------------------------------------------------------------
[C-533-063] 
 
Certain Iron Metal Castings From India: Preliminary Results 
of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review 
 
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
 
ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review.
 
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting 
an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on 
certain iron metal castings from India. We preliminarily determine 
the net subsidy to be zero or de minimis for Delta Enterprises 
and Super Iron Foundry, and 5.45 percent ad valorem for all 
other companies for the period January 1, 1993 through December 
31, 1993. If the final results remain the same as these preliminary 
results of administrative review, we will instruct the U.S. 
Customs Service to assess countervailing duties as indicated 
above. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1996.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Cassel or Lorenza 
Olivas, Office of Countervailing Compliance, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; 
telephone: (202) 482-2786. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
 
Background 
 
   On October 16, 1980, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (45 FR 50739) the countervailing duty order on certain 
iron-metal castings from India. On October 7, 1994, the Department 
published a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an Administrative 
Review'' (59 FR 51166) of this countervailing duty order. We 
received a timely request for review from the Municipal Castings 
Fair Trade Council and individually-named members on October 
24, 1994. 
   We initiated the review, covering the period January 1, 1993 
through December 31, 1993, on November 14, 1994 (59 FR 56549). 
The review covers 14 manufacturers/exporters of the subject 
merchandise and six programs. 
 
Applicable Statute and Regulations 
 
   The Department is conducting this administrative review in 
accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act). Unless otherwise indicated, all citations 
to the statute and to the Department's regulations are in reference 
to the provisions as they existed on December 31, 1994. However, 
references to the Department's Countervailing Duties; Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Public Comments, 54 FR 
23366 (May 31, 1989) (Proposed Regulations), are provided solely 
for further explanation of the Department's countervailing duty 
practice. Although the Department has withdrawn the particular 
rulemaking proceeding pursuant to which the Proposed Regulations 
were issued, the subject matter of these regulations is being 
considered in connection with an ongoing rulemaking proceeding 
which, among other things, is intended to conform the Department's 
regulations to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See 60 FR 80 
(Jan. 3, 1995). 
 
Scope of the Review 
 
   Imports covered by the review are shipments of Indian manhole 
covers and frames, clean-out covers and frames, and catch basin 
grates and frames. These articles are commonly called municipal 
or public works castings and are used for access or drainage 
for public utility, water, and sanitary systems. During the 
review period, such merchandise was classifiable under the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers 7325.10.0010 and 7325.10.0050. 
The HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description remains dispositive. 
 
Verification 
 
   As provided in section 776(b) of the Act, we verified information 
provided by the Government of India and, six producers/exporters 
of the subject merchandise. We followed standard verification 
procedures, including meeting with government and company officials, 
and examination of relevant accounting and original source documents. 
Our verification results are outlined in the public versions 
of the verification reports, which are on file in the Central 
Records Unit (Room B-099 of the Main Commerce Building). 
 
Calculation Methodology for Assessment and Cash Deposit Purposes 
 
   In accordance with Ceramica Regiomontana, S.A. v. United 
States, 853 F. Supp. 431 (CIT 1994), we calculated the net subsidy 
on a country-wide basis by first calculating the subsidy rate 
for each company subject to the administrative review. We then 
weight-averaged the rate received by each company using as the 
weight its share of total Indian exports to the United States 
of subject merchandise, including all companies, even those 
with de minimis and zero rates. We then summed the individual 
companies' weight-averaged rates to determine the subsidy rate 
from all programs benefitting exports of subject merchandise 
to the United States. 
   Since the country-wide rate calculated using this methodology 
was above de minimis, as defined by 19 CFR § 355.7 (1994), we 
proceeded to the next step and examined the net subsidy rate 
calculated for each company to determine whether individual 
company rates differed significantly from the weighted-average 
country-wide rate, pursuant to 19 CFR 355.22(d)(3). Two companies 
(Delta Enterprises and Super Iron Foundry) had significantly 
different net subsidy rates during the review period pursuant 
to 19 CFR 355.22(d)(3). The rate for these companies was zero. 
These companies are treated separately for assessment and cash 
deposit purposes. All other companies are assigned the country-
wide rate. 
 
Analysis of Programs 
 
I. Programs Conferring Subsidies 
 
A. Programs Previously Determined to Confer Subsidies 
 
   1. Pre-Shipment Export Financing. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), 
 
---- page 25624 ----
 
through commercial banks, provides pre-shipment financing, or 
``packing credits,'' to exporters. Upon presentation of a confirmed 
order or letter of credit, exporters may receive pre-shipment 
loans for working capital purposes, i.e., for the purchase of 
raw materials and for packing, warehousing, and transporting 
of export merchandise. Exporters may also establish pre-shipment 
credit lines upon which they may draw as needed. Credit line 
limits are established by commercial banks, based upon the company's 
creditworthiness and past export performance. Companies that 
have pre-shipment credit lines typically pay interest on these 
loans on a quarterly basis on the outstanding balance of the 
account at the end of each period. In general, packing credits 
are granted for a period of up to 180 days. 
   In prior administrative reviews of this order, the Department 
found this program to be de jure specific, and thus countervailable, 
because receipt of pre-shipment export financing was contingent 
upon export performance and the interest rates were preferential. 
(See e.g., Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review: Certain Iron-Metal Castings From India, 56 FR 41658 
(August 22, 1991); Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review: Certain Iron-Metal Castings From India, 56 FR 52515 
(October 21, 1991 (1987 and 1988 Indian Castings Final Results). 
No new information or evidence of changed circumstances has 
been submitted in this proceeding to warrant reconsideration 
of this finding. During the POR, the rate of interest charged 
on pre-shipment export loans ranged from 13.0 percent to 15.5 
percent, depending on the length and date of receipt of the 
loan. 
   The Government of India (GOI) classifies the companies under 
review as small-scale industry companies. Therefore, as we have 
done in past relevant cases, we used the small-scale industry 
short-term interest rates published in the August 1994 Reserve 
Bank of India Annual Report 1993-94 as our benchmark. This rate 
was 15 percent during the POR for all categories of advances. 
We compared this benchmark to the interest rate charged on pre-
shipment loans and found that for certain loans granted under 
this program, the interest rate charged was lower than the benchmark. 
The use of this benchmark rate is consistent with prior reviews 
of this order. (See Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review: Certain Iron-Metal Castings From India, 60 FR 44843 
(August 29, 1995) (1991 Indian Castings Final Results)). 
   Eight of the fourteen respondent companies used pre-shipment 
export loans for shipments of subject castings to the United 
States during the POR. To calculate the benefit from the pre-
shipment loans to these eight companies, we compared the actual 
interest paid on these loans with the amount of interest that 
would have been paid using the benchmark interest rate of 15 
percent. If the benchmark rate exceeded the program rate, the 
difference between those amounts is the benefit. If a company 
was able to segregate pre-shipment financing applicable to subject 
merchandise exported to the United States, we divided the benefit 
derived from only those loans by total exports of subject merchandise 
to the United States. If a firm was unable to segregate pre-
shipment financing, we divided the benefit from all pre-shipment 
loans by total exports. On this basis, we preliminarily determine 
the net subsidy from this program to be 0.13 percent ad valorem 
for all manufacturers and exporters in India of certain iron-
metal castings, except for those firms listed below which have 
significantly different total subsidies from all programs combined. 
The net subsidy for those firms is as follows: 
 
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises ........................................... |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry .......................................... |        0.00   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   2. Post-Shipment Export Financing and Post-Shipment Credit
Denominated in Foreign Currency (PSCFC). The Reserve Bank of 
India, through commercial banks, provides post-shipment rupee 
denominated loans to exporters upon presentation of export documents. 
Post-shipment financing also consists of bank discounting of 
foreign customer receivables. In general, post-shipment loans 
are granted for a period of up to 180 days. The interest rate 
for post-shipment financing ranged from 13 to 18 percent during 
the POR. In the 1987 and 1988 Indian Castings Final Results, 
the Department found this program to be specific, and thus countervailable, 
because receipt of the post-shipment export financing in rupees 
was contingent upon export performance and the interest rates 
were preferential. No new information or evidence of changed 
circumstances has been submitted in this proceeding to warrant 
reconsideration of this finding.
   On January 1, 1992, the GOI amended the original post-shipment 
financing scheme and introduced the ``Scheme for Post-Shipment 
Credit Denominated in Foreign Currency (PSCFC).'' Under the 
amended scheme, exporters may discount foreign currency export 
bills at interest rates linked to the London Interbank Offering 
Rate (LIBOR). These loans are not provided to the borrower in 
the foreign currency, but allow the post-shipment credit liability 
of the exporter to be denominated in foreign currency, which 
is then liquidated with foreign currency export proceeds.
   Upon presentation of the export bill, the bank will discount 
the bill for a period of up to 180 days at an interest rate 
determined by the RBI. The interest amount, calculated at the 
applicable foreign currency interest rate, will be deducted 
from the total amount of the bill, and the exporter's account 
will be credited for the rupee equivalent of the net foreign 
currency amount. Commercial banks are required to convert the 
net amount of the export bill drawn or expressed in U.S. dollars 
into rupees at a contracted exchange rate (if the exporter takes 
forward cover) or at the rate prevailing on the date of negotiation 
or discount by the bank. The exporter's credit liability will 
continue to be shown in U.S. dollars. If payment from the overseas 
customer is received within the due date for the loan, the exporter's 
account is considered fully liquidated or ``crystallized''. 
Where payment by the overseas customer is made beyond the due 
date, additional interest will be recovered from the exporter 
for the number of days payment is overdue. The additional interest 
amount is calculated in U.S. dollars for the delayed period 
at the overdue foreign currency interest rate set by the RBI. 
This amount is then converted into rupees at the commercial 
bank's prevailing selling rate of the U.S. dollar and deducted 
from the exporter's account.
   Any exchange rate risk on the dollar amount of the bill (i.e., 
gain or loss due to the change in value of the rupee vis-a-vis 
the dollar) will be borne by the commercial bank. If the overseas 
customer defaults, the exporter must repay the rupee equivalent 
of the export bill at the exchange rate prevailing on the date 
the payment of the export bill would have been due. During the 
POR, the discount rate charged on these bills ranged from 6.5 
percent to 6.75 percent, while the overdue foreign currency 
interest rate was 8.5 percent. For overdue bills repaid beyond 
180 days, the normal rupee interest rates apply. These rates 
ranged from 15 to 22 percent during the POR.
   For reasons stated in the prior section for pre-shipment 
financing above, we are using the small-scale industry short-
term interest rates published in the 
 
---- page 25625 ----
 
August 1994 Reserve Bank of India Annual Report 1993-94 as our 
benchmark for short-term rupee denominated post-shipment loans. 
However, because loans under this program are discounted, and 
the effective rate paid by exporters on these loans is a discounted 
rate, we derived a benchmark discount rate of 13.04 percent 
for the POR.
   Where loans are denominated in foreign currency, as is the 
case for PSCFC loans, our normal practice is to use a foreign 
currency benchmark, which would be the interest rate on alternative 
dollar-indexed loans in India. However, we have not been able 
to find such a benchmark, and must, therefore, use as a benchmark 
a rupee-denominated interest rate, adjusted to take into account 
movements in the rupee-dollar exchange rate over the term of 
the loan. In this situation, our preference would be to adjust 
the benchmark by the ``expected'' movement in the rupee/dollar 
exchange rate by comparing the spot rate on the day the bill 
was discounted with the forward exchange rate. Because we were 
unable to find forward exchange rates for the POR, we adjusted 
the benchmark used for rupee denominated post-shipment loans 
described above, by the actual movement in the rupee/dollar 
exchange rate over the period for which the export bill was 
discounted. Therefore, the adjusted benchmark varied for each 
PSCFC loan.
   During the POR, 11 of the 14 respondent companies made payments 
on post-shipment export or PSCFC loans for shipments of subject 
castings to the United States. To calculate the benefit from 
these loans we followed the same short-term loan methodology 
discussed above for pre-shipment financing. We divided the benefit 
by either total exports or exports of the subject merchandise 
to the United States, depending on whether the company was able 
to segregate the post-shipment financing on the basis of destination 
of the exported good. On this basis, we preliminarily determine 
the net subsidy from this program to be 1.25 percent ad valorem 
for all manufacturers and exporters in India of certain iron-
metal castings, except for those firms listed below which have 
significantly different total subsidies from all programs combined. 
The net subsidy for those firms is as follows:
 
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises ........................................... |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry .......................................... |        0.00   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   3. Income Tax Deductions Under Section 80HHC. Under section 
80HHC of the Income Tax Act, the GOI allows exporters to deduct 
profits derived from the export of goods and merchandise from 
taxable income. In the 1987 and 1988 Indian Castings Final Results, 
the Department found this program to de jure specific, and thus 
countervailable, because receipt of benefits was contingent 
upon export performance. No new information or evidence of changed 
circumstances has been submitted in this proceeeding to warrant 
reconsideration of this finding.
   To calculate the benefit to each company, we subtracted the 
total amount of income tax the company actually paid during 
the review period from the amount of tax the company would have 
paid during the review period had it not claimed any deductions 
under section 80HHC. We then divided this difference by the 
value of the company's total exports. On this basis, we preliminarily 
determine the net subsidy from this program to be 3.64 percent 
for all manufacturers and exporters in India of certain iron-
metal castings, except for those firms listed below which have 
significantly different total subsidies from all programs combined. 
The net subsidy for those firms is as follows:
                                                                              
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises ........................................... |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry .......................................... |        0.04   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   4. Import Mechanisms. The GOI allows companies to transfer 
certain types of import licenses to other companies in India. 
During the POR, producers/exporters of subject castings sold 
Additional Licenses, Replenishment Licenses, and Special Import 
Licenses. In prior administrative reviews of this order, we 
determined that the sale of these licenses by exporters is countervailable. 
See the 1987 and 1988 Indian Castings Final Results and the 
1991 Indian Castings Final Results. No new information or evidence 
of changed circumstances has been submitted in this proceeding 
to warrant reconsideration of this finding.
   Because the sale of Special Import Licenses and Additional 
Licenses could not be tied to specific shipments, we calculated 
the subsidies by dividing the total amount of proceeds a company 
received from sales of these licenses by the total value of 
its exports of all products to all markets. Also, because sales 
of Replenishment Licenses can be tied to specific exports, we 
calculated the subsidies by dividing the amount of proceeds 
a company received from sales of Replenishment Licenses that 
was attributable to shipments of subject castings to the United 
States by the total value of the company's exports of subject 
castings to the United States. We do not consider the sale of 
Replenishment Licenses issued for non-subject merchandise to 
have benefitted exports of the subject merchandise.
   We preliminarily determine the net subsidy from the sale 
of Additional, Special Import, and Replenishment Licenses to 
be 0.04 percent ad valorem for all manufacturers and exporters 
in India of certain iron-metal castings, except for those firms 
listed below which have significantly different aggregate benefits. 
The net subsidies for those firms are as follows:
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises ........................................... |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry .......................................... |        0.00   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

B. New Programs Preliminarily Found to Confer Subsidies

   1. Exemption of Export Credit from Interest Taxes. At verification, 
the GOI and commercial bank officials explained that starting 
from September, 1991, commercial banks were required to pay 
a 3 percent tax on all interest accrued from borrowers. This 
tax is passed on to borrowers in its entirety. As of April 1, 
1993, the GOI exempted from the interest tax all interest accruing 
or arising to any commercial bank on loans and advances made 
to any exporter as export credit. See the 1993 GOI Verification 
Report at 6-7 and Exhibits EEPC-8, 9, 10 and 11 (October 30, 
1995) (Public Document). Because only interest accruing or arising 
on loans and advances made to exporters in the form of export 
credit is exempt from the interest tax, we preliminarily determine 
this exemption to provide countervailable benefits to exporters. 
During the POR, eleven of the fourteen respondent companies 
made interest payments on export related loans, through the 
pre- and post-shipment financing schemes.
   To calculate the benefit to each company, we first determined 
the total amount of interest paid by each producer/exporter 
of subject castings from April 1 to December 31, 1993, by adding 
all interest payments made on pre- and post-shipment loans after 
April 1, 1993. For the two companies that reported aggregate 
interest on pre- and post-shipment loans for the POR, and for 
which we were unable to determine what portion of the reported 
interest was paid after April 1, 1993, we 
  
 
---- page 25626 ----
 
assumed that the company's interest payments were evenly distributed 
over each quarter of 1993, and, therefore, that 75 percent of 
the interest reported was paid in the last three quarters of 
1993, i.e., from April 1 through December 31. Next, we multiplied 
this amount by three percent, the amount of tax that the interest 
would have been subject to without the exemption. We then divided 
the benefit by the value of the company's total exports or exports 
of subject merchandise to the United States, depending on whether 
the export financing was on total exports or only exports of 
subject castings to the U.S. On this basis, we preliminarily 
determine the net subsidy from this program to be 0.06 percent 
ad valorem for all manufacturers and exporters in India of certain 
iron-metal casting, except for those firms listed below which 
have significantly different total subsidies from all programs 
combined. The net subsidy for those firms is as follows:
 
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises ........................................... |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry .......................................... |        0.00   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   2. Imports Made Under an Advance License through the Liberalized 
Exchange Rate Management System (LERMS). The Liberalized Exchange 
Rate Management System or LERMS, in effect from March 1, 1992 
through February 28, 1993, was part of the GOI's economic liberalization 
efforts, aimed in part at achieving full convertibility of the 
rupee. Under the LERMS, the importation of goods under the Duty 
Exemption Scheme (with Advance Licences), was financed at two 
rates: 40 percent at the official RBI rate and 60 percent at 
the (higher) market determined rate. We verified that the LERMS 
was terminated effective February 28, 1993, after which all 
foreign exchange earnings and the financing of all imports was 
at the full market exchange rate. (See section II.1. below for 
a discussion of foreign exchange earnings under the LERMS).
   While the LERMS was in effect, purchases of most imports 
are made at the market exchange rate. This applied to both exporters 
and non-exporters. An exception to this were goods imported 
under the Duty Exemption Scheme which permitted exporters holding 
an Advance License to purchase imports at dual exchange rates 
through February 28, 1993. Sixty percent of the value of the 
import was charged at the market rate and forty percent at the 
Reserve Bank determined official dollar/rupee exchange rate. 
The Advance License was the only license under which imports 
were charged at the 60/40 ratio. These licenses allow exporters 
to import products duty free, that are subsequently consumed 
in the production of exported goods. Castings exporters used 
Advance Licenses by the importation of pig iron consumed in 
the production of the subject merchandise.
   The receipt of these licenses was previously determined to 
be not countervailable, because the Advance License operates 
as duty drawback scheme, and the drawback of import duties on 
raw materials consumed in the production of exported goods was 
found to be not excessive. See the 1991 Indian Castings Final 
Results. However, Advance Licenses are issued to companies based 
on their status as exporters. As such, provisions under the 
LERMS which allow exporters to import goods at exchange rates 
more favorable than those available to non-exporters constitutes 
an export subsidy within the meaning of § 355.43(a)(1) of the 
Department's Proposed Regulations. Therefore, because the official 
rupee/dollar exchange rate was lower than the market rate during 
the POR, thereby lowering the cost of goods imported under an 
Advance License during January and February of 1993, we preliminarily 
determine the importation of goods under an Advance License 
at the 60/40 ratio to provide countervailable benefits to producers/exporters 
of the subject merchandise.
   During the POR, three of the fourteen respondent companies 
made imports against an Advance License while the LERMS was 
still in effect. To calculate the benefit to each company, we 
subtracted the total amount the company paid in rupees for the 
imported goods from the amount they would have paid if the imports 
had been paid for at the higher market exchange rate. We then 
divided the benefit by the value of the company's total exports. 
On this basis, we preliminarily determine the net subsidy from 
this program to be 0.33 percent ad valorem for all manufacturers 
and exporters in India of certain iron-metal castings, except 
for those firms listed below which have significantly different 
total subsidies from all programs combined. The net subsidy 
for those firms is as follows:
 
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises............................................ |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry........................................... |        0.00   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   Because we verified that this program was terminated as of 
February 28, 1993, and there are no residual benefits, for cash 
deposit purposes, in accordance with section § 355.50 of the 
Department's Proposed Regulations, the deposit rate for this 
program will be zero.
 
II. Programs Preliminarily Found Not to Confer Subsidies
 
   1. Inward Exchange Remittances under the Liberalized Exchange 
Rate Management System (LERMS). The Liberalized Exchange Rate 
Management System or LERMS, in effect from March 1, 1992 through 
February 28, 1993, was part of the GOI's economic liberalization 
efforts, partly aimed at achieving full convertibility of the 
rupee. Under the LERMS, all inward exchange remittances, i.e., 
foreign exchange earnings, were converted into rupees either 
at the market exchange rate or at dual exchange rates: 40 percent 
at the official RBI rate and 60 percent at the (higher) market 
determined rate. We verified that the LERMS was terminated effective 
February 28, 1993, after which all foreign exchange remittances 
and the financing of all imports was at the full market exchange 
rate. (For a discussion of import financing under the LERMS, 
see I.B.2. above.) During January and February of 1993, while 
the LERMS was in effect, castings exporters converted all of 
their export earnings at the 60/40 exchange rate ratio described 
above.
   Because all transactions by which Indian companies or individuals 
exchanged foreign currency into rupees while the LERMS was in 
effect were converted at the 60/40 exchange rate ratio or at 
the higher market exchange rate, we preliminarily determine 
that the export earnings of castings producers, converted at 
the dual exchange rates under LERMS, do not confer countervailable 
benefits with respect to the subject merchandise.

III. Programs Preliminarily Found Not To Be Used 
 
   We examined the following programs and preliminarily find 
that the producers/exporters of the subject merchandise did 
not apply for or receive benefits under these programs during 
the period of review:
1. Market Development Assistance (MDA)
2. Rediscounting of Export Bills Abroad
3. International Price Reimbursement Scheme (IPRS)
4. Cash Compensatory Support Program (CCS)
5. Pre-Shipment Financing in Foreign Currency (PSFC)
 
---- page 25627 ----
 
Preliminary Results of Review 
 
   For the period January 1, 1993 through December 31, 1993, 
we preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be zero or de 
minimis for Delta Enterprises and Super Iron Foundry, and 5.45 
percent ad valorem for all other companies. In accordance with 
19 CFR 355.7, any rate less than 0.5 percent ad valorem is de 
minimis.
   If the final results of this review remain the same as these 
preliminary results, the Department intends to instruct the 
U.S. Customs Service to assess the following countervailing 
duties:
 
                                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Manufacturer/Exporter                     |     Rate      
                                                              |  (percent)    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              |               
Delta Enterprises............................................ |        0.00   
Super Iron Foundry........................................... |        0.00   
All Other Companies.......................................... |        5.45   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
   The Department also intends to instruct the U.S. Customs 
Service to collect a cash deposit of estimated countervailing 
duties of zero percent of the f.o.b. invoice price on all shipments 
of the subject merchandise from Delta Enterprises and Super 
Iron Foundry, and 5.13 percent of the f.o.b. invoice price on 
all shipments of the subject merchandise from all other companies.
 
Public Comment
 
   Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure of the calculation 
methodology and interested parties may request a hearing not 
later than 10 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Interested parties may submit written arguments in case briefs 
on these preliminary results within 30 days of the date of publication. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to arguments raised in case briefs, 
may be submitted seven days after the time limit for filing 
the case brief. Parties who submit argument in this proceeding 
are requested to submit with the argument (1) a statement of 
the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument. Any hearing, 
if requested, will be held seven days after the scheduled date 
for submission of rebuttal briefs. Copies of case briefs and 
rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties in accordance 
with 19 CFR 355.38(e).
   Representatives of parties to the proceeding may request 
disclosure of proprietary information under administrative protective 
order no later than 10 days after the representative's client 
or employer becomes a party to the proceeding, but in no event 
later than the date the case briefs, under 19 CFR § 355.38(c), 
are due. The Department will publish the final results of this 
administrative review including the results of its analysis 
of issues raised in any case or rebuttal brief or at a hearing. 
   This administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 
§ 355.22.
 
   Dated: May 14, 1996.
Paul L. Joffe,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
 
[FR Doc. 96-12871 Filed 5-21-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
 
The Contents entry for this article reads as follows:
 
International Trade Administration
NOTICES
Countervailing duties:
  Iron metal castings from-
    India, 25623