RI slaps antidumping duty on antibiotics from India

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Antidumping Committee (KADI) has followed up a complaint by a local firm by imposing temporary countervailing duties of 14 percent on imports of two commonly prescribed antibiotics from India.

KADI's vice chairman Taufik Abbas said on Friday the government resorted to the four-month-long duties because of the uncooperative attitude of four Indian companies allegedly involved in dumping ampicillin trihydrate and amoxycillin trihydrate on the Indonesian market.

"The Indian companies refused to give explanations to the investigation team," Taufik was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Taufik said the committee had contacted Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Kopran Limited, Max-6B Limited and Morepen Lab. Ltd. by letter through the Indian Embassy here, but received no response.

The antidumping duty imposed on all imports of the antibiotics from Indian companies is stipulated in Minister of Finance Decree No. 479/KMK.05/1998.

The ruling went into effect on Nov. 5.

The decree states the committee's initial investigations found positive evidence the Indian companies dumped their products here, causing great loss to the domestic industry.

"To prevent further loss during the investigation period, it is deemed necessary to impose... temporary antidumping duties on the imports of ampicillin trihydrate and amoxycillin trihydrate from India," the decree states.

Private pharmaceutical firm PT Sandoz Biochemie Farma Indonesia, a local producer of the two antibiotics, filed dumping claims concerning imports of the two medicines.

Taufik acknowledged the commission investigated the dumping claim filed by Sandoz on imported medicines from India.

He said the four Indian firms would be given the opportunity to provide explanations to KADI during the next four months.

"But if after four months they still could not provide information and refused to cooperate with the investigation team, the antidumping duty will be final," he said. (gis)