India drafts BIS-Compliant Document Regarding polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride imports

Keeping up with the quality control measures, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals of India has documented the proposal pertaining to the effectuation of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) quality parameters on polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride imports in India. The drafted proposal to the Trade committee aligns with the WTO (World Trade Organization) guidelines on the BIS framework.

Request Access To The Latest Price Trends of Polypropylene

India's Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCP) submitted two documents to the Technical Barriers to Trade committee proposing the imposition of the BIS quality requirements, according to documents by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Documents on PVC imports were released on 11 August, while those pertaining to PP imports dated 15 August.

The document comprising the BIS imposition for the import of PVC to India were submitted on August 11, 2023, while that of polypropylene were drafted on August 15.
 
Concurrent to drafting both the documents, implementation notices were also set to be published in the Gazette of India, but a publication date is yet to be arrived at. Additionally, the implementation date for these requirements still remains indecisive, although it is preliminarily slated to begin 180 days from the date of publication in the Gazette of India. According to market participants, these developments are expected to impact PP and PVC imports from all origins into India.

India has been tightening its quality control requirements on polymer imports in recent years. It announced BIS requirements for imports of polyethylene (PE) in 2021, but challenges and delays in certifying producers arose because of Covid-19. The deadline was postponed four times, with foreign PE producers now expected to be BIS compliant by 3 October if they want to continue exporting to India.

India has been consistently elevating its stringency in terms of the quality evaluation parameters on the importation of polymers. Earlier in 2021, India asservated its BIS requirement concerning the Polyethylene imports; however, COVID-19 pandemic stalled the process of implementation by delaying the ascertainment of the producers who execute their operations corresponding to the set criteria. However, now the PE producers from across the world are expected to follow the BIS compliance by October 3 to enable their imports to India.

Indian authorities are currently probing the possibility of imposing quality control restrictions on PVC imports, targeting residual vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) content exceeding two parts per million. However, this measure remains pending implementation, predominantly contributing to the hesitant buyer sentiments of Indian buyers in relation to carbide-derived PVC imports originating from China.

Read More About Polyvinyl Chloride Production Cost Reports - Get Free Sample Copy in PDF

According to Procurement Resource, The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in India has proposed the adoption of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) quality parameters for polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride imports, aligning with WTO guidelines. While the submission to the Technical Barriers to Trade committee on PVC imports was made on August 11, 2023, the one on polypropylene followed on August 15. As India reinforces its import quality standards, ongoing discussions regarding PVC restrictions targeting higher residual vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) content have impacted the reception of carbide-based PVC imports from China.