Industry asks govt to relook at levying Anti-dumping duty on CPTs

New Delhi, May 16 (UNI) The Indian Colour Television industry today asked the government to relook at its proposal of levying Anti-dumping duty on the imports of colour picture tubes (CPTs) in the country.

''The government should reconsider its decision to levy Anti-dumping duty on the CPTs as it will lead to further price escalation,'' said President, Consumer Electronics and Appliance Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), Ravindra Zutshi.

India has a Free Trade Agreement with Thailand under which the imports of TV sets from Thailand attracts no customs duty which makes them cheaper.

Having to compete with finished CTV imports from Thailand and bear the pressure of rising input costs, domestic CTV manufacturers have made a strong case to the government not to levy anti-dumping duty on colour picture tube coming from China, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand.

''Domestic CTV production is insufficient to meet the growing demand in the country. The industry is relying completely on imported picture tubes for slim and ultra slim TVs. The imposition of anti-dumping duty will adversely impact the manufacturing cost of TVs,'' Mr Ravindra Zutshi added.

Any increase in sourcing cost will naturally have a bearing on selling price of television sets he added.

Currently, all leading manufacturers like LG, Videocon, Samsung and Onida are importing tubes from countries like Malaysia, Thailand and China.

UNI AK PDT KN2046