Government Imposes Curbs On Import Of Low Ash Metallurgical Coke For Six Months
The quota system will significantly limit imports from several countries when compared to the actual imports in 2023–24, said think tank Global Trade Research Initiative.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has imposed import restrictions on low-ash metallurgical coke for six months, from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2025, according to a notification.
DGFT said that the move is in keeping with the recommendations of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies that were given in April this year.
According to the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, the quota system will significantly limit imports from several countries when compared to the actual imports in 2023–24.
GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava explained, “For instance, the annual quota allows only 67.6% of actual imports from Australia, 28% from China, 21.4% from Indonesia, 31.2% from Singapore, 80.2% from Russia, and 42.2% from Switzerland.”
Those countries that will face quantitative restrictions on imports include Australia, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK.
According to the DGFT's notification, "Import of low-ash metallurgical coke has been placed under restriction as per the country-wise QR for a period of six months, effective from Jan. 1, 2025, up to June 30, 2025."
The notification stated that imports would be allowed only against an authorisation issued by the DGFT for the specified country during the six months.
However, coke with high ash content—above 18%—is outside the scope of this limitation.
The country-wise curbs are 5,06,336 tonnes for Poland, 2,49,771 tonnes for Colombia, and 2,09,980 tonnes for Japan, while for Russia they are 89,182 tonnes, and for Switzerland they are 81,774 tonnes.
The quantitative limitations for China are 78,646 tonnes, while for Indonesia they are 66,364 tonnes, 51,276 tonnes for Australia, 46,478 tonnes for Singapore, and for other countries the curbs are 45,662 tonnes.
During the period, the government will allow only 76 tonnes of low-ash metallurgical coke to be imported from the UK, while from Qatar, 1,620 tonnes can be imported.
The specified quantitative restrictions will be imposed on imports during two quarters next year—January-March and April-June.
It added that the country-wise quantitative restrictions will be effective from Jan. 2025 and will cease automatically on June 30 of next year.
"If required, the procedure in regard to seeking import authorisation from the DGFT shall be notified separately," it said, adding that the application for the imports can be filed on the DGFT website.
These imports are subject to certain conditions. Imports would be permitted through electronic data interchange ports only to facilitate electronic/real-time monitoring of the allocated quota.
The quantitative restrictions will be monitored on a quarterly basis so that total imports do not exceed the specified quantity.
