Posted on 28 Nov 2024
India’s Ministry of Steel says a No Object Certificate (NOC) is given if the steel products are not covered under Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standards and quality control orders (QCO), Kallanish notes. The ministry notes this will ensure domestic or imported steel meets BIS standards.
“It has been observed that many traders and manufacturers have been trying to import steel with minor alternations in steel grades to bypass BIS standard requirement," the ministry says in a press note on late-Wednesday.
"In last year alone applications for 1,136 more grades have been filed with the Ministry of Steel for import of steel. Most of these grades are neither internationally recognized nor covered in BIS standards. They just have minor variation in chemical composition or product measurements and seem to be an attempt to import cheap steel in the name of different grades.”
The ministry also addressed reports of Japan facing shipment delays at Indian ports (see separate article).
The ministry warns that importing cheaper-origin steel under the guise of different grades and bypassing BIS standards will lead to sub-standard quality of steel and affect domestic small and large manufacturers. “Cheaper imports lead to depression of domestic steel prices and affect steel producers, both large and small,” it concludes.
Source:Kallanish
