India has initiated a probe into an alleged dumping of flasks and bottles by Chinese firms in the country following a complaint by a domestic player.

The move is aimed at protecting domestic players from cheap imports of 'vacuum insulated flasks or vessels of stainless steel' from the neighbouring country.

The probe was started after a complaint by Placero International Pvt Ltd was received, which stated that the domestic industry is getting injured due to an increase in dumped imports.

Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the commerce ministry's investigation arm, is probing the dumping of this product originating in or exported from China.

The products under consideration for the probe include flasks, cups, bottles, kettle, carafe, and dispensers.

According to a DGTR notification, there is prima facie evidence of injury being caused to the domestic industry by dumped imports from China.

"The authority, hereby, initiates an anti-dumping investigation" on the imports, the notification has said.

If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, DGTR would recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duty on these imports.

The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose duties.

Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.

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