DGFT: Adds three ports to metallic scrap imports PSIC waiver

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has amended inspection-certificate requirements for metallic scrap imports, adding Hazira, Kamarajar and Adani Gangavaram to the sea ports eligible for a conditional exemption. Public Notice No. 35/2026-27, dated 21 October 2026 and published in the Gazette of India, also expressly allows eligible consignments to retain the exemption when Customs clearance takes place at an Inland Container Depot.

The amendment does not remove the general requirement for a Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate (PSIC), a certificate issued following inspection before shipment. DGFT retains that requirement for metallic waste and scrap from the country of origin, while setting out the conditions under which specified imports can enter without it.

The notice amends paragraph 2.51(d)(v)(iv) of the Handbook of Procedures, 2023, using powers under paragraphs 1.03 and 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. It is signed by Lav Agarwal, Director General of Foreign Trade and Ex-Officio Additional Secretary.

Three ports added; eligible origins unchanged

The revised provision covers both shredded and unshredded metallic waste and scrap imported from countries and regions that DGFT designates as safe: the USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the European Union. The amendment leaves that list unchanged.

Comparing the existing and amended provisions reproduced in DGFT’s notice, the eligible sea-port list increases from eight to 11. The earlier provision named Chennai, Tuticorin, Kandla, JNPT, Mumbai, Krishnapatnam, Mundra and Kattupalli. The amended text retains those ports and adds Hazira, Kamarajar and Adani Gangavaram.

The distinction is between eligibility for the PSIC exemption and permission to import without safety checks. Under the amended provision, entry through a listed port is only one condition. The consignment must also meet the origin, certification and screening requirements.

DGFT continues to exclude trans-shipments through the designated countries and regions from the exemption. Routing a consignment through one of those locations therefore does not, by itself, qualify it for the certificate waiver.

The previous wording also expressly required PSICs for imports through the remaining eight other ports, irrespective of origin. The replacement instead states the general PSIC requirement first and then defines the conditional exemption through its list of eligible entry ports.

Supplier certification and port checks remain mandatory

DGFT requires each exempt consignment to carry a certificate from the supplier or scrap yard authority stating that it contains no radioactive materials or explosives. This supplier certificate remains necessary even though an eligible shipment does not require a PSIC.

The amended provision separately requires radiation and explosive checks through portal monitors and container scanners at the listed sea ports. A supplier’s declaration is therefore not a substitute for the mandatory checks at entry.

The existing provision reproduced in the notice already required supplier certification and radiation and explosive screening. The October amendment retains those safeguards while changing the port list and expressly addressing inland clearance.

Earlier Customs procedures illustrate the separate roles of certificates and arrival checks. In Public Notice No. 62/2015, dated 27 August 2015, the Office of the Commissioner of Customs at Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House prescribed an interim procedure for specified processed metallic scrap because JNPT’s radiological detection facility was not then fully operational.

That historical notice required a post-shipment inspection certificate from an authorised agency before clearance, alongside container scanning and proof of that scanning. It said the post-shipment certificate requirement would give way to a JNPT radiation-level no-objection certificate once the facility became operational. Those were procedures stated in 2015; the notice does not establish the facility’s status in October 2026.

Separate rules govern certificates that are still required

For consignments requiring a PSIC, DGFT addressed certificate issuance in a separate measure before the Gazette amendment.

Trade Notice No. 28/2026-27, dated 16 September 2026, stipulated that a PSIC must be generated and issued within two days of inspection. It also said the system would permit generation and issuance only within that prescribed period.

Under the same trade notice, uploading must take place from the same geographical location or country where the inspection was conducted. These requirements concern how inspection agencies issue certificates, rather than which shipments qualify for an exemption.

The September notice also granted recognised pre-shipment inspection agencies a one-time, seven-day relaxation from its issuance date to clear certain backlog certificates. That arrangement covered inspections conducted before 25 August 2026 where system restrictions had prevented certificate issuance; it was not an ongoing exemption for subsequent inspections.

Inland clearance depends on evidence from the entry port

The October public notice expressly extends the PSIC exemption to Customs clearance for home consumption at either the designated entry sea port or an Inland Container Depot (ICD), an inland location for container clearance. Home consumption refers here to clearance for domestic use.

DGFT makes that inland option conditional on all the specified exemption requirements being satisfied at the entry port. Where clearance occurs at an ICD, proof of compliance must also be provided there.

The revised wording thus separates the location where the consignment enters India and undergoes mandatory checks from the location where Customs clears it for domestic use. Inland clearance does not move the required port screening to the ICD.

DGFT describes the amendment’s purpose as defining the exemption more precisely, including its application to eligible consignments cleared inland. The public notice requires proof at the ICD but does not prescribe a particular document or format for presenting that proof.