Solar-panel manufacturer moves HC against anti-dumping duty

First Solar Inc, USA, one of the world's largest solar-panel manufacturers, today approached the Delhi High Court seeking reversal of the recommendation that anti-dumping duty be slapped on the import of its material.
A bench comprising justices Kailash Gambhir and V K Shali agreed to postpone the matter for July 7 after the counsel for First Solar said that the matter be taken up once the final decision is taken on the issue by the government.
During the brief hearing, the court questioned why the manufacturer has filed the petition when the government is yet to finalise anti-dumping duties against the company.

"Nothing has happened at this stage...Notification is yet to come. When it comes then you challenge it. Why you want the court to go into each and every matter," the bench said.
Standing counsel Sumeet Pushkarna, representing the Centre, also opposed the petitioners' plea to reverse the decision, on which notification is yet to be issued, saying the application is not maintainable and it deserves to be rejected.
"The designated authority has determined export price after rejecting their significant export sales, in gross violation of legal provision, past practices, custom laws in India...," the petition said.

Anti-dumping duty is a penalty imposed on suspiciously low-priced imports to protect local industry from unfair competition.

In May, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, had recommended anti-dumping duties for solar cells imported from the US, China, Taiwan and Malaysia.
Local manufacturers had claimed that the imports were being priced below cost and were hurting Indian solar-cell makers.