India makes registration mandatory for local and foreign steel products

India's Ministry of Steel has made it mandatory for 16 steel products which have a direct bearing on consumer health and safety to be registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Second Order 2012, according to a ministry notification.
 
The Ministry of Steel clarified that the order does not prohibit steel imports in the country but requires that the steel products produced in the country or imported should conform to the specifications laid down by the BIS.
 
All steel units producing steel in the country or importing steel into India must seek registration with the BIS and obtain a license for sale of their products in India whether produced domestically or imported.
 
According to a steel ministry official, the mandatory registration was to be effective as of April 1, 2013 but, following reflections from several overseas steel mills and importing traders, changes have been made as to the effective dates for several steel product categories.
 
For hot rolled flat products (sheets, strips and coils) less than 6 mm in thickness and universal beam structural steel thicker than 590 mm, the effective date has been maintained as April 1. In case of flat bars, rounds and plates of thickness more than 80 mm, the effective date has been postponed to October 1.
 
For carbon steel cast billets, ingots, blooms and slabs for the re-rolling sector, the effective date has been revised as September 12, while the effective date for cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel sheets and strips and grain-oriented electrical steel sheets and strips has been changed to October 1.