Punjab-based scrap importers will have to obtain a one-time authorisation from the State Pollution Control Board, according to a directive released by India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on Aug 21.
The move comes in the wake of complaints received due to establishment of godowns for storage of scrap in residential areas. The Board has decided to revise the procedure and documentations for attaining onetime authorisation by a trader.
The requirements for securing a license states that the authorisation will be granted for a specified quantity of waste and not in terms of per month and after the waste is imported, the one-time authorisation would terminate; the validity for this authorisation shall be 18 months or till the waste is imported, whichever is earlier; all authorisations granted before January 31, 2019 will be cancelled and authorisation granted after January 31,2019 shall be considered expired after the completion of 18 months from the date of issue. In case of non-compliance with the conditions, the Board would suspend or cancel authorisation based on reasoning thereof.
Due to this change, all buyers would prefer domestic scrap, HMS at Rs22,500/mt and Busheling at Rs26,500/mt delivered mills. Imported HMS 80:20 scrap was last booked at $290-295/mt cfr Mundra for Punjab-based buyers.
The importers await further clarification before importing which is likely to create artificial scarcity of ferrous scrap.