DTI Declares New Technical Rules on Steel Imports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Philippines has announced stricter rules for imported steel products into the country. The Department Administrative Order (DOA) has already taken effect from January 6, 2019 onwards.

In accordance with the DOA, all importers are required to submit a statement of confirmation (SOC), which in turn must quote the batch number and manufacturing date of the imported steel product. Further, it must certify that the steel products were sourced from a manufacturer with valid PS license.

In order to ensure quality of imported products, the DOA proposes inspection rules depending upon the shipment quantity. For shipments exceeding 200,000 MT, the sample size and acceptance of quality limit (AQL) shall apply plus the sample size and AQL of the excess volume. Two sets of samples shall be selected randomly from the lots. The lot size shall be equal to 50 tons or a fraction thereof.

Randomly selected samples must be packed, sealed and signed in the presence of auditor, who will then submit the request for test form along with the two sets of samples to the BPS-recognized testing laboratory within 3 days from the date of inspection. The testing laboratory is required to carry out full product testing in accordance with the Philippine National Standard. The certification or denial of the sample depends on the number of failed samples from the first set.

In addition, a 10% surety bond will be slapped towards conditional release of shipments in order to ensure necessary standards and quality.