The government has imposed anti-dumping duties on certain stainless steel products, primarily used by the auto and consumer durables industries, days prior to the budget.

The finance ministry imposed duties up to $2,254 per tonne for steel items from the US, the EU and China to protect the domestic industry.

Imports from South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand will also be penalised.

Finland's Outokumpu, ArcelorMittal and Korea's Posco are the major exporters of steel products to India. In April 2009, the government had imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on these goods Last month, to curb rising domestic prices, unrestricted imports of hot-rolled steel were allowed.

Steel makers have been demanding curbs on imports and an export tax on iron ore. Steel demand in the country has risen 8 per cent so far this fiscal year, because of growing demand from housing, auto and infrastructure firms.

Car makers had benefited from lower input costs, primarily steel, to report a huge jump in sales. Consumer durable firms, another heavy user of steel, reported 46 per cent sales growth in December against just 4.2 per cent a year ago.

Reacting to the levy, the All-India Stainless Steel Industries Association president Vasant Kotabia said that the domestic user industry would write to the finance ministry opposing such a move as products of desired quality and specification were not made locally.

India is also considering an anti-dumping duty on anti-bacterial drug penicillin from China and Mexico and radial tyres from China and Thailand.

The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties in the commerce ministry has recommended the imposition of an anti-dumping duty to the extent of $90 per bus or truck tyre.

The provisional anti-dumping duty to be imposed on Penicillin-G Potassium and 6-Amino Penicillanic Acid would range between $18.54 per billion oxford units (BOU) and $2.10 (BOU)," a commerce ministry official said.