Tile manufacturers call for dumping duty on imports

The Indian Council of Ceramic Tiles and Sanitaryware (ICCTAS), the apex body of the domestic tile manufacturers, has approached the government asking it to levy anti-dumping duty on import of glazed wall and floor tiles.

According to industry estimates, glazed wall and floor tiles worth Rs 500 crore were dumped into the country in 2006-07, thereby affecting the domestic manufacturers.

"Considering a market size of Rs 5,000 crore for these products, the dumping has adversely impacted the domestic players. Prices of glazed wall and floor tiles in the domestic market have already dropped by over 15 per cent in the last one year," said Nenshi L Shah, CMD, Euro Ceramics.

In the last five-six years, the value of dumped glazed tiles has increased from Rs 100-500 crore. This is a cause of concern for the domestic industry. If this continues, the domestic industry would be badly hit, he added.

Notably, the government had levied an anti-dumping duty on vitrified tile import from China and UAE in 2003, after representations from the domestic manufacturers.

However, after the imposition of the anti-dumping duty on vitrified tiles, large quantities of glazed wall and floor tiles are being dumped into India, mainly from China, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The imported tile is cheaper by 30-40 per cent compared with the domestic ones and has impacted domestic companies such as Kajaria and Johnson.

"Our sales are getting affected as the retailer is getting higher margins on the imported tiles. We have made investments in adding capacity and are now being impacted due to dumping," said Ashok Kajaria, MD, Kajaria Ceramics.