After India made BIS mandatory for raw materials two months ago, the export of Vistar Global Private Limited, which is listed in SEZ, has stopped.
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Export of steel utensils from Nepal has not been easy since India made the quality logo mandatory on the raw materials imported for steel products. As a result, the industry in the special economic zone (SEZ) at Bhairahwa in Rupandehi has reached a state of closure.
Earlier, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was mandatory only for manufactured goods. After India made BIS mandatory for raw materials two months ago, the export of Vistar Global Private Limited in SEZ has stopped.
Vistar, which was established in SEZ with an investment of 15 million rupees for the purpose of exporting products, has obtained BIS certificate (logo) for the manufactured goods. The industry has been importing raw materials from India and Vietnam for the production of steel utensils.
The industry is importing raw materials from China in limited quantities. Arvind Tripathi, Head of Accounts at Vistar Global Private Limited, said that till two months ago, 90% of the manufactured goods were exported to India. After the export stopped, the production of the industry became limited. Earlier, 400 tons of pottery was produced per month. He said that now they are producing only 30-40 tons per month for the domestic market.
According to the Bhairahawa Customs Office, the problem has arisen because Nepal is not shown in the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) installed by India. For import of raw materials, Nepal should be shown in SIMs. "India installed new software in the steel import monitoring system," said Bhairahawa customs chief Ram Prasad Regmi, "There is a problem because Nepal is not mentioned in the said software." According to the industry, 300 tons of utensils are now stored in the warehouse due to not being able to export them.
It has been said that while the industry is making preparations for capacity expansion, an obstacle has been created in exports. Currently, the production capacity is 4,000 tons per month. Investors had prepared to increase production capacity to 7 thousand tons per month this year.
General Secretary of Siddhartha Industry and Commerce Association Krishna Prasad Ghimire said that it is sad that the industry exporting products from SEZ to India will be displaced. "If exports are not easy, the situation has been created where investors will sell the industry and leave," he said, "The government should be serious about solving the problem."
If the industry that exports 80/82 crore rupees to India is closed, it will have a negative impact, he said. He said that the government should solve the problem even if it is through diplomatic initiatives with the Indian side. As soon as the problem started, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry drew the attention of the concerned bodies institutionally.
