Heeding to repeated pleas by domestic producers as well as a strong pitch made by the Steel Ministry, the Government on Wednesday increased the basic customs duty (BCD) on certain long and flat steel products by 2.5 per cent. The move is expected to come as a big relief to domestic steel producers who have been reeling under the onslaught of cheap boron-mixed Chinese steel which has been flooding Indian markets for quite some time now.
The decision was taken by the Finance Ministry after Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, on behalf of the domestic steel industry, had urged it to hike the import duty.Resultantly import duty on flat steel products has been increased to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent, whereas that on long steel products has been raised to 7.5 per cent from 5 per cent, said a Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) notification.
The products include, non-alloy flat products, alloy sheet flat, semis, non-alloy and large alloy flat, among others.The Government, however, has not increased the BCD (Basic Customs Duty) for stainless steel and cold rolled grain-oriented steel (CRGO).
“The raising of the BCD on steel products is a positive step in the success of the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme,” Tomar tweeted, welcoming the move.Increasing the BCD on most of the steel products with immediate effect will definitely provide relief to domestic industry from high imports, he added.
“Some days back anti-dumping duty was imposed on some steel products, such steps show the Government’s stand towards the ‘Make in India’ programme. My efforts are to encourage and help the small steel producers and work in going on in this direction,” Tomar said.
Earlier this month, India slapped anti-dumping duty of up to $316 per tonne on imports of certain steel products from three countries, including China, to protect domestic producers from below-cost inbound shipments.