- Melt-and-pour rule covers a range of flat and long products, stainless steel
- Govt retains 50% value-addition rule for seamless, large-diameter pipes and tubes
The Ministry of Steel, government of India, has brought an amendment to the Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products Policy-2025 (DMISP) by replacing the earlier 50% domestic value-addition requirement with a “melt and pour” condition for HS codes 7301, 7302, 7303, and 7308 to 7326 for government procurement.
The codes cover major categories such as flat-rolled steel, bars and rods, stainless steel, alloy steel, railway steel, structures, wires, tanks, and a wide range of downstream steel products.
The DMISP policy covers all government Ministries, Departments and their agencies, including projects funded by them. The domestic value addition criteria for capital goods may change with local manufacturing capability. The amendment implies that steel used in the specified products must meet the melt-and-pour requirement and the final product must be made entirely in India. Government mandates procurement of steel made entirely within the country.
What does policy amendment signify?
The change covers a wider product basket than just finished fabricated steel. It includes sheet piling under HS 7301, railway rails and track construction material under 7302, and cast-iron tubes and pipes under 7303. It covers structures and structural sections and a large range of downstream products.
The amendment applies to products such as tanks and containers, stranded wire and cables, barbed wire and fencing products. Flat-rolled non-alloy steel under HS 7208-7212, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated products, as well as bars and rods are covered by melt and pour. Stainless steel flat products, bars, rods, and wire are also included.
Other alloy steel products, including electrical steel, have also moved to the melt-and-pour requirement.
However, the notification retains the 50% domestic value-addition requirement for HS 7304-7307, covering seamless pipes, large-diameter pipes, other tubes and pipes, and pipe fittings thereby implying that import dependency still lingers in certain areas.
Focus on steel origin
The key change is that domestic processing is no longer enough for the products moved to melt and pour. The new condition instead requires the steel itself to have been melted and poured in accordance with specified requirement. It will impact fabricators and engineering companies supplying government projects.
That should strengthen the position of domestic steelmakers in government-linked demand, particularly in flat steel, long products, stainless steel, alloy steel, and electrical steel.
DMISP policy and steel imports
The DMISP policy is aligned to making India self-reliant in steel and providing a boost to domestic manufacturing capabilities. However, under the policy, waivers may be granted by the Ministry of Steel to all such government procurements subject to the conditions that a) where specific grades of steel are not manufactured in the country and b) where the quantities as per the demand of the project cannot be met through domestic sources.
India’s steel imports remained broadly stable at 4.24 million tonnes (mnt) in H1CY’26, down 3% y-o-y from 4.38 mnt, according to provisional BigMint data, while flat steel imports rose 1.2% to 3.09 mnt. HRC imports increased 7.5% y-o-y to 1.29 mnt despite the overall decline in steel imports.
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