Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 25: India will levy $460 to $681 a tonne on specified titanium dioxide from China. The five-year duty could support local producers but raise costs for paint makers.
India has reimposed anti-dumping duties on specified titanium dioxide imports from China. The levies range from $460 to $681 per metric tonne. They will apply for five years unless revised or withdrawn earlier. The duties cover only products described in the notification, not every titanium dioxide import.
The Finance Ministry notified the measure on Saturday. It acted on a recommendation from the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). In final findings dated August 3, 2026, the DGTR found dumping. It ruled these imports caused material injury and threatened further harm to Indian producers.
Anti-dumping duties are trade-remedy tools, not ordinary customs tariffs. Dumping generally means exporting goods below their established normal value. Investigators must also link those imports to harm suffered by domestic industry. A low price alone does not establish dumping under these legal tests.
India first imposed duties on the product in May 2025. The Indian Paint Association challenged that measure in the Calcutta High Court. The court directed the authorities to reconsider the earlier duty. The DGTR then conducted a fresh investigation and issued revised findings. The government accepted them and notified the new levy.
Rates vary by producer. LB Group companies and other listed manufacturers face the lowest rate of $460. Listed non-sampled cooperative producers pay $510 per tonne. Shandong Jinhai Titanium Resources Technology and Shandong Xianghai Titanium face $563. Anhui Gold Star Titanium Dioxide (Group) attracts $609. All other covered producers face the top rate of $681.
Individual rates carry conditions. Importers must present a valid commercial invoice declaring the manufacturer and confirming accuracy. Without it, the $681 rate applies. Although set in dollars, the duty is payable in Indian rupees.
Titanium dioxide, or TiO₂, is a white pigment. It gives products whiteness, brightness and opacity. Paints and coatings rely heavily on it, as do plastics and other industrial goods. Covered goods fall under tariff items 2823 00 10, 3206 11 10 and 3206 11 90. However, the product description, not classification, decides whether duty applies.
Some grades fall outside the duty’s scope. These include specified grades for food additives and pharmaceutical tablet coatings. Grades for cosmetics, sunscreens and textile or fibre production are also excluded. So is nano or ultrafine material below 100 nanometres for specified uses. These are product-specific exclusions, subject to conditions, not industry-wide exemptions.
For Indian titanium dioxide makers, the duty could ease pressure from imports found dumped. That may help them compete on price and use capacity better. Higher output or profits, however, are not assured.
Paint makers and other users face the opposite effect. Importing covered Chinese grades will now cost more. How much that hurts depends on inventories, contracts and alternative suppliers. Domestic availability and the pigment’s share of total production costs also matter.
Higher input costs do not automatically mean dearer paint. Competition may push companies to absorb part of the increase. A duty per tonne of pigment does not translate directly to finished-product prices. The final outcome will rest on manufacturers’ sourcing choices and domestic supply.
