In support of the domestic optical fibre industry, the Finance Ministry imposed 5-year anti-dumping duty on imports from China, South Korea, and Indonesia, which ranges between USD 122 per kfkm and USD 857.23 per kfkm.

Aug 5, 2023

The Finance Ministry had taken action by instituting a confirmed anti-dumping duty for five years on specific optical fibre imports originating from China, South Korea, and Indonesia. This move aimed to provide some relief to the domestic optical fibre industry, which had been adversely affected by the influx of low-priced and subpar imports. Acting on the advice of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the revenue department imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of dispersion unshifted Single-Mode Optical Fibre (SMOF) from the aforementioned countries. The anti-dumping duty varies between USD 122 per kfkm and USD 857.23 per kfkm, with the trade metric being fibre kilometers (fkm).

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Rollout of 3G/4G/5G by telecom companies, connectivity of gram panchayat, and defence majorly increased the consumption of SMOF. Birla Furukawa Fiber Optics, Sterlite India Technologies, and Corning India Technologies accounting for 90 percent of total Indian production of SMOF had filed the petition seeking anti anti-dumping probe on SMOF imports from China, South Korea, and Indonesia. The revenue department’s move to impose anti-dumping duty on optical fibre coincides with India’s efforts for massive digitization drive through rural outreach programme such as BharatNet and private operators are also upgrading their networks for 4G and 5G services.