Indian Company Threatens Chinese Suppliers

Indian Company Threatens Chinese Suppliers

A toner business in India has issued a warning to Chinese companies to raise the prices on their printing consumables or it will complain to the Indian government and lobby for taxes and duties to be added to all Chinese imports.

The Mumbai-based Indrayani Enterprises (Indrayani) has written to a number of Chinese suppliers seeking a price-fixing arrangement threatening them with “anti-dumping” taxes on their products coming into the Indian market if they do not comply.

The letter of demand (pictured below) says, in part, “So our request before complaint to government we would like you to raise the price and don’t fight with each other. If we complain sure there will be anti-dumping duty on laser toner cartridges. This is very serious issue. Hope we can agree on these points. (sic)”

India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, is a price-sensitive market but enjoys free enterprise as the basis of its democracy and economy.

A storm is brewing within the Indian industry over the importing of imaging supplies from China. Back in August 2020, duties were added to “black toner in powder form” after toner manufacturers lobbied the government at the time. Buyers were slow to put forward their case at the time to argue the imports were not being dumped, and that local manufacturers were seeking a monopoly. As a result, toners being shipped from China and Malaysia have been reduced by 80%. Following the levies being implemented, the prices of Indian-made toners increased significantly. Buyer groups claim the quality and the supply of the locally-made toners became a problem and it hurt their businesses.

The local imaging supplies industry estimates almost 98% of all finished printer cartridges sold in India are of Chinese origin. They say they want this supply of the cheaper, good quality Chinese products to continue. Local buyers have told RT Media they will not be complacent this time. The black, powder toners have the duties added, but the ready-to-go, finished products coming from China do not, at present.

Indian distributors claim Indrayani has no real case for lobbying for anti-dumping duty. Indrayani is a toner filling and cartridge assembly business and is not a manufacturer of components and parts which are used in the manufacture of printer cartridges. In other words, the company also relies on importing components and ready-to-go finished printer cartridges.

Trade associations are urging local distributors to contact their Chinese suppliers to encourage them to continue with their regular sales and shipments of products. At the same time, the Indian distributors and buyers will ignore the “no action required” requests that were made back in 2020 when black toners were being evaluated by the government.

Related:

• India to be Less Reliant on China for Imaging Supplies
• Indian Aftermarket Reacts to Border Clashes with China
• Is India Ready to Cut Imports and Develop Manufacturing?
• India Adds Taxes to Toners from China Malaysia and Taiwan

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