Hope for 15% safeguard duty: Satish Pai, VP, Aluminium Association of India

Indian aluminium industry seeks a safeguard duty of at least 15 per cent covering all product categories from primary to value-added, said Satish Pai, Vice President of Aluminium Association of India, in a recent interview.

Pai said, "We have been always asking as you rightfully said about 15-20 per cent. Now, the government has in the last Budget, increased the duty on aluminium from 5 percent to 7.5 per cent. So, we got 2.5 per cent more duty. Now, the important point is that in that same Budget, the green cess on coal went up from INR 200 a tonne, it actually doubled to INR 400 a tonne and 40 per cent of the cost of production of aluminium comes from power.

"So, that 2.5 per cent increase in duty got negated by the increase in cess on the coal. So, as a part of the overall procedure, the aluminium association had applied for safeguards. That safeguard is as you said the DG safeguard has now recommended for a safeguard of 5 per cent on primary alone. Our request was for the whole chapter 76 which means primary as well as value added products. So we wanted the safeguard on all the aluminium products. So, the government is considering 5 per cent. We would actually like it to be more like 15 per cent but I am sure the government will take the right decision."

He said since power and transportation sectors benefit from government subsidies, particularly in Middle East and China, Indian manufacturers feel handicapped.

The industry has filed for anti-dumping duty on aluminium foil and is also pushing for a countervailing duty (CVD) on certain products, he added.