Indian recyclers seek scrapping of pre-shipment inspection, letter shows

NEW DELHI: India's leading recyclers' body has asked the federal foreign trade directorate to replace existing scrap import rules based on overseas certification with local inspection at Indian ports, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters on Monday.

India imports around 13 million metric tons of recyclable metal scrap every year from more than 160 countries, with 2,500 containers entering India every day.

In many countries from which India imports scrap, either no authorised inspection agency is available or inspection rests on a single agency, the Material Recycling Association of India said in the letter dated September 19.


"The fundamental infrastructure required to undertake genuine physical inspection... cannot realistically be created or maintained through the present PSIA (pre-shipment inspection agencies) model," the MRAI told the Directorate General of Foreign Trade in the letter.

"Continued uncertainty will rapidly result in further accumulation of containers, detention and demurrage, disruption of international supply contracts and increased raw-material costs," the MRAI said.

The DGFT did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.