India has extended safeguard duties on certain flat steel products to three years to shield the domestic industry from cheaper imports, bringing relief to local producers.
A duty of 12pc will be applied on products imported between 21 April 2025 to 20 April 2026, the finance ministry said in a 30 December notice.
The rate will be lowered to 11.5pc on products imported during 21 April 2026 to 20 April 2027, and to 11pc on imports from 21 April 2027 to 20 April 2028.
The duties are applicable for products falling under HS codes 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226. Certain products such as cold-rolled electrical steel, stainless steel and tinplate are excluded from the scope of duties.
Products imported at or above a particular price threshold will not be subject to these duties, the ministry said. For example, the price threshold for hot-rolled coil (HRC) is set at $675/t cif; imports above that price will be exempt.
Among developing countries, only China — a major steel exporter — and Vietnam, from where some Chinese-origin shipments are rerouted, will be subject to HRC duties, market participants said.
India's finished steel imports had slowed since a 12pc provisional safeguard duty was imposed for 200 days from 21 April.
The ministry's decision has eased market uncertainty as participants were unsure whether the safeguard duty would be extended following its lapse on 7 November.
Domestic HRC prices were on a steady downtrend during November but have risen in the last two weeks owing to mill price hikes and firmer restocking demand.
The Argus weekly Indian domestic 2.5-4mm HRC assessment stood at 47,250 rupees/t ($525/t) ex-Mumbai, excluding goods and services tax, on 26 December, up from Rs45,850/t a month earlier.
Prices have increased further this week as buyers anticipate another mill price hike at the start of January. This rally will likely continue because of the import duty extension, industry participants said.
Following the notice from the ministry, a north-India based distributor raised his HRC offers by Rs500/t ex-warehouse.
| India steel safeguard duty structure | ||
| Product category | Import price on cif basis | Developing countries subject to duties |
| Hot rolled coils, sheets and plates | $675/t | China, Vietnam |
| Hot rolled plate mill plates | $695/t | China |
| Cold rolled coils and sheets | $824/t | China, Nepal |
| Metallic coated coils and sheets | $861/t | Vietnam, China, Nepal |
| Colour coated coils and sheets | $964/t | China, Nepal |
| Safeguard duties not applicable if imports are at or above cif price threshold | ||
| Ministry of finance | ||
