The government has made it mandatory for traders to register themselves with Steel Import Monitoring System to import 215 iron and steel products, according to a notification issued on Thursday.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the commerce ministry, said that "import policy" for these 215 items "has been revised from 'free' to 'free' subject to compulsory registration under SIMS".
These items include certain flat-rolled products; some stranded wire, ropes, cables; certain items of springs and leaves for springs of iron and steel; tubes, pipes and hollow profiles; diesel-electric locomotives; and some parts of railways.
In a notification, the directorate said that the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) will require importers to submit advance information in an online system for import of these items and obtain an automatic registration number by paying specified amount of fee.
"The importer can apply for registration not earlier than 60th day and not later than 15th day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment," it added.
The registration number will be valid for a period of 75 days.
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The importer will have to enter the registration number and expiry date of registration in the bill of entry to enable customs to clear consignment.
The online registration will be available from September 16 this year.
The SIMS, under the Department of Commerce, collects and publishes data of steel mill product imports. By design this information provides stakeholders and public valuable information on steel trade with the US.
Hailing the decision, an official in the steel ministry said that the move will help in promoting Make in India of these products and increase availability of quality products.
In a separate notification, the DGFT relaxed norms for import of Chlorotrifluoroethene, a chemical used as a refrigerant.
"Import policy of Chlorotrifluoroethene is revised from restricted to free," it added.