Posted on 21 Nov 2024
India’s steel user industries, with over 10,000 units, are facing severe operational and financial challenges due to prolonged port delays and complex regulatory hurdles, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in Delhi, notes Kallanish.
The think tank has called for urgent reforms to streamline import processes and implement digitised systems to address the growing concerns.
GTRI also highlights that measures intended to protect domestic steelmakers, such as import restrictions and quality control mandates, have unintentionally placed a heavy burden on industries that rely on imported steel.
It adds that these industries, key to manufacturing specialty steel, stainless steel, and other value-added components, are struggling due to heightened scrutiny of imports, which has disrupted both their operations and exports.
The Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), designed to monitor imports, frequently malfunctions, leading to further delays.
Quality Control Orders (QCOs) requiring Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) registration for specific steel products are often applied inconsistently by customs, triggering confusion, delays, and extra costs, GTRI observes. BIS seldom issues No Objection Certificates (NOCs) promptly, it adds.
Additionally, concerns have been raised about Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which allow concessional re-imports of steel, potentially undermining local competitiveness. GTRI is urging the government to introduce more efficient and transparent policies, ensuring QCOs only apply to steel products readily available domestically.
Without these changes, the think tank has warned that policy-induced delays could stifle India’s manufacturing aspirations. It is calling for a balanced approach that supports both steelmakers and their user industries.
Source:Kallanish
