The imposition of anti-dumping duty (ADD) on the imported mono-toner cartridges seems imminent so the partners should prepare in advance, plan and adapt to stay in competition. The Indian imaging industry is at a defining moment, with the government almost certain on imposing ADD on the imported cartridges. This measure is set to impact pricing, sourcing, and competition in the imaging consumables industry significantly on the short-run. For the imaging traders, this moment calls for preparedness and strategic inventory planning. Once implemented, prices are certain to rise, and those who plan ahead will be better positioned to adapt and benefit. Here we listed the comments of some of the leading brands and providers of mono-toner cartridges.
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Mr. Sharad Midha, President, Sumanglam International Pvt Ltd (Brand: Odyssey)
“Regarding ADD on the mono-toner cartridges, it is beneficial neither to the brands, traders nor to the customers. In India, annual demand for mono-toner cartridges is around 1,000,000 whereas the domestic manufacturers or assemblers are able to provide less than 100,000, that is just 10% of the total demand. Even those 10% domestically made cartridges do not have the quality, consistency and the right finish the imported cartridges have; return rates of the domestic cartridges from the customers is also high, so importing has become unavoidable under the present conditions. ADD will only push up the prices of the cartridges imposing burden on both the sellers and the end users. In a nutshell, I would say that imposing ADD at this time is not an appropriate decision by the government.”
Mr. Masood Khan, Founder & President, Image King
“The Indian imaging industry is at a defining moment, with the government preparing to implement ADD on toner cartridges imported from China. This measure, under consideration for over a year, is expected to significantly impact pricing, sourcing, and competition in the imaging consumables sector. The ADD represents a critical corrective step to safeguard India’s imaging industry from long term erosion caused by unfair trade practices. While importers may face temporary cost pressures, the ADD is designed to ensure sustainability, quality, and fair competition in the domestic market. For the imaging trade community, this moment calls for preparedness, strategic inventory planning, and renewed confidence in Indian manufacturing capabilities. Once implemented, prices are certain to rise, and those who plan ahead will be best positioned to adapt and benefit. Plan your inventories, revise your product portfolio and prepare in advance to stay alive and ahead in the market!”
Ms. Aarushi Rajpal, Director, ProDot (domestic mono-toner cartridge manufacturer)
“The ADD on the mono-toner cartridges is a positive step by the government. It will boost domestic production and make India strong. There are some issues like the domestically manufactured cartridges fall short when it comes to providing variety, quality, and finish, but that will be there for a few years. Even China faced that situation in the earlier stages. Same was the case with mobile phone manufacturing in India which Initially suffered from shortage of raw materials and components, but today India has become a hub for manufacturing and exporting of mobile phones and pharma products. ProDot’s manufacturing program of mono-toner cartridges is going fine and once ADD comes into force, we will scale up our production.”
“Print volumes are increasing very fast in India. As more and more people from semi-urban and rural set to become part of the digitization process, printing is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The trend of print services providers shifting from conventional (like offset) printing to digital (inkjet and laserjet) printing has already started and this transition is expected to continue into future for several more years. Digital printing helps to produce larger volumes faster, with better quality and lower costs. I think Chinese companies with their advanced technology and experience in manufacturing can invest in India to set up cartridge manufacturing plants in India which will benefit both the countries. Collaboration between the Indian entrepreneurs and foreign players speeds up the processes and ensure quicker launch of products, whereas the joint ventures can take advantage of the domestic players’ knowledge of the local market and supply chain. Initiatives such as ADD are essential to encourage domestic manufacturers because in the Indian manufacturing system, the production is still not scaled and optimized to the levels in China.”
Mr. Rohit Shah, President, JET TEC Info-Consumables (India) Pvt Ltd (Brand: JET TEC)
“We welcome the government’s proposal to impose ADD duty on mono-laser toner cartridges. This is a positive and much-needed step toward protecting the interests of domestic manufacturers and ensuring fair competition in the market. For several years, the Indian imaging consumables industry has faced intense pressure from unfairly low-priced imports, impacting local manufacturers’ sustainability. The proposed duty will help create a level playing field, encourage domestic production, and generate local employment opportunities. It will also help the country retain valuable foreign exchange and promote the spirit of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by strengthening India’s self-reliance for imaging supplies.”
Mr. Aryan Goel, President, Aryan Trade World Pvt Ltd (domestic mono-toner cartridge manufacturer)
“We import high quality TTI toners from Taiwan and toner cartridges from China. We also assemble toner cartridges in India in which we fill the high quality TTI toner so our assembled cartridges are costlier and come with superior quality and promised yield. Due to competition, the margins on the imported compatible toner cartridges have become small and negligible, so not profitable. Once, anti-dumping duty comes into force, then imported cartridges will become costlier and it will boost the sale of domestically assembled cartridges which is beneficial to us. Also, the anti-dumping duty will revive refilling and remanufacturing of cartridges which will provide livelihood for many and increase demand for toners.”
Mr. Anil Aggarwal, MD, Pana Corporation
“Though much smaller than that of China, the Indian manufacturing sector is evolving fast. Indian entrepreneurs need to invest more in R&D and Quality Control to rise to the levels of global providers in manufacturing. That will help us to reduce imports and export to other countries. Making in India will benefit both the foreign companies interested in manufacturing in India and also the local companies.”
Mr. Mukesh Patel, Director, Multi-Infomedia Pvt Ltd (Brand: ijet)
“The ADD is a good initiative, but will be beneficial only in the long run. Currently, components are not made in India; they are imported from abroad and assembled here. Currently, only about 6 or 7 players are assembling cartridges in India. Already, the market for compatible mono-cartridges has become tight with profit margins shrinking continously. Once the ADD comes into force, the prices of the imported mono-cartridges will obviously increase prices putting extra burden on the users and the profit margins of the brands and traders. If dozens of companies start manufacturing cartridges in India, then manufacturing components in India will become feasible and then we expect the local manufacturing of cartridges will become more feasible. Right now local manufacturers are unable to meet the expected quality and variety compared to imported cartridges, so market will continue to depend on the imported cartridges for some more years at least.”
Mr. Ravi Choudhary, Managing Director, Alphabet Imaging Technologies Pvt Ltd (Brand: Alphabet)
“We believe ADD is a good initiative by the government as it will encourage Make in India and help India to become a manufacturing hub in future. Some partners believe that the local mono-toner cartridge manufacturers are unable to provide the variety and quality provided by the imported cartridges. It is true some extent but it will be there for some years. As dozens of people start manufacturing in India, quality will automatically improve. In essence, we support the policy of ADD as it will boost domestic manufacturing of toner cartridges. Currently, we are importing toner cartridges, but in future are planning to take from the local manufacturers.”
Mr. Devansh Sanghavi, COO, Premier Computers (Brand: PRM)
“Domestic manufacturers are able to manufacture hardly 20 models of mono-toner cartridges whereas there are 250 models of mono-toner cartridges, but the government has imposed ADD on the entire range of 250 variants of mono-toner cartridges. As a result, the brands and traders have to rely on imports which will become costlier once ADD comes into force. This will also impose extra burden on the customers as the prices of imported cartridges will go up. Alongside the added duties, there are also other challenges like increase in the value of USD vs INR and increases in the imported container prices which are further pushing up the costs of imports. The government instead of imposing ADD on the entire range, should have imposed on some limited number of models and then gradually over the years extended to other models in a phased manner to give enough time to the industry to adjust.”
Mr. Bhavesh Patel, Proprietor, Rahul Enterprises
“Coming to the ADD on black toners and black toner cartridges, they will not affect the imports into the Indian imaging industry much; the imported products may become slightly costlier but the imports will continue as usual, because the Indian manufacturers at present could not provide the variety and quality, delivered by the imported cartridges. Also, the local manufacturers are hardly able to meet 10% of the total demand. However, anti-dumping duty will generate some extra revenues for the government thru the duties levied, and will benefit the country in the long run by encouraging local manufacturing, boost employment opportunities to the local people and prevent the flight of foreign currency, but the import of mono-toner cartridges will continue for several more years to come even after the imposition of ADD.”
“We have recently started assembling mono-cartridges in India. The ADD is a good initiative by the government and I would say duty should be doubled and the government should also impose anti-dumping duty on OEM cartridges which have no ADD in the intended plan. The government should completely ban the import of compatible cartridges so that Indian cartridge manufacturers will be benefited. This will also revive the declining refilling and remanufacturing industry. We use only Made in India toner powders in our cartridges. We are staunch supporters of the ADD.”
Mr. Romik Shah, Partner, Swastik Computer Products (Brand: AMI) (domestic mono-toner cartridge manufacturer)
“We have been assembling mono-toner cartridges for the past 2 years. We are currently assembling about 13 variants of fast moving cartridges which are selling satisfactorily. We plan to scale up our domestic production of cartridges in the coming year. As far as imposing ADD is concerned, it is good initiative for the long-term, but in the short-run, as most of the components are being imported, there is not much difference between importing and assembling in India. Government should develop a plan to create an ecosystem where components could be made available domestically. Otherwise, it is ultimately the end customers who will bear the burden of ADD which is not a fair thing.”
Mr. Abhay Kumar, Proprietor, Easyfill
“Currently, we have only 5-7% margin on imported mono-toner cartridges, and once ADD comes into force, the margins will shrink further and it will be unprofitable for us to import and sell cartridges for another 3 to 4 months. Increase in the USD vs INR has also pushed up the prices of the imported cartridges. We hope after a few months things will reach some equilibrium and we will be able to sell the imported cartridges at reasonable margins. Let us hope the best and prepare for the worst.”
Mr. Naman Aggarwal, Namo Sales (Brand: Daksha Cartridge) (domestic mono-toner cartridge manufacturer)
“We have been manufacturing mono-toner cartridges in India since 2021 in Delhi and currently we produce about 3000 cartridges a month and plan to increase this count in future. We are staunch supporters of the ADD on mono-toner cartridges from the beginning, because it will encourage the domestic manufacturing of cartridges, which will help to prevent the flight of foreign currency out of India, provide employments for the local people and enable India to become a manufacturing hub. At present, domestically made cartridges due to limited quantities of production cannot compete with the imported cartridges, but ADD will help to boost the domestic manufacturing. Right now we are using imported components and the toner powders provided by ITDL. Once more people start manufacturing cartridges in India, I am sure, the components too would be available domestically. This may take a few more years, but will surely happen. If the industry players and customers insist on purchasing more and more Made in India cartridges, we can achieve self-reliance much earlier. Our Made in India cartridges undergo strict quality control procedures and tests before they are packed and shipped into the market. For our cartridges return rates and complaints from the customers are very low and we will further improve our quality control further in future. In a nutshell, I would say, ADD is a positive step from the government. We also have a strong presence on GeM and now we want to expand into other market geographical segments too in the coming years. We are sincerely committed to contributing to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat concept.”
Mr. Kalpesh Patel, CEO, Jet Technologies (Brands: Jet Toner and UV)
“Coming to the imposition of the ADD on the imported mono-toner cartridges, it has both positive and negative sides. The positive side is that it will help India to become self-reliant and then a manufacturing hub in terms of manufacturing in the coming years. However, at present the Indian domestic manufacturers are just importing parts and assembling them here because the components are not available in India. There are also unable to provide the quality, finish and variety compared to the imported ones, because to provide such comparable quality, a lot of investment is needed and also operational costs will be high. In such a scenario, the domestic manufacturers will have to sell at high costs and this makes them less competitive against the imported cartridges. Also, the capacity to produce cartridges by the domestic players is extremely limited; they could hardly produce 10% of the total demand. So at present and in near future, the imported cartridges will continue to sell more. Maybe after several years, things might become favorable to the domestic manufacturers.”
Mr. Ashutosh Rastogi, Proprietor, Rastogi Cartridge
“We are not in favor of ADD on mono-toner cartridges. The so called cartridge manufacturers in India are simply importing components and assembling them in India; it is not real manufacturing. How can they call it ‘making in India’? There is an argument that ‘once people start assembling components to make cartridges in India, in a few years time the components too would be made and available in India.’ Nobody knows how the market will be after 10 years: currently inkjet technology is taking over the market share of the toner cartridges and toners, and then there is the paperless office trend that is fast taking over the offices and organizations. Going by these trends, the argument that, after 10 years, components too would be manufactured in India holds no water. The ADD will make the imported cartridges costlier whose burden will ultimately fall on the end users. Quantity of cartridges assembled cartridges produced by the domestic players is extremely limited and a major part of the market still has to depend on imported cartridges. Under these conditions, I strongly believe that implementation of ADD is not beneficial to the business community or the end users.”
In a nutshell
The attitudes of the industry players towards ADD are split. Most of the providers of the imported mono-toner cartridges argue that the domestic manufacturers simply assemble the imported components and could hardly provide 20 variants (of the total 250 variants needed by the market) and meet hardly 10% of the total demand and so imports are unavoidable and ADD will only increase the prices and ultimately the end user has to bear the burden. Also some providers argue that the government should first take measure to create an ecosystem for the manufacture of components and then impose ADD. In any case, the implementation of ADD is imminent. So the traders and brands who rely on imports should plan their inventories carefully, revise the composition of their product portfolios and prepare in advance to stay alive and ahead in the market!
Covered By: Imaging Solution / anti-dumping duty
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