The levies were announced by the finance minister on April 29. Shares in Jindal Saw and Welspun Gujarat have fallen around 13 per cent each with Maharashtra Seamless and Usha Martin falling 7 per cent since April 29, ompared with the Metal index's 5 per cent rise in the same period. Company officials have asked for a withdrawal of export tax on pipes from the ministry and are awaiting a response. pipe fitting "I'm waiting for a notification on the revision of the tax. If it doesn't come over the next 10 days, I would downgrade these stocks," PINC's Rao said. Steel pipe makers such as Jindal Saw and Maharashtra Seamless export around 25-40 per cent of their output, with Man Industries and Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren exporting 80 per cent annually. "It would be a major set-back for us. We will have to re-negotiate prices with our clients," K.G. Mantri, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Man Industries, told Reuters over the telephone. "We manufacture using imported steel. There's no need for an export tax as it is not affecting domestic supplies. That's irrational," said Man's Mantri."I believe there's a re-consideration in the government," he added. Man, which produces 1 million tonnes pipes annually, will see a 5-8 percentage point hit on its margin, said Alok Agarwal, senior analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities. The earnings per share of the company may fall to Rs 6.7 from earlier expectations of 17, he added. "The companies will either havepipe fitting to hold the exports, defer consignments or raise prices. Either ways they'll lose their competitiveness," he said. Demand for pipes overseas have been rising due to huge activities in the refinery space, dwindling reserves and higher energy costs, analysts said. Welspun Gujarat, which is laying cross-country pipelines in the Gulf, had an order book of RS 4600 crore as on April 29. A Welspun spokeswoman refused to comment but Motilal's Agarwal said the company's margins will narrow to around 7 per cent in 2008/09 from 16.5 per cent, while FY09 earnings per share will tumble to RS 8 from earlier estimate of 29.5. Maharashtra Seamless on the other hand is looking to reduce dependence on exports, a senior official said. pipe fitting Exports contributed 25 percent of their revenue last year. "We will try and pass on to the customers and the rest we will bear on the profits," Anil Jain, chief finance officer said. The company currently has Rs 100 crore of export orders and the tax will put some pressure on margins, he said. Jindal Saw and PSL Ltd would be insulated against the tax due to higher dependence on local markets, analysts said. PSL stocks have risen over 8 percent since April 29, pipe fitting outperforming the CNX Midcap's 6.8 per cent rise in the same period.