India’s small and medium-scale stainless steel producers have urged the Indian government to reintroduce a mandatory quality control order (QCO) citing the surge in imports from China after the order was revoked earlier, a representative body of the industry said on Friday, June 26.
"The suspension of the QCO has opened the door for a surge of low-priced imports from China, placing domestic micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) manufacturers under severe pressure and threatening thousands of jobs and substantial investments made by Indian entrepreneurs," the Stainless Steel Induction Furnace Association and the Stainless Steel Re-Rollers Association said in a joint letter to India’s steel ministry.
The steel ministry, through an order dated April 27, 2026, had suspended the quality control order (QCO) that mandated the use of only Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified items for various stainless steel products. The move was aimed at easing the compliance burden for local producers, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
However, MSMEs in the stainless steel industry have raised concerns over the steep rise in imports of stainless products following the suspension of the QCO
Under mandatory QCOs, no product can be manufactured, stored, traded or sold that do not comply with relevant BIS standard. In the case of imports, quality certification is issued to an importer after BIS completes inspection of the overseas manufacturing facility.
Citing official data, the industry body said that stainless steel imports in April 2026 totaled 101,252 mt, a rise of 65 percent year on year.
The industry bodies have also warned that the import numbers may continue to rise if no intervention measures are taken by the government.
They said that Chinese stainless steel not compliant with BIS standards is entering the Indian market at predatory prices, creating an uneven competitive environment for domestic manufacturers who comply with Indian quality standards, environmental regulations and employment obligations.
