Anti-Dumping Duty on Titanium Dioxide: Decoding Exemptions under Circular No. 16/2025-Customs.

What is TiO₂ (Titanium Dioxide)?

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) is a white, inorganic compound widely used as a pigment and UV blocker due to its high opacity, brightness, and resistance to UV degradation. It’s one of the most commonly used white pigments in the world.

✅ Key Uses of TiO₂:

• Paints and coatings (as a white pigment)
• Plastics and papers
• Sunscreens and cosmetics (UV blocker)
• Food coloring (as additive E171 in some countries)
• Pharmaceuticals (tablet coatings)
• Textiles and ceramics
• Photocatalysts (especially in the anatase form)

🏭 How is TiO₂ Manufactured?

Titanium Dioxide is primarily extracted from ilmenite (FeTiO₃), rutile (TiO₂), or leucoxene (altered ilmenite) minerals. There are two major industrial processes used to manufacture TiO₂:

1. 🌪 Sulphate Process

Raw Material: Ilmenite or titanium slag

Steps:

1. Digestion: Ilmenite is dissolved in sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄).
2. Separation: Iron sulfate is removed as a by-product.
3. Hydrolysis: Titanium oxysulfate is hydrolyzed to form titanium hydroxide.
4. Calcination: Titanium hydroxide is filtered, washed, and calcined at high temperatures (~900–1000°C) to produce TiO₂ pigment.
5. Finishing: The pigment is milled, surface-treated, and packaged.

✅ Pros:

• Can use lower-grade ores
• More flexible feedstock options

❌ Cons:

• Generates large amounts of waste acid
• More polluting and energy-intensive

2. 🔥 Chloride Process

Raw Material: Natural or synthetic rutile, titanium slag

Steps:

1. Chlorination: Titanium feedstock is reacted with chlorine gas (Cl₂) in the presence of coke at ~1000°C to form titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄).
2. Purification: TiCl₄ is purified via distillation to remove impurities.
3. Oxidation: Pure TiCl₄ is oxidized in an oxygen-rich flame to produce TiO₂.
4. Finishing: TiO₂ is cooled, milled, and surface-treated for different applications.

✅ Pros:

• Higher purity TiO₂
• Less waste and more environmentally friendly
• Continuous process with better energy efficiency

❌ Cons:

• Requires high-grade feedstock
• Higher initial capital investment

🔬 Key Factors Influencing Choice of Process:

• Type and grade of titanium ore
• Cost and availability of raw materials
• Environmental regulations
• Desired quality and end-use of TiO₂

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂): Chemical Details

✅ Chemical Formula:

TiO₂

✅ Chemical Composition:

✅ Molar Mass:

79.87 g/mol

• Titanium (Ti) atomic mass ≈ 47.87 g/mol
• Oxygen (O) atomic mass ≈ 16.00 g/mol × 2 = 32.00 g/mol
• Total: 47.87 + 32.00 = 79.87 g/mol

✅ Structure and Forms:

Titanium Dioxide exists primarily in three crystalline forms:

1. Rutile – most stable and most common
2. Anatase – photocatalytically active, often used in cosmetics and solar cells
3. Brookite – rare and less commercially important

✅ General Properties:

• Appearance: White powder
• Insoluble in water
• Highly stable under UV radiation
• Used as a pigment (white) in paints, coatings, plastics, papers, inks, foods, and cosmetics

Decoding Exemptions under Circular No. 16/2025-Customs

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued Circular No. 16/2025-Customs, dated 11th May 2025, to guide field officers and importers regarding the imposition and exemption of Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) on imports of Titanium Dioxide originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China.

This clarification follows Notification No. 12/2025-Customs (ADD) dated 10th May 2025, which mandates the imposition of ADD only on certain uses of Titanium Dioxide, while specifically excluding other critical sectors from its scope.

Understanding the Scope of Anti-Dumping Duty on Titanium Dioxide

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) is a versatile compound widely used across multiple industries due to its pigmenting, opacifying, and UV-filtering properties. In the latest ADD notification, the government has taken a differentiated approach—levying duties only on imports used for general or unspecified applications while exempting imports for specific sectors that are considered essential or sensitive.

Sectors Exempted from the ADD

The notification clearly states that the ADD will not apply to Titanium Dioxide used in the following products:

1. Food Products
2. Pharmaceuticals
3. Skin-Care Products
4. Textiles
5. Fibres
6. Nano or Ultra-Fine Titanium Dioxide Applications

These exclusions appear to have been made to prevent disruption in critical supply chains, especially those related to public health, nutrition, and high-end technological applications. Titanium Dioxide is widely used as a food additive (E171), in pharmaceutical coatings, cosmetic creams, and nano-level formulations in medical and industrial domains.

Declaration Requirement at Import Stage

To operationalize this selective imposition of duty, CBIC is introducing an electronic declaration mechanism through the Bill of Entry (BE) filing process. Importers must now explicitly declare the intended end-use of the imported Titanium Dioxide at the time of customs clearance.

A sample of the required declaration reads:

'I/we declare that the goods imported are for use in products of description excluded in terms of Notification No. 12/2025-Customs (ADD) dated 10.05.2025 relating to food, pharma, skin-care, textiles, fibre, nano or ultra-fine titanium dioxide.'

This declaration acts as both a compliance commitment and a self-certification. Importers also undertake to pay the applicable ADD with interest if the goods are subsequently diverted to non-exempted sectors.

System Implementation and Officer Training

The CBIC has directed the Directorate General (DG) of Systems to issue a suitable advisory for electronic implementation, enabling the end-use based declaration during Bill of Entry submission. Concurrently, customs officers across jurisdictions are to be sensitized about this facility to ensure smooth clearance processes for compliant importers.

Implications and Compliance Considerations

This nuanced approach to ADD reflects the government's intent to balance trade remedial action against economic and industrial imperatives. However, it places significant onus on importers to:

• Accurately identify and declare the end-use at the time of import
• Maintain documentation for traceability
• Ensure that exempted goods are not diverted to non-exempted sectors

Customs authorities retain the power to audit and verify compliance, and misdeclaration could lead to recovery of duty with interest, and possibly penal action under the Customs Act or Tariff Act.

Conclusion

Circular No. 16/2025-Customs marks a strategic shift in how Anti-Dumping Duties are implemented—not just by product classification, but by functional use. This targeted model could set a precedent for future trade remedy measures in India, ensuring protection for domestic industries without hampering critical and high-tech imports.

Stakeholders, particularly in the food, pharma, and nano-material sectors, should act promptly to align their import documentation and processes with the new declaration requirement to avoid unnecessary costs and delays.

For further updates or implementation challenges, the CBIC has advised importers and officers to reach out to the Board directly.