India Opens Anti-Dumping Investigation into Penicillin G Imports from China

India opened an investigation on Sept. 28, 2026 into whether Chinese Penicillin G is sold below fair price.

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies opened an anti-dumping investigation on Sept. 28, 2026 into Penicillin G and its salts imported from China.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is the office in India’s commerce ministry that handles complaints about unfair import prices¹. It acted on an application from Lyfius Pharma Private Limited, an Indian maker of the antibiotic¹.

In short, nothing changes at the border yet. Shipments of Penicillin G from China still clear customs as before, but an extra import tax could follow if the investigation confirms the complaint.

What is the Penicillin G investigation about?

An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. Before India can charge one, the DGTR must investigate and find three things. These are dumping, harm to Indian producers, and a link between the two.

The initiation notice, numbered F.No.6/56/2026-DGTR, is dated Sept. 28, 2026 and is to be published in the Gazette of India¹. Its case number on the DGTR’s online filing system is AD/OI/057/2026¹. The notice is signed by Amitabh Kumar, the Designated Authority who leads the case¹.

The DGTR lists the case among its ongoing anti-dumping investigations, with the date Sept. 28, 2026². At this stage, the office will decide whether China’s exporters sold Penicillin G in India at dumped prices. It will then recommend a duty, if one is needed, to remove the harm to Indian industry¹.

Which Penicillin G products are covered?

The investigation covers Penicillin G and its salts¹. Penicillin G, also called benzylpenicillin, is an antibiotic in the penicillin group¹. Its chemical name is 6-(2-phenylacetamido)penicillanic acid¹.

The scope is wide. It includes Penicillin G in all forms, grades, strengths and concentrations, together with its salt forms¹. Both solid and liquid forms are covered. Products are included whether or not they meet official drug quality standards (pharmacopeial standards)¹.

Most Penicillin G is used as a starting material for making other drug ingredients¹. It is also used directly as an active ingredient in finished medicines. These treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, dental infections, diphtheria and meningitis¹.

Which customs code applies to Penicillin G?

The notice places the goods in Chapter 29 of India’s Customs Tariff Act, 1975, which covers organic chemicals¹. They fall under heading 2941, "Antibiotics", and more precisely under sub-heading 2941 10 10, "Penicillins and its salts"¹.

The DGTR says this code is only a guide. It does not limit the scope of the case¹. A shipment entered under another code could still be covered if the product matches the description.

The office measures the goods in metric tonnes¹.

Why did the DGTR act on Penicillin G from China?

Lyfius Pharma told the DGTR that India once made Penicillin G, but its whole industry shut down¹. The company blamed a steady flow of dumped imports¹. Lyfius restarted production in India in the 2024-25 financial year¹.

Because the company is new, it does not claim to have lost existing sales. Instead, it claims "material retardation", meaning that dumped imports are holding back the start of a new Indian industry¹. Lyfius says it has not reached its expected production and sales¹. It also says its factory runs well below the level that Indian demand would allow¹.

The company made several other claims¹:

• Prices below cost. Imports from China enter India below the domestic industry’s cost of sales.
• Forced price cuts. Lyfius says it had to cut its prices to match the landed price of the imports.
• Losses. It reports cash losses and negative returns during the investigation period.

The DGTR found that China supplied virtually all imports of Penicillin G into India in the investigation period¹. It decided there was enough early evidence of harm, and of a link to the imports, to open the case¹.

How did the DGTR estimate the dumping?

Normally, the DGTR compares an exporter’s price in India with prices in its home market. In this case, Lyfius asked the office to treat China as a non-market economy, citing Article 15(a) of China’s Accession Protocol¹. Under this approach, Chinese producers must show that market conditions apply in their industry¹.

Lyfius said it could not find cost or price data for a market-economy third country¹. So, for the start of the case, the DGTR built a "normal value", the fair price used for comparison, from a different base. It used the Indian industry’s production cost, adjusted, plus a reasonable amount for selling costs, overheads and profit¹.

For the export price, the office used official Indian import data¹. It took the price including cost, insurance and freight (CIF) and removed charges. These included ocean freight, insurance, port costs, commission, bank charges, credit cost and inland freight¹.

The two prices were compared at the factory gate. The DGTR found the dumping margin to be positive and above the minimum level that the rules ignore¹. The notice does not publish the margin itself.

Who is affected by the Penicillin G case?

Lyfius says it is the only eligible Indian maker of Penicillin G¹. The DGTR noted one other producer, Virchow Petrochemicals Private Limited¹. Lyfius argued that Virchow imported large amounts of the goods and should not count as part of the Indian industry¹.

The DGTR did not accept that argument at this stage. It counted Virchow as part of the domestic industry¹. Even so, the office found that Lyfius makes up a major share of Indian output, which allows it to bring the case¹. Lyfius also told the DGTR that it did not import the goods itself during the investigation period¹.

The case affects several groups:

• Chinese producers and exporters of Penicillin G, who face a possible duty on sales to India.
• Indian importers and drug makers who buy the antibiotic from China as a starting material or active ingredient.
• The Chinese government, which the DGTR informs through its embassy in India¹.

Lyfius first named Hong Kong as well as China. Official import data showed no imports from Hong Kong in the investigation period, so only China is covered¹.

When does the Penicillin G investigation period run?

The DGTR will examine imports from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, a period of 12 months¹. To judge harm to Indian industry, it will look further back. That review covers the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, plus the investigation period¹.

Lyfius has asked the DGTR to issue early findings and recommend a provisional duty¹. This is a temporary duty charged before the final decision. The DGTR says it will consider this request at the right stage, if warranted¹. Other parties may comment on the request within the case deadlines¹.

How can exporters and importers take part?

All interested parties must register on SETU, the DGTR’s online case portal¹. Every submission must be uploaded there under the case number¹. Written parts must be in searchable PDF or Word format, and data must be in Excel¹.

The DGTR sets these deadlines, counted from the day it sends letters and questionnaires to known parties:

1. Within 15 days, parties may comment on the scope of the product and on how product types will be grouped for comparison¹.
2. Within 37 days, parties must upload their questionnaire answers and other information¹.
3. Within 7 days of receiving another party’s public version of documents, parties may comment on confidentiality claims¹.

The 15-day comment period runs at the same time as the 37-day deadline¹. If the DGTR later changes the product scope, parties get 15 extra days¹. Requests for more time must reach the portal at least one day before the original deadline¹.

Any party that files confidential information must also file a public version¹. Each page must be marked "confidential" or "non-confidential"¹. A party that refuses to give information, or slows the case, may be declared non-cooperative. The DGTR can then decide based on the facts it has¹.

Has India investigated Penicillin G before?

Yes. In 2009, India’s anti-dumping office opened a case into Penicillin-G Potassium from China and Mexico³. The complaint came from Alembic Limited and Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd.³. Preliminary findings in that case were issued on Feb. 11, 2010³.

The new case is separate. It covers only China, and it covers Penicillin G in all forms and salts¹. It also comes alongside other DGTR cases on antibiotic ingredients. The office opened probes into 6-Amino Penicillanic Acid (6-APA) from China and the European Union on Sept. 25, 2026, and into Amoxycillin Trihydrate from China on Sept. 24, 2026⁴.

Key points on the Penicillin G anti-dumping case

The table below sums up the main facts of the investigation.

Penicillin G from China still enters India without an anti-dumping duty. The next step is the 37-day window for questionnaire answers, after which the DGTR may issue early findings and a duty recommendation.

Sources

1. ↩ Initiation Notificaiton_Penicillin G-English.pdf https://dgtr.gov.in/sites/default/files/2026-09/Initiation%20Notificaiton_Penicillin%20G-English.pdf
2. ↩ Anti-Dumping Ongoing Investigation | Directorate General of Trade Remedies, MOCI, GOI https://www.dgtr.gov.in/en/anti-dumping-ongoing-investigation
3. ↩ DETERMINATION OF NORMAL VALUE FOR CHINA PR https://dgtr.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-06/adpref_Penicillin-G_Potassium_ChinaPR_Mexico_6APA.pdf
4. ↩ Anti-Dumping Concluded Investigation | Directorate General of Trade Remedies, MOCI, GOI https://www.dgtr.gov.in/en/anti-dumping-concluded-investigation?date_filter%5Bmin%5D=&date_filter%5Bmax%5D=&field_case_country_value=&field_cn_code_value=&field_type_of_proceeding_value=All&title=&page=0