How Newly Launched SIMS Will Help Steel Imports Government has launched SIMS (Steel Import Monitoring System) to provide advance information to steel importers and producers

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal along with Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched SIMS (Steel Import Monitoring System) post discussion with the Ministry Of Steel. The system has been launched after prolonged analysis of the steel industry and based on the pattern of US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system.

SIMS is an online process through which importers, producers and buyers of the steel industry will deal with each other on a trade exchange. Information regarding the importers and dealers will be listed in the records of SIMS in the consolidated approach. Steel Ministry will stand guard over the details and information delivered by the importers and producers in SIMS.

SIMS Precept

While trade exchange through SIMS Importers of the specified steel products has to register them along with the business information in advance on the web portal, the expedient factor related to SIMS is the null inclusion of the human intervention. The registration of importers and producers will be online through automatic procedure.

Importers can submit their application for registration not earlier than the 60th day and not later than the 15th day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment. Post registration, a registered number will be allocated by SIMS system which will be automatic, will remain valid for 75 days from the date of allocation.

Producers or Dealers registering to online portal would have to pay the registration fees declared by the ministry to make inroads for further deals. SIMS will require importers to submit advance information in an online system for import of 284 steel tariff lines at 8-digit HS code in order to obtain an automatic registration number.

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Expert's Two Cents' Worth

In conversation with Entrepreneur India, Dr. Anil Dhawan, Executive Director, ASPA said, "This had been a long pending requirement of steel Industry, consumers and Producers in India. The effort of the Government has always been to encourage domestic industry to meet full demand of steel, respecting spirit of WTO agreements internationally and safeguarding interest of end users to increase consumption of steel."

He further added, "The Government has earlier introduced quality control orders which require imports to comply with BIS. Further, it will also give data regarding imports from FTA countries, RCEP allies to see if these agreements are serving its purpose for steel as item included in these agreements. Further, it also will help to avoid imports of unnecessary defectives / arising to come into India in the form of cheap imports, which directly harm interests of end users and domestic producers.

Transparency in Dealing

Government has been affirmative on the grounds of digital payments through promoting digital platforms across the country. With "Digital India' as its preferential mission, government has been transforming the bank payments and companies transactions from cash/cheque to digital platforms. To keep SIMS acts as a rostrum for importers and buyers to use it as their way of payment and deposits no human intervention would be involved. According to Dr. Dhawan, in the past records, there has been no trouble related to the payments in the field.

"No such issues as transparency in transactional process is envisaged as such processes and schemes have been handled by the Industry, importers and customers in the past without any problems," said Dr. Anil Dhawan