Following domestic automobile manufacturers, Indian engineering manufacturers in the exporting sector are seeking a delay of six months for compliance with import standards, an official at India’s Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said on Wednesday, February 4.
The EEPC official said that the Indian engineering industry is not able to import special steel products to meet their export commitments and that the industry will not be able to meet the March 18, 2016 deadline to register and adhere to the import standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
The official said that there is hardly any time between applying for registration for certification with the BIS and concluding steel import transactions between now and March 18, and this is impacting manufacturing schedules to meet export commitments.
Indian engineering product exports which accounted for 21 percent of the total merchandise exports from the country fell 29 percent during the April-December period of 2015 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.