India court rejects JSW Steel, Trafigura request to clear certain met coke imports

NEW DELHI: An Indian court has declined requests from JSW Steel and Trafigura to allow certain shipments of a steelmaking raw material, a court order showed, the latest setback after New Delhi’s new policy curbing imports rattled the sector.

India from January imposed curbs on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke, or met coke, with country-specific quotas to help domestic suppliers.

The move unsettled steel majors, like ArcelorMittal Nippon India, who are concerned about the business impact and quality issues with locally produced met coke.

JSW Steel had challenged New Delhi’s decision to reject $90 million worth of imports which had been ordered even before the January restrictions kicked in, while Trafigura’s India unit filed a lawsuit to get one of its rejected shipments cleared.

Late on Saturday night, the Delhi High Court issued an order dismissing those pleas, agreeing with the Indian government’s position that such imports will defeat the purpose of the new import curbs policy.

The Indian government argued the companies were aware of the impending restrictions when they placed the import order and the quantity of met coke they were seeking will be in excess of quota restrictions, Judge Sachin Datta noted in his order.

JSW declined to comment on the ruling, while Trafigura did not immediately respond. Imports of low-ash met coke have more than doubled over four years and New Delhi has restricted total overseas purchases to 1.4 million metric tons between January and June.

The policy has major ramifications for India, the world’s second-biggest producer of crude steel.

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ArcelorMittal Nippon India has privately warned India’s government it may have to severely curtail steelmaking in the country and delay its expansion plans due to New Delhi’s import restrictions, Reuters has previously reported.

The company also approached the Delhi court to get some of its met coke imports from Indonesia and Poland cleared, but the case is yet to be decided.