Paper Shopping Bags AD Reviews: Preliminary Rates

The paper shopping bags antidumping review creates potential liquidation exposure for importers sourcing from India, Malaysia, and Colombia. Although preliminary margins range from 1.23 percent to 6.47 percent, current cash deposit rates remain in effect until final results establish new prospective rates. ## Preliminary Results by Country and Supplier The first administrative reviews of the 2024 antidumping duty orders cover entries made from January 3, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Commerce initiated the reviews in August 2025 and issued preliminary results on October 7, 2026, after deadline tolling and extensions affected the schedule. ### India: Multiple Company-Specific Margins For India case A-533-917, Ckaari Packaging Private Limited received a preliminary margin of 1.23 percent. Velvin Packaging Solution Private Limited and Velvin Paper Products, treated collectively as Velvin, received a preliminary margin of 3.01 percent. Fourteen Indian companies that were not selected for individual examination received a preliminary rate of 2.44 percent. That rate reflects the results calculated for the individually examined respondents rather than a separate examination of each non-selected company. Commerce also rescinded the review for seven Indian companies after finding no reviewable suspended entries. The existing India all-others cash deposit rate remains 1.20 percent. ### Malaysia and Colombia Results For Malaysia case A-557-825, Hexachase Packaging Sdn. Bhd. received a preliminary margin of 2.16 percent. Commerce preliminarily found that Sin Boon Beng Printing Sdn. Bhd. had no shipments during the review period. The review was rescinded for UPS SCS (Malaysia) Services Sdn Bhd. and Qlopac Sdn Bhd. Malaysia's all-others rate remains 3.18 percent. For Colombia case A-301-805, Ditar S.A. was the only company reviewed and received a preliminary margin of 6.47 percent. Colombia's all-others rate is 11.16 percent following an amendment to the order in May 2026. These results are preliminary. They provide a basis for estimating exposure, but they do not immediately change the cash deposit instructions applied to new entries. ## How Preliminary Margins Affect Importers Administrative review results serve two distinct functions. They determine the final assessment of antidumping duties on covered entries during the review period and generally establish prospective cash deposit rates for future entries. Importers should separate those effects when forecasting liability. ### Cash Deposits Do Not Change Yet Importers must continue depositing antidumping duties at the rates currently required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The preliminary margins do not replace existing cash deposit rates. New prospective rates generally take effect only after Commerce publishes final results and CBP implements the resulting instructions. Final results are due within 120 days of the preliminary results unless Commerce extends the deadline. Final margins may remain unchanged, increase, decrease, or become zero based on comments, corrections, methodological issues, and other developments in the proceeding. ### Review-Period Entries Carry Liquidation Risk Entries made from January 3, 2024, through June 30, 2025, may ultimately be assessed at rates that differ from the deposits paid at entry. If the final assessment exceeds the deposit, the importer may owe additional duties and interest. If the assessment is lower, the importer may generally receive a refund with applicable interest after liquidation. Finance and compliance teams should compare each supplier's preliminary result with the deposit rate used on affected entries. The analysis should be completed at the entry-line level and should confirm exporter, producer, case number, entry date, entered value, deposit rate, and deposited amount. A preliminary margin is not necessarily the exact amount that will be billed on every entry. Assessment calculations and instructions can depend on importer-specific data, respondent reporting, shipment activity, and the methodology adopted in the final results. Accrual models should therefore document assumptions and include reasonable sensitivity scenarios rather than treating the preliminary margin as a fixed payable amount. ## Compliance Priorities Before Final Results The period between preliminary and final results is a critical control window. Importers and customs brokers should validate entry records, monitor the proceeding, preserve supporting documentation, and prepare for eventual assessment instructions. ### Briefs, Hearings, and Final Determinations Case briefs are due October 28, 2026, which is 21 days after publication of the preliminary results. Rebuttal briefs are due five days after case briefs and generally must respond to arguments already raised. Requests for a hearing are due within 30 days of publication and must be submitted through ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Importers wishing to challenge a calculation should coordinate promptly with trade counsel and the reviewed respondent. Issues may involve sales data, adjustments, respondent identity, shipment history, ministerial errors, or the treatment of non-selected companies. A commercial disagreement with the size of a margin, without a supported administrative argument, is generally insufficient. ### Reimbursement Certificates and Entry Controls Importers must file the required reimbursement certificate before liquidation. Under 19 CFR 351.402(f), failure to provide the certificate can create a presumption that the importer was reimbursed for antidumping duties. That presumption may result in double antidumping duties. Customs brokers should verify that each entry uses the correct antidumping case number and the proper exporter or producer combination. Similar supplier names, related entities, trading companies, and factory changes can create rate assignment errors that remain difficult to correct after liquidation. Commerce generally issues assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after publication of final results. Importers should monitor liquidation status and protest deadlines rather than assuming that review participation automatically prevents liquidation errors. Antidumping duties are not eligible for duty drawback. Exporting or destroying the imported paper shopping bags does not make the AD duties recoverable. Drawback forecasts must exclude antidumping duties while separately evaluating whether ordinary customs duties, taxes, or fees may qualify under the applicable drawback framework. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What Period Is Covered by These Administrative Reviews? The reviews cover entries of subject paper shopping bags made from January 3, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Exposure analysis should focus on entries within that period and identify the exporter, producer, importer of record, deposit rate, and amount paid for each transaction. ### Do Importers Start Using the Preliminary AD Rates Immediately? No. Preliminary results do not change current cash deposit requirements. Importers should continue paying deposits at the rates reflected in CBP's active instructions. Prospective company-specific rates generally change only after final results are issued and implemented. ### What Does a No-Shipments Finding Mean? A no-shipments finding indicates that Commerce preliminarily determined that the named company had no reviewable shipments during the period. Importers should still validate their own records because transactions involving resellers, intermediaries, or different producer combinations may not receive the treatment expected from the company name alone. ### What Happens When a Review Is Rescinded for a Company? A rescission generally means Commerce will not calculate a new review rate for that company. Covered entries are typically handled under the applicable liquidation instructions, often based on the deposit rate in effect at entry. The precise treatment depends on the final instructions sent to CBP. ### Can Antidumping Duties Be Recovered Through Drawback? No. Antidumping duties are statutorily ineligible for duty drawback. Importers should exclude them from potential drawback recovery even when the merchandise is later exported or destroyed. Other eligible customs duties may still warrant a separate drawback analysis. ## How Stable Software Can Help ### Separate AD Exposure From Eligible Drawback Antidumping duty reviews require importers and brokers to distinguish potential AD assessments from duties that may qualify for drawback. That separation helps prevent overstated recoveries and supports more reliable financial forecasting. DrawbackAI is Stable Software's flat-license duty drawback software for U.S. customs brokers. Brokers can white-label the software for importer clients and file claims under their own filer codes. Stable Software charges a flat software license and never takes a percentage of the refund. Customs brokers evaluating drawback opportunities can use this structure to retain control of client relationships and recovery economics while ensuring that non-drawback-eligible antidumping duties remain outside the expected refund calculation.

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