US Sets Preliminary 3.98% Subsidy Duty on Indian PET Film Maker SRF

The United States set a preliminary 3.98% subsidy duty rate for Indian PET film maker SRF on Oct. 14, 2026.

The U.S. Department of Commerce set a preliminary 3.98% subsidy duty rate for Indian plastic film maker SRF Limited on Oct. 14, 2026.

The rate comes from the yearly review of an extra duty on plastic film, sheet and strip from India. The duty is known as a countervailing duty, an extra import tax that cancels out subsidies a foreign government gives its makers¹.

In short, nothing changes at the U.S. border today. If the 3.98% rate holds in the final results, SRF shipments will need a cash deposit at that rate from the date those results are published. Shipments SRF sent in 2024 will be charged the final rate.

What did Commerce decide on Indian PET film?

The goods are polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet and strip, often called PET film. It is the thin, clear plastic film used in packaging and many industrial products. The Federal Register notice says Commerce "preliminarily determines" that SRF received subsidies from the Indian government¹.

Commerce set a subsidy rate of 3.98% of the value of the goods for SRF¹. This is an "ad valorem" rate, which means a percentage of the shipment’s value. The rate covers goods brought into the United States from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024¹.

The notice is a preliminary result, not a final one. Commerce signed it on Oct. 7, 2026, and it was published on Oct. 14, 2026¹. Interested parties can now comment before Commerce issues its final decision.

Why does the United States charge this duty?

The duty rests on an order Commerce first published on July 1, 2002¹. That order found that Indian makers of PET film received government subsidies. Each year, companies can ask Commerce to review the rate for a past year.

Commerce explains its test for a subsidy in the notice. A subsidy exists when a government or public body gives money or other support, the company gains a benefit, and the support goes to a specific group¹. Commerce checks each support program against this test.

For part of its findings, Commerce used "adverse facts available"¹. This is a rule that lets Commerce fill gaps with less favorable information when it lacks full answers. The notice does not say which programs this affected. The details sit in a separate decision memo.

How did the review narrow to one company?

Commerce started this review on Aug. 22, 2025¹. On Sept. 30, 2025, it picked two companies to examine closely: Polyplex Corporation and SRF¹.

On Nov. 20, 2025, the parties that had asked for the review withdrew their requests for every company except SRF¹. The U.S. producers that brought the case kept their request for SRF. Commerce then sent its questions to SRF alone on Nov. 25, 2025¹.

The review then slowed down. A U.S. government shutdown led Commerce to pause all deadlines by 47 days, and later by 21 more days¹. Commerce also extended the preliminary deadline to Sept. 30, 2026, and then by seven days to Oct. 7, 2026¹.

Which companies are dropped from the review?

Commerce dropped nine companies from the review because all requests to review them were withdrawn on time¹. U.S. rules allow this when requests are withdrawn within 90 days of the start of the review.

The nine companies are:

• Chiripal Poly Films Limited
• Cosmo First Ltd.
• Ester Industries Limited
• Garware Hi-Tech Films Limited
• Garware Polyester Ltd.
• Jindal Poly Films Ltd.
• JPFL Films Private Limited
• Polyplex Corporation Ltd.
• Vacmet India Ltd.

For these companies, the 2024 duty will equal the cash deposit already paid when the goods entered the United States¹. Commerce plans to send these instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) no earlier than 35 days after Oct. 14, 2026¹. For importers of these firms’ 2024 goods, this means the deposit they paid becomes the final charge.

How do the deposits and final charges work?

The U.S. system has two steps. First, the importer pays a cash deposit when the goods arrive. Later, after a review, Commerce sets the final rate and CBP charges the real amount.

Here is how the SRF rate moves through that process:

1. Commerce publishes the final results of this review.
2. From that publication date, CBP collects cash deposits at the final SRF rate on new SRF shipments¹.
3. No earlier than 35 days after the final results, Commerce tells CBP to charge the final duty on SRF’s 2024 shipments¹.
4. If someone files a court case at the U.S. Court of International Trade, CBP waits before closing those entries¹.

If the final SRF rate is zero or very small, no cash deposit will be needed on SRF goods¹. Commerce calls a very small rate "de minimis".

What rates apply to other Indian makers?

The new 3.98% rate only covers SRF. Other Indian makers not in this review keep paying deposits at the all-others rate or at their own most recent rate¹.

Recent rates for other companies are much higher. In the final results of the 2023 review, published July 13, 2026, Commerce set 10.07% for Cosmo First Limited and 135.38% for JPFL Films Private Ltd.². Commerce treated Jindal Poly Films Limited as linked by ownership to JPFL².

In its sunset review in February 2026, Commerce listed rates likely to return if the order ended³. These were 23.21% for Ester Industries, 29.45% for Garware Polyester, 18.57% for Polyplex Corporation and 25.25% for all others³. A sunset review is a check every five years on whether a duty order should stay.

Rates can also change after court cases. In February 2026, Commerce settled a court case with Jindal Poly Films over its 2021 rate of 116.96%⁴. Under the settlement, Jindal’s 2021 goods are charged 10.51% for part of the year and 11.67% for the rest⁴.

Why does the PET film order remain in place?

The order on Indian PET film has passed its latest five-year check. On Feb. 10, 2026, Commerce found that ending the order would likely lead to more subsidies³. Two U.S. producers, Microworks America and Mitsubishi Chemical America’s polyester film unit, took part in that review³.

The Government of India and Indian companies did not send a full response to that review³. Commerce therefore ran a shorter, 120-day review³.

On March 11, 2026, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted on the same goods. It found that ending the duty would likely harm U.S. producers again⁵. As a result, the orders on PET film from India will remain in place⁵. The commission also kept anti-dumping orders on PET film from China, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates⁵.

Who is affected by the SRF rate?

U.S. importers of SRF’s PET film are the most directly affected. They pay the duty at the border, so the final rate sets their cost. Their 2024 entries will also be charged at the final rate.

SRF itself is affected because the rate shapes its price in the U.S. market. U.S. buyers of SRF film may see that cost in their contracts. Importers of goods from the nine dropped companies now have a clear answer for 2024.

The notice also reminds importers of a reimbursement certificate¹. Importers must file it before CBP closes their entries. The certificate states whether the foreign seller paid back any duties. Without it, Commerce may assume repayment and charge double duties¹.

When will Commerce issue final results for PET film?

Interested parties can file written arguments, called case briefs, within 21 days of Oct. 14, 2026¹. That is Nov. 4, 2026. Replies to those briefs are due five days after the case brief deadline¹.

Parties can ask for a hearing within 30 days of publication, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time¹. All filings go through Commerce’s online system, known as ACCESS¹. Commerce plans to share its calculations with parties within five days of publication¹.

Commerce intends to issue the final results within 120 days of Oct. 14, 2026, unless it extends the deadline¹. That points to about mid-February 2027.

Key points on the Indian PET film subsidy review

The table sums up the main facts of the preliminary results.

The preliminary rate does not change today’s border deposits for SRF goods. The next date is the case brief deadline, 21 days after Oct. 14, 2026. The final rate, expected within 120 days, will set what importers pay on SRF film.

Sources

1. ↩ AGENCY: — 14 / 2026 20940 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/10/14/2026-20940.html
2. ↩ AGENCY: — 13 / 2026 14029 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/07/13/2026-14029.html
3. ↩ AGENCY: — 10 / 2026 02557 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/02/10/2026-02557.html
4. ↩ AGENCY: — 10 / 2026 02633 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/02/10/2026-02633.html
5. ↩ USITC Makes Determinations in Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Film, Sheet, and Strip from China, India, Taiwan, and United Arab Emirates | United States International Trade Commission https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2026/er0311_68280.htm