigation and that it
this
had begun exporting to the Community after
period.

that

the

to

according

documentary

evidence
Furthermore,
submitted,
the company was able to satisfactorily
demonstrate that it did not have any links, direct or
indirect, with any of the Indian exporting producers
subject
to the anti-dumping measures in force with
regard to the product concerned.

(1) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p.1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 2238/2000 (OJ L 257, 11.10.2000, p. 2).

(2) OJ L 276, 9.10.1997, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 11, 16.1.1999, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 75, 24.3.2000, p. 45.

L 316/68

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

15.12.2000

it

is

company
confirmed
Accordingly,
concerned should be considered a new exporter in
accordance with Article 11(4) of the basic Regulation,
and thus an individual dumping margin should be deter-
mined for it.

that

the

2. Dumping

(12)

i.e. one

the quantity involved,

It should be noted that the exporting producer's sales to
the Community consisted of a single shipment. It was
found that
single
container load of 15 tonnes over a period of two years,
although sufficient to initiate a ‘new exporter’ review, did
not permit a meaningful assessment of the situation of
dumping as regards this exporting producer. Indeed, one
shipment cannot normally be considered to represent
ordinary export trading activities of a producer of sacks
and bags. In fact it was established that the average
quantity exported by the Indian companies involved in
the original case was about 575 tonnes over a period of
one year.

(13) Moreover,

the company concerned was not able to
supply a satisfactory questionnaire reply with regard to
both domestic sales prices and the adjustments claimed
to the normal value and export price.

(14) None the less, given that

the information provided
demonstrated that the company concerned was indeed a
‘new exporter’ within the meaning of the basic Regula-
tion, it was concluded that the weighted average duty of
the Indian companies investigated during the original
anti-dumping investigation, i.e. 10,5 %, would constitute
the most
the
company concerned. The same approach had already
been taken in Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 with respect
to three other Indian companies which did not export
the product concerned to the Community during the
original
started
period,
exporting after this period.

anti-dumping duty for

investigation

but which

appropriate

E. AMENDMENT OF THE MEASURES BEING REVIEWED

(15)

Based on the findings made during the investigation, it is
considered that imports into the Community of sacks
and bags produced and exported by Subham Polymers
Ltd should be subject to an anti-dumping duty corre-
sponding to the weighted average duty rate of the Indian
companies investigated during the original anti-dumping

investigation. It is therefore proposed that Regulation
(EC) No 1950/97 be amended accordingly.

F. RETROACTIVE LEVYING OF THE ANTI-DUMPING

DUTY

(16) As

the review has

resulted in a determination of
dumping in respect of Subham Polymers Ltd, the anti-
dumping duty applicable to this company shall also be
levied retroactively from the date of initiation of this
review on imports which have been made subject to
registration pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No
621/2000.

G. DISCLOSURE AND DURATION OF THE MEASURES

(17)

The company concerned was informed of the facts and
considerations on the basis of which it was intended to
impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on its imports
into the Community. The company objected to the
proposed course of action, but did not put forward any
new arguments.

(18)

This review does not affect the date on which Regulation
(EC) No 1950/97 will expire pursuant to Article 11(2) of
the basic Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.
Article 1(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1950/97 is hereby
amended by adding the following to the section headed ‘India’:

Rate of duty
(%)

TARIC additional
code

‘Subham Polymers Ltd

10,5

8424’

2.
The duty hereby imposed shall also be levied retroactively
on imports of the product concerned which have been regis-
tered pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 621/2000.

3.
Unless otherwise specified,
concerning customs duties shall apply.

the provisions

in force

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 14 December 2000.

For the Council

The President

D. GILLOT