Steel & Iron
India is the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, with installed capacity exceeding 175 million…
ISI MARK · 635 LINES · 99 STANDARDS
India is the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, with installed capacity exceeding 175 million tonnes and a National Steel Policy target of 300 million tonnes by 2030. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified 566 eight-digit HSN codes across Chapters 72 (iron and steel) and 73 (articles of iron or steel) as compulsory-certification products, every one of them tracked against an Indian Standard from a controlled pool of 46 IS specifications. Within this universe the foundational standards are IS 2062 (hot-rolled medium and high tensile structural steel), IS 1786 (high strength deformed steel bars and wires for concrete reinforcement), IS 1079 (cold-reduced carbon steel sheet and strip), and IS 277 (galvanised steel sheet), but the notified pool reaches into stainless steel (IS 6911), tinplate (IS 1993), tool steel (IS 3749), and dozens of grade-specific alloy and product-form standards.
The dominant scheme is the ISI Mark Scheme under Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018. All 566 HSN codes in the industry sit within this scheme, with no Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) or Scheme-X overlap. The governing instrument is the Steel and Steel Products Quality Control Order, 2024 issued by the Ministry of Steel under Section 16 of the BIS Act, 2016 and notified as S.O. 3716(E) dated 29-08-2024. This Order consolidated earlier product-specific QCOs into a single coherent regime and brought several stainless and alloy-steel grades under compulsory certification for the first time. The Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade operates as a parallel upstream registration: importers must register every consignment on the SIMS portal 15 to 60 days before the bill of entry, and customs cross-references SIMS data against the BIS portal (manakonline.in) at the port of arrival.
Three recurring pain points dominate enforcement. First, secondary re-rollers ship IS 2062 structural steel without legible heat-number and batch traceability stamped on the section, a violation of clause 11 of IS 2062 that triggers raid action under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016. Second, importers mis-declare alloy steel (Chapter 7224 onward) as carbon steel (Chapter 7208) to escape the alloy-grade IS standards that carry stricter testing protocols — the misdeclaration surfaces on customs sample testing and ends in confiscation. Third, the FMCS pipeline for foreign mills exporting through trader chains: Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese mills routinely supply Indian importers via Singapore or Dubai traders without holding an FMCS licence in the producing mill's name, and customs verification at the port matches the mill of origin on the mill test certificate against the BIS database, not the trader's invoice.
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Tariff lines (8-digit HSN)
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Indian Standards in industry
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HSN chapters mapped
Indian manufacturers
The Indian steel industry splits between integrated steel producers (Tata Steel, JSW, SAIL, Jindal Steel) that hold BIS licences against multiple cohorts of IS standards, and several thousand secondary mills, re-rollers, and induction-furnace units that must hold IS-2062-against-IS-1786 cohort licences to legally roll structural sections and reinforcement bars for the domestic construction market. Operating an electric arc furnace, induction furnace, or rolling mill without a CM/L licence against the applicable IS standard exposes the unit to seizure of stock, retrospective duty on past sales, and prosecution under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016.
Foreign manufacturers
Foreign steel mills exporting to India — predominantly Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese producers — must obtain an FMCS licence under Scheme-I of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 before any ISI-marked consignment can pass Indian customs, with the typical timeline running 6 to 9 months from application to grant. The Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) named on the application carries personal statutory liability under Rule 11 of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 for the foreign mill's ongoing compliance, including sample submission, surveillance fees, and marking-fee remittance. Trader-chain visibility is the operational hazard: customs matches the mill of origin printed on the mill test certificate against the BIS portal, and a mismatch — even where a trader holds a separate licence — triggers detention.
Importers
Customs verification at JNPT, Mundra, Kandla, Chennai, and every major bulk-cargo Indian port is conducted in real time against the BIS portal (manakonline.in), overlaid with the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) registration number on the bill of entry. A lapsed, suspended, or mismatched FMCS licence on a steel consignment results in immediate consignment detention at the wharf. Demurrage on bulk steel cargoes accrues from day 1 at rates that compound rapidly given the cargo volumes involved, and re-export of detained steel is a 4 to 8 week process at the importer's cost.
Applicable Indian Standards
IS 15997IS 15997 specifies the requirements for low-nickel austenitic stainless steel flat products supplied as sheet, plate, strip and coil for utensil-grade and ge…74 HSNs · ISIIS 5522IS 5522 specifies the requirements for stainless steel sheet and strip used for utensils, kitchenware and similar consumer end-use applications. The standard…74 HSNs · ISIIS 6911IS 6911 specifies the requirements for stainless steel plate, sheet and strip, covering hot-rolled and cold-rolled flat product across austenitic, ferritic a…74 HSNs · ISIIS 302IS 302 is the general safety standard for household and similar electrical appliances, applied as the parent code with appliance-specific Part-numbers (washi…60 HSNs · ISIIS 1079:2017IS 1079 is the Indian Standard governing strip, plates, sheets, covering 53 tariff items under HSN Chapter 72. Compliance is mandatory under the ISI Mark Sch…56 HSNs · ISI+94More standards covered by this industryBrowse all standards Need a regulatory steer on this product?Speak to a regulatory counsel about your specific HSN, IS, and supplier situation.
Speak to an Expert → Which steel HSN codes need BIS certification in India?
All 566 notified eight-digit HSN codes across Chapters 72 and 73 require BIS certification under the ISI Mark Scheme, covering ferrous primary forms (pig iron, ingots, billets, blooms), flat products (hot-rolled, cold-reduced, galvanised, tinplated), long products (bars, rods, sections, wire), stainless and alloy steel, and downstream articles such as tubes, fittings, drums, fasteners, springs, and household steelware. The governing instrument is the Steel and Steel Products Quality Control Order, 2024 notified as S.O. 3716(E) dated 29-08-2024.
What is the SIMS portal and how does it relate to BIS for steel imports?
The Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) is an upstream pre-import registration regime administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, requiring importers to register consignments 15 to 60 days before the bill of entry. SIMS operates in parallel with the BIS regime, not in substitution: customs cross-references SIMS data against the BIS portal at the port, and a valid SIMS registration does not cure a missing or invalid FMCS licence.
Can secondary-mill steel without BIS certification be sold in India?
No. Manufacture, sale, storage, or distribution of any notified steel product without a valid CM/L licence is a statutory offence under Section 17(1)(b) of the BIS Act, 2016, attracting monetary penalty up to ₹2 lakh for a first offence under Sections 29 through 33 of the BIS Act, 2016 and criminal liability including imprisonment up to two years for repeat offences. BIS enforcement officers conduct surprise raids on secondary mills, induction-furnace units, and re-roller premises, and seize uncertified stock for confiscation.
How long does FMCS take for a foreign steel mill?
The FMCS application-to-grant timeline for a foreign steel mill runs 6 to 9 months on average, comprising application filing on manakonline.in, appointment of an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR), BIS officer travel to the foreign factory for inspection, sample drawing and testing at a BIS-recognised Indian laboratory, and grant of the product-and-facility-specific CM/L licence. Mills shipping multiple product cohorts (carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel) require separate applications and inspections per IS standard.
What is the BIS position on alloy steel vs carbon steel classification?
BIS treats alloy steel and carbon steel as distinct cohorts governed by separate Indian Standards — carbon steel flat products fall under IS 2062, IS 1079, and IS 277, while alloy steel grades sit under IS 4432, IS 5517, IS 6911 (stainless), and product-specific alloy standards starting at HSN 7224. The chemical composition test conducted by BIS-recognised laboratories during certification is determinative, and importers who declare alloy steel as carbon steel to escape stricter alloy-grade requirements face confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962 read with Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-23. Source: BIS / DGFT / Indian Customs CUSDATA.