NEW DELHI, Aug 8: The government is examining the recommendations of the designated authority of the Commerce Ministry on imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on newsprint imports into the country, the Lok Sabha was informed today. The goverment's decision on the anti-dumping duty will be taken at ``appropriate'' time, Union Commerce Minister B B Ramaiah said in a written reply today.The Indian Newspaper Society and others has requested the government not to impose provisional anti-dumping duty on newsprint imported from United States, Canada and Russia as recommended by the designated authority in its preliminary findings relating to the period between April 1, 1996 and October 31, 1996, the minister said.The government has already imposed a 10 per cent ad valorem customs duty on imported newsprint with effect from October 29, 1996 following decline in prices of newsprint in the international market and increase in average cost of production of indigenous newsprint industry, Ramaiah said.The Union Textiles Minister R L Jalappa told the Lok Sabha today that India's export of unbleached cotton grey fabrics had declined to Rs 1093.80 crore during 1996-97 against shipments of Rs 1187.43 crore during 1995-96.He told Sriballav Panigrahi that the European Commission had, inter alia, re-initiated anti-dumping proceedings on import of unbleached cotton grey fabrics from India.Even if the proceedings were not being initiated, India's exports would not have increased much as there is only a limited scope to raise exports to the European Union.This is in view of quantitative ceiling on its import into the European Union countries under the Indo-European Union bilateral agreement, the minister said.
