Government issues quality control orders on various steel items

NEW DELHI: In a move to curb imports of certain substandard steel items and cables, the government has issued quality control orders for these products.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has come out with two separate orders as per which these products will have to conform to the specified standards and bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Both the orders will come into force with effect from August 1.


“The BIS shall be the certifying and enforcing authority for the goods,” the department said in the orders.

The goods include steel tubes, tubulars and other wrought steel fitting, steel tubes for structural purposes and water wells.

The order pertaining to cables is applicable to heavy duty electric cables, aerial bunched cables, elastomer insulated cables, welding cables, shot firing cables and halogen free flame retardant cables.

The move assumes significance as the government is working to formulate technical regulations such as safety and quality standards for over 350 products to curb imports of non-essential items.

In FY19, India’s total trade deficit was a record $176.42 billion.

As per the orders, the notified items cannot be produced, sold/ traded, imported and stocked unless they bear BIS mark. The order excludes products meant for export. “Exclusion of export is for purpose that Indian manufacturers making such items for foreign market need not comply as they need to comply with the destination market standards,” said an official.