Borosil Hopes To See Resumption Of Anti-dumping Duties From 2024

Indian solar glass manufacturer Borosil Renewables is now hopeful of seeing a resumption of anti-dumping duties against the imports of solar glass. The company recently shared its views with investors in its latest investors call. 

In August 2022, the Union government relaxed the norms for imports of solar glass by discontinuing the anti-dumping duties. Borosil, in its investors’ call, claimed that the decision severely affected the profit margins of Borosil and three other Indian solar glass manufacturers. 

However, the company said that it raised its concerns with the Indian government and is hopeful of retention of the anti-dumping duties. The Mumbai-based company also said that its average ex-factory selling prices also went down in the last quarter due to the increased dumping of cheaper solar glass from Chinese players. 

“Average ex-factory selling prices during the quarter were about Rs 110 per millimeter as compared to Rs 139 per millimeter in the corresponding quarter in the last year, a sharp decline of 21%, thereby causing a steep erosion in the margins,” PK Kheruka, Executive Chairman of Borosil Renewable said in the latest investors call. 

He also added that the domestic selling prices started to decline after the discontinuation of antidumping duty against China in August 2022 as a result of dumping from China, Vietnam, and Malaysia, despite rising input prices. “The decline in the domestic selling prices was even higher at 29% compared to the corresponding quarter in the last financial year,” he added. 

Kheruka said that from August ’22, solar glass imports remained completely exempted from payment of any import duty post discontinuation of antidumping duty against China. 

“While imports are subject to a basic levy of basic customs duty of 15%, a circle going back to 1999 exempts imports of solar components from payment of customs duty,” he said. 

He said that the domestic demand is likely to stabilize only after the stabilization of prices. He also told the investors that the solar installations in the second quarter of FY24 stood at 1.7 GW against 3.1 GW during the same period last year. It also said that the domestic glass demand has also faced issues since the MNRE suspended the implementation of ALMM for one year until March 2024. 

“It is extremely necessary to bring back the ALMM mechanism from 1st April 2024 to save the industry from becoming unviable,” he said. Kheruka also informed the investors that the company is not planning to expand in Europe or elsewhere unless the policies become favourable.

When asked about the fate of the company in case of continuation of the exemption in antidumping duty, he said, “I’m not sure that that is going to happen (continuation of exemption) because Mr. Modi is very, very determined to have a strong domestic industry. And for the sake of a little bit of cheaper glass, to allow your domestic industry to be destroyed is such a huge price to pay that nobody can pay it, in my opinion,.”

He also added, “So I don’t think there’s any chance of them not taking action. Yes, it’s a fact, then they need to be convinced; all the numbers have to be presented to them. And there are big ramifications for taking any decision in the solar business. And I guess they have to weigh everything carefully before they take a call.”