DIPP for reconsideration of stainless steel QC order: PPMAI

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has written to the Steel Ministry for reconsideration of the Stainless Steel Products Quality Control (QC) Order, 2016, industry body PPMAI claimed today.
Process Plant and Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) said DIPP, under the Commerce Ministry, has also urged for granting more time before implementing the QC order.
DIPP in its letter on August 22, 2016 has said that the ministry should engage with the stakeholders and more time should be given to the firms to comply with the said order, PPMAI said in a statement.
Various value added segments of downstream capital goods industry have been writing to concerned ministries, including the Steel Ministry, over the "major anomalies in the Quality Control order", it added.

The QC Order, 2016 makes it mandatory to register with BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) and prohibits manufacture, import, storage, sale and distribution of stainless steel products by trade and industry without such registration.
PPMAI said end user industry has been pointing out that BIS standard IS-6911 has errors, clearly showing that the standards are not ready to serve the needs of domestic industrial sector which buys stainless steel as per international standards.

No one buys stainless steel as per BIS standards and no stainless steel producer in India manufactures as per BIS norms, it added.
"American Standards for Testing of Materials (ASTM) is considered mother of all standards and therefore stainless steel products as per ASTM and Euro standards should be allowed by the QC order along with BIS," PPMAI Secretary V P Ramachandran said.

Besides, BIS standards are not revised and do not include hundreds of new grades, which are being used globally for the high end industrial applications, he added.
"Steel Ministry informed us that Jindal Stainless took nine months for registration and despite the same the Ministry has given only 3 months for implementation of QC Order to international companies," he claimed.
Interestingly, BIS procedure needs at least six months for registration, while Steel Ministry gave 15 months to similar procedure for carbon steel, Ramachandran added.
"PPMAI demands that Steel Ministry should actually focus on stopping manufacturing and import of non-standard stainless steel products used for making utensils products by the leading local mills, including JSL and SALEM and others, as well as ban flood of such imports of non standard grades to protect the consumer interest," he said.

Shockingly, this non-standard volume constitutes 60 per cent of the stainless steel demand in India, Ramachandran added.