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India court rejects JSW Steel and Trafigura requests to clear certain metcoke imports

India court rejects JSW Steel and Trafigura requests to clear certain metcoke imports

A court order shows that an Indian court denied requests by JSW Steel and Trafigura for certain shipments of steelmaking raw materials. This is the latest setback since New Delhi's new import policy rattled the industry.

India has since January restricted imports of met coke (metalurgical coke with low ash), and set country-specific quotas for domestic suppliers. This move has upset steel giants like ArcelorMittal Nippon India who are worried about the quality and business impact of locally produced met-coke.

JSW Steel challenged New Delhi’s decision to refuse imports worth $90 million, which were ordered before the restrictions in January kicked in. Trafigura’s India unit also filed a suit to have one of its rejected shipments cleared.

The Delhi High Court dismissed these appeals late on Saturday night. It agreed with the Indian Government's view that the imports would defeat the purpose for the new policy.

In his order, Judge Sachin Datt noted that the Indian government claimed the companies knew about the impending restrictions at the time they placed their import order. The quantity of met-coke sought by the companies will exceed the quota restrictions.

JSW has declined to comment, while Trafigura has not responded immediately.

New Delhi has limited overseas purchases between January and July to 1.4 millions metric tons.

India is the second largest producer of crude iron and steel in the world.

ArcelorMittal Nippon India warned the Indian government that New Delhi's import restrictions could force it to curtail its steelmaking plans and severely limit their expansion. This was reported previously.

The case has yet to be resolved. (Reporting and editing by Aditya K. Kalra, Michael Perry, and Arpan Chaturvedi)

(source: Reuters)