Steel ministry to seek 10% import duty, again

The steel ministry has decided to push for 10 per cent import duty on steel items to protect the domestic industry against cheap shipments from overseas, which is eating into the business of players like SAIL and Tata Steel.

The ministry is expected to recommend for enhancement of the duty to 10 per cent from the present 5 per cent in a couple of days, a senior official in the steel ministry said.

The proposal if accepted by the finance ministry, would help boost domestic demand for the commodity produced by companies like SAIL, RINL, Tata Steel, Essar, JSW and Ispat.

“If 10 per cent duty is levied, imports would become costlier and the consuming industry would prefer procuring the commodity from us,” an official of a steel company said.

Contrary to the contention, the secondary steel makers, who cater to the automobile and consumer durable sectors, are opposed to increasing import tariff, saying the commodity is available at cheaper rate in the international market.

According to industry watchers, what could prove a possible bottleneck in enhancement of the import duty is the fact that steel imports plunged by 14 per cent to 4.8 million tonnes during the April-December period of 2008-09 against 5.6 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2007.