Engineering exporters have opposed a recent government notification on mandatory registration for steel imports as this would raise the price of steel, which is a critical raw material. The Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) has approached the commerce ministry seeking a modification of the notification.

In a letter to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, EEPC India chairman Ravi Sehgal, has flagged concerns regarding the DGFT notification, dated September 5, which mandated compulsory registration for the import of most of the steel products under Chapter 72 and few products under Chapter 73 and 86 of ITC (HS) in the name of the Steel Import Monitoring System.

“Engineering goods exporters, battling under global slowdown and rising domestic costs, have approached commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, under the aegis of EEPC India, seeking modification of a recent DGFT notification that would result in restrictions on import and increase in price of steel, a crucial raw material for the engineering export goods,” he said in the letter.

The government has made it mandatory for traders to register themselves with the Steel Import Monitoring System to import 215 iron and steel products.

The DGFT, under the commerce ministry, said “import policy” for these 215 items “has been revised from ‘free’ to ‘free subject to compulsory registration under SIMS’”.