Stainless steel importers oppose duty on alloy

India’s stainless steel importers, including utensil manufacturers, have snubbed the domestic industry’s demand for imposition of import duty on the alloy, saying the move is aimed at benefiting a “single producer”.

“Import duty on stainless steel which had remained untouched till date will benefit a single monopoly industry,” said Process Plant & Machinery Association of India Secretary V P Ramachandran.

The Association, which is an umbrella organisation of stainless steel importers and utensil producers, has written a letter to Steel Secretary P K Rastogi requesting him not to persuade the finance ministry for the imposition of up to 20 per cent import duty on the alloy as demanded by domestic producers.

The body representing the country’s stainless steel producers — Indian Stainless Steel Development Association — had said yesterday that they have approached the steel and the finance ministries for levying up to 20 per cent import duty on the alloy to check cheaper shipments from China, Korea and Taiwan amid slackening demand and volatility in raw material prices.

“Government will have to impose more import duties on stainless steel products if it wants the industry to survive,” Indian Stainless Steel Development Association President N C Mathur has said.

Giving the rationale behind the rebuff, Ramachandran said the Indian stainless steel industry has a poor range of products with near monopoly of “one producer”, and so small scale firms need to import value-added alloy to compete globally.

Moreover, the import in stainless steel flat products take place in those grades and sizes, which the domestic industry does not manufacture, he added.

Echoing similar sentiments, stainless steel pipes and tubes producer Patnamani Commercial Head J H Bhatt said, putting roadblocks on the import of the alloy will create monopoly of low quality domestic producers in the market.

“It will also deprive the small stainless steel users in gaining competitive edge in the domestic and global market,” he said.

The industry consuming imported stainless steel is already reeling under the impact of depreciation in the value of the Indian currency, which has gone down as much as by 20 per cent since the beginning of this financial year, Ramachandran added.