Install scanners at ports to check radio-active import: EEPC

NEW DELHI: Exporters of engineering goods have asked the Government to install scanners at ports to ensure that scraps imported by them are free of radio-active material, a move aimed at preempting the chances of Indian goods being refused abroad on grounds of contamination.

Although the Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued a directive to scrap importers to ensure that the consignments being imported carry proper certification that the goods are free of radio-active material, the EEPC has said that certificates are not enough and scraps brought into the country need a double-check.

"Certificates are fine but how much can we trust them. To be doubly sure, scanners should be installed at ports so that what comes in is free of radio-active contaminants," Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) Executive-Director R K Maitra said.

Recently, steel consignments exported to Germany, which were made of imported scrap, were rejected on the grounds that they were radio-active. The Indian government and exporters took a serious view on the issue.

The EEPC has cautioned its members that countries, especially in difficult economic times, could use non-tariff barriers as an excuse to block imports from India.