The Engineering Exports Promotion Council of India (EEPC) has been lobbying hard against the levy of a registration fee for the import of iron and steel products, which it has termed as unnecessary.
November 19, 2019
The Narendra Modi government’s decision to insist on compulsory registration for the import of iron and steel products has been slammed by an industry forum on the ground that this would raise raw material costs for user industries.
In response to the strident criticism of the move, the government has decided to extend the time period for registration under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS).
In September, the government had made it mandatory for traders to register themselves with SIMS to import 215 iron and steel products from November 21.
These items include certain flat-rolled products; some stranded wire, ropes, cables; certain items of springs and leaves for springs of iron and steel; tubes, pipes and hollow profiles; diesel-electric locomotives; and some parts of railways.
