Reuter reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals were up 3% after the government imposed a 35% safeguard duty on electrical insulators imported from China, in a bid to protect domestic manufacturers from cheaper shipments.
BHEL, India's biggest power equipment maker, and other companies had complained that Chinese producers were resorting to predatory pricing to capture the market.
According to a finance ministry notification dated December 20th, the customs and excise department of the finance ministry imposed the duty on Chinese imports for one year, to be lowered to 25% the year after that.
The notification was posted on the customs department website earlier, but was not widely reported by media until Tuesday.
A senior finance ministry official said that "The duty has been imposed to protect domestic producers, and would be applicable on imported electrical insulators of ceramics or porcelain as well."
Official said that imports of electric insulators mainly used by power transmission companies had gone up to 35,000 metric tonnes in the 2010-11 fiscal year, and said predatory pricing by Chinese producers was hurting domestic firms.
Officials added that imports from China have captured over 40% of domestic demand, and now contribute to around 90 percent of total imports.
The official further added that the new tax will not be applicable on insulators used by the telecom companies or retail consumers and excludes imports from other countries.
