Ministry allows cement import without BIS nod

In order to curb increasing prices of cement, the commerce and industry ministry has directed Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) to import the commodity from foreign manufacturers who have not received Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification.

The commerce ministry has permitted the state-owned corporation to import cement from overseas manufacturers whose applications have been recorded by the BIS but haven't received the licence.

A commerce and industry ministry statement said the exemption to import cement without standard mark certification will be valid for 150 days from the date of recording of applications or till the grant of regular licence by BIS to the foreign manufacturer.

The ministry has attributed this move to the increasing domestic prices of the commodity. According to its estimates, cement prices went up by nearly 45 per cent between January 2006 and July 2007. A statement laid by commerce minister Kamal Nath in parliament today said the average cement price in January 2007 stood at Rs 209 per bag while in July, it went up to Rs 229 per bag.

"This step is in continuation of the government's efforts to augment the availability of cement in the domestic market," a commerce ministry statement said. Earlier this year, the government had slashed import duty on the commodity to zero and also had withdrawn countervailing duty and special additional customs on it. Moreover, it had introduced a combination of specific duty and ad-valorem duty structure on cement.

Cement producers maintain that prices in the domestic market have been stable for the past couple of months.

"The lowest prices have been around Rs 190 while the highest price is around Rs 240. There is no demand-supply gap. In markets in north India, prices are under pressure and have softened by around Re 1 to Rs 2," said Rahul Kumar, chief operating officer, Cement Manufacturers Association of India.

According to the directions issued by the commerce ministry, the MMTC will have to ensure the conformity of the imported cement to the specified standards of BIS and will have to mark the bags of imported cement.