The Hindu Business Line : ISI marking mandatory for steel products

It’s fixed
The order shall come into force after six months from the publication in the gazette
The certification would not be necessary for export items

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov. 29 The Government has made it mandatory for the manufacture, sale and distribution of 17 steel products to carry the standard mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

“On the proposal of the Steel Ministry, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued an order Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order 2007 under which 17 varieties of steel products must have ISI certification to conform to specified standards, failing which the steel producers would be punished under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986,” an official in the Steel Ministry said.

The order covers semis for re-rolling, long products used in infrastructure and construction, steel plates for pressure vessels and boilers, electrical steel sheets for electrical machines and tinplates for packaging food products.

“It, however, excludes bars and rods of diameter and thickness less than 6mm and structural angles (below 50mmX50mmX6mm), which are normally made from re-rollable scrap and used for non-critical and non-load bearing applications,” the official added.

The order shall come into force after six months from the publication in the gazette, which is expected soon. However, the certification would not be necessary for export items.

Gestation period

“The gestation period of six months have been allowed to enable the producers of such steel items to get the ISI certification,” he said. All the steelmakers will have to apply to the BIS within 45 days for obtaining the licence for using the standard ISI mark if they have not obtained the same so far.

Any contravention of the provisions of this order would be punishable under the BIS Act, which inter alia provides imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine for up to Rs 50,000 or both.

“Till now it was not necessary to get the certification, but quality steel products are required for many applications and so this is the first step to protect the interest of steelmakers,” the official said.

He added that sub-standard or defective products not conforming to the specified standards would have to be deformed by cutting into lengths less than 1.5 metres and disposed off as scrap within three months.

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