Ministry of Steel had previously mandated that steel and steel products intended for import must conform to the relevant Indian Standards as notified in the applicable Quality Control Orders (QCO) and must be registered on the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS).

Ministry of Steel, vide Order dated July 11, 2025, has granted two key exemptions regarding the mandatory compliance with Indian Standards for input steel used in imported steel products:

1. Any import shipment with a “shipped on board” date on or before July 15, 2025, is exempted from the requirement to adhere to Indian Standards for input steel under the QCO.
2. Final steel products supplied by Integrated Steel Plants (ISPs) are also exempted from mandatory Indian Standard compliance for input steel, provided:
   • ISP’s BIS licences are verified.
   • Pending verification, ISPs may email tech-steel@nic.in with a declaration confirming ISP status, a list of operative BIS licences, and relevant supporting documents.
   • Any misdeclaration may result in debarment from SIMS.

Due to these changes, Instruction No. 16/2025-Customs dated June 18, 2025 is modified to that extent.