The government has imposed a Basic Customs Duty of up to 11% on imported toner cartridges, aiming to encourage local manufacturing and reduce imports. Now, there are plans from the government side to further impose the anti-dumping duty which is set increase the prices of the mono-toner cartridges further. However, manufacturing cartridges in India presents challenges, such as the lack of locally available components, forcing the brands and traders to rely on imports. Imaging Solution spoke with key industry players to gather insights on the potential impact of these changes on partners, manufacturers, and end-users. Below are their perspectives.
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Mr. Shashank Ruiwale, President, Indigo Prints Smart Pvt Ltd (Brand: Formujet; domestic manufacturer of cartridges), asserts, “Basic Customs Duty (BCD) was imposed in Oct 2024, and it give some advantage to the domestic cartridge manufacturers, but the real push comes only after the anti-dumping duty comes into effect hopefully from March 2025. The decision to impose anti-dumping duty is a good idea as it encourages the domestic manufacturing, but there are some challenges too in this context. There are over 1000 different types of mono-toner cartridges all of which the domestic manufacturers cannot produce. Some industries and companies in India use specific types of mono-printers for which domestic manufacturers cannot make cartridges. If the anti-dumping duty is imposed on all types of black toner cartridges, the users will be compelled to pay more even on the imported cartridges which cannot be manufactured in India. Domestic manufacturing of mono-cartridges is still in the infant stages so it is inappropriate to expect the level of quality and reliability maintained by Chinese manufacturers who are the main exporters to India. It will take several years before the domestic manufacturers could catch up with the Chinese in terms quantity and variety. From our side, we will scale up production once the anti-dumping duty comes into effect and try to deliver the best possible quality to cartridges to the Indian market.”
Mr. Puneet Singhal, President of CMDA-Delhi (Regd), shares, “The anti-dumping duty on the mono-toner cartridges is definitely a step towards in pushing the Make in India initiative to the next level. Initially, there could be some difficulties like increasing prices of the cartridges, and non-availability of some of the models of cartridges from the domestic manufacturers. The industry has to make some adjustments at the initial stages for a bigger cause of making India self-reliant. However, the industry can still appeal to the government if they have any issues related to anti-dumping duty before it is implemented.”
Mr. Sharad Midha, President, Sumanglam International Pvt Ltd (Brand: Odyssey), says, “In my opinion, the expected anti-dumping duty on the mono-toner cartridges is not fair at this stage, because it will push up the prices of the imported cartridges and the burden of higher prices falls ultimately on the end users. The demand for the mono-toner cartridges in India is approximately 10 lakh pieces, whereas domestic manufacturers are able to provide hardly 1 lakh pieces per month. In fact, most of the domestic manufacturers are assembling the imported components. Next, the quality of the domestic cartridges is not up to the expectations and the rejection rates are high compared to the imported ones. Chinese are more professional when it comes to designing, testing and manufacturing. So, at present we have to depend on the imported cartridges, which will get costlier and the margins will shrink further. Profit margins are already low in the imaging industry; anti-dumping duty will make the conditions worse, as we cannot increase prices of our cartridges in proportion to the anti-dumping duty. Hence, it can make survival difficult to most players in the industry. We have already sent a representation to the government stating that imposing anti-dumping duty at this stage will benefit neither the industry nor the end users.”
Mr. Masood Ahmed Khan, Founder & President, Image Star Pvt Ltd (Brand: Image King), “The expected anti-dumping duty on mono-toner cartridges has two sides to it – On the positive side, the government is making a commendable effort to transform India into a manufacturing hub, especially given the country’s massive self-consumption needs; While per capita consumption may be higher in the US, India’s overall purchasing power exceeds that of the US. By promoting domestic manufacturing, the government aims to reduce the trade deficit, improve employment opportunities, and increase per capita income. If successful, this initiative could position India as the second-largest economy in the world by 2030. On the negative side, the imposition of anti-dumping duty, especially when raw materials are not readily available domestically, could result in a 50% increase in end-user prices. While this measure may generate additional revenue for the government, but it will adversely affect the medium and large organizations significantly by increasing their costs. Moreover, altering the HSN code to implement customs duties could be viewed as a violation of WTO norms, which could attract global criticism.”
Ms. Aarushi Rajpal, Director, DIC Techware Pvt Ltd (Brand: ProDot; domestic manufacturer of cartridges), cites, “Once the anti-dumping duty comes into force, it will be very beneficial to the Indian cartridge manufacturers like us. It is a positive decision by the government because it will increase the scope of Make in India and encourage more domestic manufacturers to enter the fray. In Q2-2025, we will be launching about 20 different models of new Made in India mono-toner cartridges. Once anti-dumping duty comes into effect, we will scale up our cartridge production.”
Mr. Rajendra Seksaria, Director, Balaji Solutions Ltd (Brand: foxin), shares, “We are the leading seller of compatible laser toner cartridges on Amazon and also we one of the leading brands in the offline channel. Our compatible cartridges deliver top quality and promised yield whereas the most cartridges in the market give far below the promised level besides poor quality. Coming to the question of the expected imposition of the anti-dumping duty, I don’t think it is beneficial to the industry or the customers at present. Currently, due to lack of availability of components, it is not possible to manufacture cartridges in India with the required quality and variety. Chinese manufacturers have excellent infrastructure to design, test and manufacture cartridges to deliver the desired quality and variety on a mass scale. Some Indian companies have started manufacturing cartridges but in reality they are just assembling the imported components, and unfortunately, the quality of the Made in India cartridges is still not up to the expected standard. Next, it is impossible for the domestic manufacturers to manufacture the wide range of cartridges needed by the market at present. Imposition of anti-dumping duty at this stage will only make the cartridges costlier the burden of which will fall ultimately on the end users.”
Mr. B.B. Somani, CEO, Abbeefill Cartridge Refill Station, “There are only a few domestic cartridge manufacturers in India and they cannot meet the huge demand in terms of quantity, quality and variety. In fact, they are importing components and assembling here. The anti-dumping duty is not of any benefit to the industry or to the customers. It will only push up the prices and the burden is finally borne by the end-customers. Earlier, we were also assembling cartridges, but now we nearly stopped. The right approach would be the government should invite foreign manufacturers who have the technology and knowhow to come and set up cartridge manufacturing units in India. We don’t want to go for assembling again even if the anti-dumping duty is imposed. We want to focus on other imaging accessories and toners that we have been providing.”
Mr. Tarun Gupta, Gi2 Merchants LLP (formerly Goel Imports) (Brand: Gi2), feels, “Government has already imposed the basic customs duty on the imported mono-toner cartridges, but imposition of anti-dumping duty is pending. Once anti-dumping duty comes into force, imported cartridges will become costlier and definitely it will impact our business negatively and also increase burden on the end users. Right now I cannot comment on the quality of the domestically manufactured cartridges.”
Mr. Ashish Joshi, Ashish Imports, (Brand: Zigma), comments, “Anti-dumping may be good for the economy in the long run. 1. At present the domestic manufacturers are unable to provide the numbers demanded by the economy, 2. The quality and finish of the cartridges they are currently providing is limited compared to the imported cartridges; and 3. The domestic players could only provide the fast selling models, they are not manufacturing for several other models. As a result of these factors, we have to depend on the imported cartridges. Only positive result of the anti-dumping law could be, it will revive the refilling sector which has shrunk a lot. As the cartridges will get costlier, people would like to refill their cartridges more often instead of buying new ones. Overall, I believe, the anti-dumping duty once comes into effect will only put more burden on the partners and also on the end users.”
Mr. Lalji Patel, Proprietor, Cartridge King (domestic manufacturer of cartridges), asserts, “We are one of the few domestic cartridge manufacturers in India. I personally took an oath not to import completely manufactured cartridges from China, so we are assembling the cartridges in India after importing the components from the reputed providers abroad. However, manufacturing cartridges in India has not been profitable for us at present, because many others are importing full compatible-cartridges and selling them at lower prices. Manufacturing in India may be profitable only after the anti-dumping duty is imposed probably by March 2024. Returns from our sales from toners and cartridge parts have been satisfactory. Once anti-dumping duty comes into force, we will scale up the production of cartridges.”
Mr. Romik Shah, Proprietor, AMI Print (Brand: AMI; domestic manufacturer of cartridges), comments, “Currently, we are assembling about 500 mono-toner cartridges a month in our plant. There are over 1000 models of cartridges, but we are producing about 14 models which are highly sold in the market. As far as appropriateness of imposing anti-dumping duty is concerned, we can say that it will spur domestic manufacturing which will be beneficial to the country and the economy in the long-run. Nowadays, most refillers have shut down their shops because of wide-spread usage of low-quality use-and-throw compatible cartridges available in the country. According to me, once the anti-dumping duty comes into effect, the increasing prices of cartridges will revive the refilling industry, as people would be want to refill their cartridges more times than purchasing new ones.”
Mr. Abhay Kumar, Proprietor, Easyfill, comments, “The domestic manufacturers can meet only a fraction of the total demand of mono-toner cartridges. If anti-dumping duty comes into effect, the imported as well as domestic cartridges will get costlier. On the other hand, imported cartridges can deliver prints with the necessary degree of darkness whereas domestically manufactured cartridges do not give the same degree of darkness as the imported cartridges. Chinese have better infrastructure to produce high quality cartridges. Next, the domestic manufacturers cannot manufacture all the variants needed. So we have to ultimately depend on imported cartridges which will get costlier and the profit margins will come down further making the business unsustainable. Next, the eastern India market is highly price-sensitive so it further compounds the problem and reduce the profit margins. In IT peripherals like keyboard, mice, headphones, etc we have decent margins.”
Mr. Ashutosh Rastogi, Proprietor, Rastogi Cartridge (Band: Big Boss), comments, “I believe anti-dumping duty will reduce the prevalence of low quality cheap cartridges that are being imported from China and being dumped in the market. However, since the domestic manufacturers cannot manufacture the quantities and variants demanded by the Indian market, customers and partners have to depend on imported cartridges for several more years. So the anti-dumping duty can put the industry and customers under great pressure.”
Mr. Girish Mamtani, B2B and Government Business Head, RX Infotech, comments, “The proposed anti-dumping duty on imported mono-toner cartridges raises significant concerns for the industry, particularly when domestic manufacturers are not yet equipped to meet the diverse demands of the market in terms of variety and volume. Instead of imposing restrictive measures, the focus should be on enabling Indian manufacturers to build globally competitive brands through quality enhancement, innovation, and superior customer experience. Such protectionist policies risk creating an artificial price surge, leading SMBs and home users—who are highly price-sensitive—to shift back to refilling through the unorganized sector. This not only contracts the overall market size but also impacts government revenues through reduced BCD and GST collections, making the exercise counterproductive. A more sustainable approach would be to foster a competitive environment where businesses thrive based on merit rather than market restrictions. At RX Infotech, we advocate for industry-friendly policies that encourage growth without stifling competition. Our commitment is to empower our partners with quality products, strategic pricing, and consistent support. The future of the imaging industry lies in innovation, not isolation. By working together, we can build a market that balances affordability, quality, and long-term sustainability.
We encourage eliminating fly-by-night operators and introduce a national standard under the auspices of BIS, followed by robust market surveillance. Toner cartridges are judged by output which is not being checked as there is no existing standard for the same. The imports will dwindle once a BIS standard is introduced taking care of bad quality cheap imports and give a tool to government to nudge importers to get local manufacturing done.”
Conclusion
The domestic manufacturing of mono toner cartridges is still at a very infant stage. From the opinions of the industry leaders, it is obvious that imposition of anti-dumping duty at present will significantly increase the cost of the cartridges. On the other hand, since the domestic manufacturers cannot make most of the variants needed by different printers, the users will be compelled to pay more. Though, domestic manufacturing of cartridges would be beneficial to the economy in the long-run, it is a disadvantage for both the importers, brands and users in the short-run. The ideal thing would be the government should impose anti-dumping duty selectively on a limited number of cartridges at present, and add more variants to the list gradually as conditions here improve with time.
Covered By: Imaging Solution / Mono-Toner Cartridges
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