On March 14, 2024, the Tax Bureau of the Ministry of Finance of India made an important decision, announcing the imposition of anti - dumping duties for a period of five years on printed circuit boards originating from or imported from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This measure aims to protect the domestic industry from the impact of imported products that are considered to be below the fair market value.

According to the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India on December 29, 2023, the anti - dumping duty rates vary for different producers/exporters in the Chinese mainland, ranging from 0% to 75.72%, while a uniform 30% is levied on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This decision affects products classified under the Indian customs code 85340000.

This move is a follow - up action to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India accepting the application of the Indian Printed Circuit Association (IPCA) on December 30 last year to launch an anti - dumping investigation into printed circuit boards from these regions. The investigation period is from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, covering nearly four years, aiming to assess the impact of imports from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Indian domestic market.

Although this anti - dumping measure has been taken, the Ministry of Finance of India ensures that not all types of printed circuit boards are taxed. In order to encourage the import of high - end technology products and those that meet specific standards, this anti - dumping measure does not apply to printed circuit boards with more than six layers, PCBs for mobile phones, filled PCBs of various sizes, embedded copper block PCBs, inlay PCBs, POFV circuit boards or Via - in - Pad circuit boards, HDI circuit boards, rigid - flexible boards and package substrates/IC package substrates.

This measure by India indicates that the government is taking active measures to protect its growing electronics industry from unfair price competition in the foreign market. Through these measures, India aims to promote the sustainable development of the domestic industry and encourage domestic and foreign investors to invest in high - tech and innovative fields. However, this move may also trigger discussions among domestic and foreign producers and exporters, especially those enterprises that rely on imported printed circuit boards to support their manufacturing and export activities.

This decision takes effect from the date of publication in the official gazette, meaning that all importers and manufacturers involved must immediately comply with the new tax rates.