NHAI Guidelines to standardise Design and Infrastructure for Multi-Lane Free Flow Tolling (See 'Corp Brief') Centre reviews progress of AB PM-JAY and ABDM with States (See 'Corp Brief') Reddy calls for expediting Mineral Exploration and Strengthening Centre-State Coordination (See 'Corp Brief') MY Bharat's 'Viksit Bharat Yuva Samvad: Know Your Vote' Campaign reaches Over 1 Lakh Youth (See 'Corp Brief') Ministry of Mines launches 9th Tranche of Critical Mineral Block Auction (See 'Corp Brief') Union Health Minister reviews progress of AIIMS Awantipora; directs expeditious completion (See 'Corp Brief') A & C - Clause 26 of Special Conditions of Contract operates as express contractual bar within meaning of Section 31(7)(a) of the Act, thereby prohibiting arbitral tribunal from awarding pre-reference & pendente lite interest: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Ministry of Textiles successfully concludes Special Campaign 6, achieving significant milestones in Swachhata and Sustainability (See 'Corp Brief') BRE Summit & Expo 2026 reinforces India's Position as Major Global Force in Renewable Energy: Joshi (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Petitioner's deliberate omission of material bank account & failure to disclose operational details, even upon specific judicial inquiry, constitutes incomplete compliance with Rule 41(2) - exercise of discretion under Rule 41(3) to issue arrest warrants is justified: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves subscription of securities of Gentari Renewables India by Sapphire US HoldCo (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of business of Deutsche Bank by Kotak Mahindra Bank (See 'Corp Brief') MoRTH, Bihar sign MoU for Scientific Desilting of Water Bodies (See 'Corp Brief') NITI Aayog and GIZ India sign Implementation Agreement to accelerate Road Freight Decarbonisation (See 'Corp Brief') Union Sports Minister Launches NDTL Extramural Research Grant Policy (See 'Corp Brief') PBPT - Intention behind benami arrangement may be inferred from surrounding circumstances & material on record, even where such intention is not established through direct evidence: Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') RM calls for balancing operational requirements with research freedom to drive innovation (See 'Corp Brief') APEDA facilitates export of 1.3 MT of Sinduri Pomegranates from Kullu to Dubai (See 'Corp Brief') India elected President of ISA for the 3rd consecutive term: Minister (See 'Corp Brief') Competition Act - Relief being of the nature of final relief cannot be sought at a stage when the matter is being investigated by the DG: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') National Orientation Programme for Tribal Healers on Public Health held in Hyderabad (See 'Corp Brief') CSIR-NIScPR organises third International Conference on Dissemination of Traditional Knowledge (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Judicial intervention in arbitral proceedings is warranted only in exceptional cases, such as where party is left remediless under the statute or where clear bad faith is established: HC (See 'Legal Desk') WCL emerges as Growth Engine of Coal India, Records Strong Growth in Production (See 'Corp Brief') DPIIT implements Special Campaign to minimise Pendency Across Offices (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI ACT - Provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations are violated where an employee of the Company, possessed & communicated Unpublished Price Sensitive Information regarding its forthcoming financial results to an outsider who then traded in company's shares based on such information: SAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves acquisition of certain stake in Vodafone Group PLC by Vega SAS (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of equity of Solenergi Power by Aditya Birla Renewables (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of certain shareholding in Navi Ltd by MIH Payments (See 'Corp Brief') Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 - A post-admission settlement can automatically bypass statutory mechanism mandated under Section 12A of the IBC, 2016, particularly in light of stringent amended provisions governing withdrawal of admitted applications: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves acquisition of equity share capital of IntelliSmart Infrastructure by Adani Energy (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves merger of Sapphire Foods India with and into Devyani International (See 'Corp Brief') 87 Crores Individuals Screened for Oral, Breast and Cervical Cancers (See 'Corp Brief') Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 - Liquidator's claim for refund cannot be adjudicated in the summary jurisdiction under Section 60(5) of the Code, more so where the parties' claims have not been crystallised through adjudication: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') India-BLEU Joint Economic Commission Session Held in Luxembourg (See 'Corp Brief') India to promote South-South Cooperation and share Agricultural Innovations (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act, 2013 - Pendency of challenge to a judgment before a Division Bench does not extinguish its binding force, where judgment is neither set aside nor stayed: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Of 137 commercial mines allocated since 2020, 25 are producing (See 'Corp Brief') MoS releases Foreign Language Compendium of DRDO Products for engagement with international partners (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Marks Act, 1999 - Court's intervention is needed where the parties furnish affidavits making undertakings that effectively resolve the issues at hand: HC (See 'Legal Desk') An unsuccessful 'success fee' litigation (See CORP EINSICHT)

Copper Quality Control Order: A step towards Atma Nirbharta

Published: Dec 07, 2024

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, DEC 07, 2024: TO strengthen the quality control eco-system for non-ferrous metals sector (including Copper) in the country, the Ministry of Mines notified the Copper (Quality Control) Order on 31 st August, 2023, along with Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys and Nickel. Initially the QCOs including Copper QCO were to come into force after three months from the date of its notification i.e. 30.11.2023.

Thereafter, basis the requests received from industry stakeholders including user sector industry and taking into account the supply situation, this order was extended vide notification dated 3 rd November, 2023 by six months (i.e.1.6.2024) and subsequently, by another six months vide notification dated 3 rd May, 2024 i.e. 1.12.2024. The Ministry has held several interactions with concerned stakeholders on regular basis through series of meeting(s) with industry bodies and user sector industries during the month of October, 2023; January, 2024; May, 2024; September, 2024; and October, 2024. Secretary (Mines) held a meeting with DG BIS on 17.1.2024 in which besides BIS & Ministry officials, industry representatives also attended. Thus, a sufficient period of 15 months, from 31 st August, 2023, onwards was allowed to the domestic and foreign suppliers of Copper cathodes to obtain the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification.

In FY 2023-24, India imported about 363 Thousand Tonnes (THT) of refined copper cathode (HS Code: 740311), valued at Rs. 24,552 crore. Japan accounts for about 2/3 rd (67%) of the refined copper imports. In quantity terms, about 69% of India's refined copper imports come from Japan. Tanzania is India's second important source of refined copper, contributing about 18% of the imports; followed by Mozambique with a share of about 5%.

M/s Adani's Kutch Copper Refinery has since come into production. However, as per company officials, ramp-up to full capacity will require some more time (about Feb-March 2025). Once achieved, India will be self-sufficient in refined copper, and will not have to rely on imports. Till that time, some amount of import of refined copper will take place.

As of now, 7 applications from Japanese smelters have been received for BIS certification, of which one smelter (Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.) has already been granted license. As per information received from BIS, two more licenses will be granted by next week.

Presently, four domestic suppliers namely, Adani's Kutch Copper Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Gujarat Victory Forgings Pvt Ltd & Vedanta Ltd and four foreign suppliers, one each from Japan and Austria, and two from Malaysia have been certified by BIS to supply copper cathode to Indian market. Thus, with 4 domestic BIS certified suppliers & 4 foreign BIS certified suppliers and another two certifications by mid of Dec, 2024, no serious supply side constraint is envisaged.

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