The Indian steel industry is split over the proposed implementation of the Steel Quality Order 2015 with producers backing it while steel user industries are opposing it, an official at India’s Ministry of Steel said on Wednesday, October 21.
The Federation of Indian Industries (FII), a body representing steel user sectors, has demanded that the Steel and Steel Products Quality Control Order 2015, which will make it mandatory for steel products to get certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), should not be notified and put into implementation, the ministry official said. In its communication, the FII said that the quality order is a non-tariff import barrier and will be detrimental in bridging the demand and supply gap in several steel product categories. It also warned that no steel exporting country will go through the motions of securing BIS registrations.
At the same time, the Indian Steel Association (ISA), a representative body of steel producers, has demanded immediate implementation of the order to prevent imports of substandard quality of steel and steel product imports into the country, the ministry official said.
India’s Ministry of Steel has drafted the order and circulated it among all India’s trading partners. According to the order, 16 grades of steel products including hot rolled plates, bars, tinplates and hot rolled and cold rolled coils will need BIS certifications. The order, however, is yet to be notified for implementation.