On November 20, 2023, the Ministry of Steel announced clarification of existing import-related requirements. Steel grades not covered under any Quality Control Order (QCO) will no longer require a No Objection Certificate (NOC). All steel grades not covered under QCOs across all HSN Codes related to the Ministry of Steel have been mapped on the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) Portal. Importers can directly generate SIMS numbers for non-QCO grades via the Portal. Steel grades covered under QCOs must be imported from manufacturers with valid BIS licenses. An exemption mechanism exists for QCO-covered steel grades from manufacturers lacking BIS licenses. Applications are examined by a committee formed by Order No. 1(9)/2019-TD dated May 14, 2020, comprising representatives from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and domain experts. The Committee will decide on granting exemptions for imports of QCO-covered steel products by non-BIS licensees. Exemption applications can be filed at https://sims.steel.gov.in/QCOEXEMPTIO.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Steel: The primary ministry responsible for the policy changes regarding import of steel grades.
Quality Control Orders (QCO): Orders specifying the required quality standards for steel imports.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): The national standards body, whose licenses are required for steel manufacturers to export to India under QCO.
Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) Portal: Portal used by importers to generate numbers for non-QCO steel grades.
High-Level Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms (HLC-NFRR): Committee whose recommendations led to the decision to remove clarification or NOC requirements for steel grades not covered by QCO.
Ministry of Steel
Ministry of Steel Eases Rules for Import of
Steel Grades Not Covered Under QCOs
Posted On: 20 NOV 2025 4:02PM by PIB Delhi
In order to streamline the regulatory framework governing steel imports and to facilitate ease of doing
business, the Ministry of Steel has undertaken a review of the existing import-related requirements.
Based on this review, the following procedural clarifications are hereby issued.
Import of Steel Grades Not Covered Under Quality Control Orders
The Ministry has also reviewed the requirement introduced vide Circular dated 20th October 2023 for
obtaining clarification or No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Steel for import of
steel grades not covered under any QCO. Based on the recommendations of the High-Level
Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms (HLC-NFRR), it has been decided that steel grades
not covered by any Quality Control Order will no longer require clarification or NOC from the
Ministry of Steel.
To facilitate implementation of this decision, all steel grades not covered under any QCO—across all
HSN Codes relating to the Ministry of Steel—have been mapped on the Steel Import Monitoring
System (SIMS) Portal. Importers may directly generate SIMS numbers for such non-QCO grades
through the Portal without seeking any reference or approval from the Ministry of Steel.
Import of Steel Grades Covered Under Quality Control Orders (QCO)
As per the Quality Control Orders issued by the Ministry of Steel, all grades of steel covered under
the Orders are required to be imported only from manufacturers holding valid and operative BIS
licences for the relevant grades.
In cases where import of QCO-covered steel grades is proposed from manufacturers who do not
possess BIS licences, an exemption mechanism is already in place. Such applications are examined by
the Committee constituted vide Order No. 1(9)/2019-TD dated 14th May 2020.
The Committee, comprising representatives from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Directorate
General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and domain experts, will continue to examine applications and
decide on granting exemptions for import of QCO-covered steel products manufactured by non-BIS
licensee units. Applications for availing the exemption can be filed at https://sims.steel.gov.in/QCOE
XEMPTIO .
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