The anti-dumping duty imposed provisionally by the EC in April last will have to be ratified by a simple majority among 15 members of EU before October 9, but with eight members already opposing it, the levy is likely to be dropped, industry sources say.

If the anti-dumping proceedings are dropped, it will be the second time it is being shelved. The levy was earlier dropped in May last after nine EU council members opposed it. On its part, government has left no stone unturned in its effort to get anti-dumping proceedings dropped, textile secretary Shyamal Ghosh said.

"I have personally met the ambassadors of EU member nations and appraised them of India's position," he added, "We have told them that the action is blatantly unfair."

Besides India,Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and China have also been hit by the anti-dumping duty imposed by the EC. However, EC, while deciding to make provisional duties definitive on July 28, recommended that proceedings against Turkey be dropped. The EC had decided, in April, to reimpose provisional anti-dumping duty on UCF imports averaging around 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, India has finished presenting its view at the preliminary consultations held by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the anti-dumping levy. "We have put across our point. The authorities have said they will get back to us," Ghosh said.

Consultations were held before the WTO on September 17 and 18 after India referred the issue to the multilateral trading body against EC decision to impose the duty. As per WTO rules, consultations will have to be completed within 60 days. If the issue is not settled during the consultations, then a dispute settlement body will be set up to probe the issue.

While deciding to impose definitive duty, the EC had saidit was willing to reconsider the levy, provided UCF importers were willing to fix their prices on par with minimum prices in EU member nations.

India's contention is that the methods of calculation, investigation process and sampling followed, are faulty.

The first anti-dumping proceedings against UCF imports was dropped in February 1996 after the complaining party, Eurocotton, withdrew its complaint. The second proceeding was terminated in May last after EU failed to ratify definitive duty slapped by EC in March 1997.

It was dropped after considerable discussions among EU members. Nations which favoured levy even insisted on imposing the duties for one year instead of the mandatory five years before reviewing it later.

Any anti-dumping duty imposed by the EU would be for five years and Indian textile industry feels that it is being subjected to needless harassment by European weavers lobby, led by France and Italy and supported by Spain and Portugal.

United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Finland,Ireland, Netherlands and Sweden are opposed to the levy. These nations say anti-dumping duty could not be imposed in a casual manner when many questions remained unanswered during the latest investigations by the commission.