# A company that disguised imported hot-rolled plates as color steel plates has been detected by the tariff office. In April, when a provisional anti-dumping tariff of up to 38.02% was imposed on Chinese hot-rolled plates, some companies painted hot-rolled plates to disguise them as color steel plates for import. The tariff office has detected five companies based on smuggling reports and media coverage, and strengthened inspections, including verification of goods and sample collection, to block unlawful activities during the customs clearance process.
# The tariff office also detected a company that disguised the single photosensitive layer as a 'double layer' instead of 'single layer.' If the photosensitive coating for a printing plate is done once, the anti-dumping tariff rate is 10.32%, but if done twice, it drops to 3.6%. This was exploited to illegally import products worth 28 billion won. The tariff office collected 2 billion won in tariff as part of this process.
The tariff office stated on the 11th that it identified evasion activities worth 4.28 billion won from 19 companies during a special inspection on 'anti-dumping tariff evasion' conducted over 100 days. This inspection was carried out from April 14 to last month 22, organized by a dedicated task force for the anti-dumping planning review. It is a measure taken in response to the increased likelihood of anti-dumping tariff evasion as third countries that find it difficult to export to the U.S. market attempt to export at low prices to the Korean market.
The tariff office analyzed changes in import volume and prices before and after the imposition of tariffs, changes in supplying countries, foreign exchange transaction details, and other factors to select companies with a high likelihood of unlawfulness among the 2,500 companies importing 28 items subject to anti-dumping tariffs.
As a result of the inspections, instances were detected where companies had reported items and specifications that were not subject to anti-dumping tariffs, false declarations using the names of suppliers with lower tariff rates, and cases where prices of scheduled items were manipulated below the minimum export price.
The tariff office has reclaimed the amounts that the companies were attempting to evade, and warned of strict legal actions, including criminal punishment, depending on the severity of the cases. Furthermore, transactions or attempts at circumvention concerning anti-dumping concerns will be reported to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Trade Commission.
Lee Myung-gu, the head of the tariff office, said, "Attempts to evade anti-dumping tariffs not only result in losses to the national treasury but also pose a serious threat to domestic industries through a surge of low-priced goods," and added, "We will strengthen monitoring and collaboration systems with relevant agencies."