The Finance Ministry has extended by six months the validity of existing anti-dumping duty on R-134a — an inert gas that is also called as tetrafluoroethane — imports from China.

R-134a is primarily used as a high temperature refrigerant for domestic refrigeration and automobile air-conditioners. It is also used in plastic foam blowing, as a cleaning solvent and as a propellant for the delivery of pharmaceuticals (e.g. bronchodilators), gas dusters, and in air driers, for removing the moisture from compressed air.

Based on the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) February 2021 move to initiate sunset review of the anti-dumping duty imposed in July 2016, the revenue department has now extended the validity by six months till January 10 next year.

SRF Limited, the sole producer of R-134a in the country, had filed the petition seeking sunset review of definitive anti dumping duty imposed in July 2016. It maybe recalled that revenue department had in July 2016 imposed definitive anti-dumping duty of $ 1.22 per kilogram on R-134a imports from China. This anti-dumping duty was to be valid for a period of five years till July 2021, but now extended till January 10 next year.

Prashant Yadav, President and CEO, Fluorochemicals Business, SRF Limited, told BusinessLine that the Centre’s move to extend anti-dumping duty on R-134a for six months should have some positive impact as it will continue to restrict cheap imports from China.

“HFC 134-a is mainly used by the automobile sector which is currently under stress, however post Covid19, we expect this sector to come back strongly coupled with pent up demand from the auto service sector,” Yadav said.

He also highlighted that India today is self-reliant in the refrigerants space and that SRF had played a key role in that, “else we would have had no option but to rely on imports, mainly from China”.