BS reported that the Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association has asked the ministry to introduce quality standards based on the application of steel as some of the foreign suppliers are not keen to get BIS registration and might stop exports to India. Secondary steep producers have urged the government to delay the implementation of the order.

Mr SC Mathur ED of CORSMA said that the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has written to the commerce ministry against the proposed standards since they amount to technical barrier under the WTO norms.

He said that the order would benefit a few major domestic producers who face competition from cheap steel imports.

Sources in the secondary steel industry said that the order amounted to a backdoor ban on steel imports and forcing them to depend entirely on domestic producers. A secondary steel produce said that “The grade of steel required for the automobile industry is not the same as the quality of steel needed to produce a trunk. So introducing uniform quality specifications is not practical.”

The report cited Mr PK Rastogi steel secretary as saying that “The order is very much there but the ministry is discussing if it should be implemented from the stipulated date or not. It has been postponed once. There is a request from secondary steel producers to postpone the implementation further.” He said that the order was also applicable to steel imports.

Indian government has issued a notification that all imported steel products should conform to the quality specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The Steel and Steel Products Second Order, 2008 is supposed to be operational from February 12th. It was first scheduled to come into effect from September 12th 2008.

The order requires all domestic steel producers as well as international companies selling steel to India to register with the BIS.

(Sourced from Business Standard)