The ministry has reasoned that stainless steel importers have made advance payments against their future orders, and the input material adherence order will disrupt their production.
But domestic stainless steel manufacturers have in a recent interaction with the steel ministry expressed concern about the exemption since imports eat into their market share and also impact their ability to recoup capital investments. “The government should have a consistent policy. If they keep granting exemptions, we won’t be able to recover our investments as substandard steel will keep flowing into the Indian market,” said a person who attended the steel ministry interaction. The domestic industry has also flagged to the ministry the continuing impact of these exemptions beyond their expiry date. “Even though the order expires on December 31, enough steel would be imported till then to last till June,” added a person aware of the development. Further, the exemption order allows steel mills outside India to continue using non-BIS-compliant input raw material to make products which will be exported to India, while “we will have to continue adhering to BIS”, added the person.
The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) has backed extending quality control orders to curb Chinese dumping and substandard steel imports. “Imports should be permitted only when the required products are unavailable within the country,” ISSDA president Rajamani Krishnamurti said.