Govt to start certification of imported tyres

After a slew of accidental cases reportedly involving the use of sub-standard Chinese tyres, the Indian government has finally heard the demand of local tyre manufacturers to allow only quality certified tyres to be imported directly into the country.

The government will make a public announcement regarding the same in due course.

A high-level meeting was convened in June involving the secretary of department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (IPP), dignitaries of the consumer affairs department, Bureau of India Standards (BIS) Director General and vehicle and tyre manufacturing companies.

The low-quality tyres have become a matter of great concern in the US and Canada as most of the cases of death and injury by accidents involving a tyre malfunction reportedly had Chinese origins.

Rajiv Budhraja, director general, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), said, "Tyres imported from China are generally low on quality and are not backed by any warranty, so no defect can be rectified at a later stage as there is no bill made for the sale".

Accordingly, the central government looses out on crores of income in the form of customs duty.

There was never a stringent import applications imposed by the Indian government on the import tyres. Taking advantage of this most Chinese tyre importers directly source several quality suspect tyres from China and freely sell them in the open market.

According to a source familiar in the industry, the government even allows free import of used tyres irrespective of any quality certification.

Government reports suggests that between the period of April and January last year, the industry imported an average of 90,000 tyres per month for trucks and buses of which China alone constituted 85 per cent of it. The same number stood at 58,000 a month during the 2005-06.

Sources say a proposal of imposing a duty of $135 which will be an anti-dumping duty, is also put forward to the government. The duty will be called as the reference price, which the importer will have to pay to the government. The rate could also be flexible in nature.

ATMA, the apex body of tyre manufacturers in the country, is hoping that with a subsequent imposition of a quality certificate like BIS, there will be a substantial reduction on free inflow of objectional imports of such tyres or atleast the quality parameteres of the tyres will be raised.

Currently, India's leading truck and bus manufacturer, Tata Motors sources its tyres from a similar Chinese manufacturer, Hangzhou Zhonge for applications in its range of trucks and buses.

The company was also said to be in talks with Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors for supplies. However, Eicher Motors has scrapped all ties with Hangzhou Zhonge following the allegation.

Tyres of Hangzhou Zhonge were recalled on a mass scale in the US and Canada. About 450,000 tyres were asked to be recalled by the association of Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) in the US for which the association has asked for helf from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).