Meta Title: Export Scrap to India Without PSIC – 6 Exempt Countries & 11 Ports (2026 Guide)
Meta Description: If you’re in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or EU – you don’t need a PSIC to export scrap to India. Here’s exactly which ports qualify, what replaces it, and what still happens at the gate.
The Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate costs money, takes time, and adds a layer of paperwork that kills the economics on smaller shipments. For scrap yards in six countries and regions, India’s government removed that requirement entirely – as long as you’re shipping through the right ports.
This guide covers exactly who qualifies, which 11 ports accept exempt shipments, what document you still need to provide, and what’s waiting for your container at the gate regardless of your exemption status.
What PSIC Actually Is
India requires all imported metallic scrap to carry a Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate – a document issued by an approved inspection agency in the country of origin. It confirms the consignment is genuinely scrap metal, free from radioactive materials, clear of explosives and arms, and within acceptable radiation levels for import.
The requirement exists because India has had documented incidents of contaminated scrap entering the country – including radioactive sources embedded in industrial equipment that weren’t detected until material reached a melting furnace. For sellers in countries with established, regulated scrap industries, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade determined the risk profile is low enough that full PSIC is unnecessary – provided certain conditions are met.
The 6 Exempt Countries and Regions
Under Para 2.51(d)(v)(iv) of the DGFT Handbook of Procedures 2023, metallic waste and scrap – both shredded and unshredded – imported from the following countries does not require a PSIC:
- USA – United States of America
- UK – United Kingdom
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- EU – European Union (all member states)
That’s it. Six. No other countries are on this list. If your material originates in Japan, South Korea, UAE, Turkey, or anywhere else – PSIC is mandatory regardless of which port the vessel calls at.
One critical detail that trips up exporters: trans-shipment doesn’t count. If your material originates in a non-exempt country and passes through the UK or USA before shipping to India, the exemption does not apply. Indian customs looks at country of origin, not last port of loading.
The 11 PSIC-Exempt Ports
The exemption only applies at specific designated ports. Ship to the wrong one and your exempt consignment still gets held until a PSIC is produced – regardless of origin country.
As of DGFT Public Notice No. 43/2023 dated February 14, 2024, the 11 ports where PSIC exemption applies for safe country shipments are:
| Port | Location | Key Market Access |
|---|---|---|
| JNPT (Nhava Sheva) | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Jalna, Pune, Mumbai steel belt |
| Mumbai Port | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Mumbai industrial zone |
| Mundra | Gujarat | Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Surat |
| Kandla | Gujarat | Gujarat industrial belt |
| Hazira | Surat, Gujarat | South Gujarat mills |
| Chennai | Tamil Nadu | Coimbatore, Chennai industrial |
| Tuticorin (V.O.C Port) | Tamil Nadu | South India |
| Kamarajar (Ennore) | Tamil Nadu | Chennai industrial corridor |
| Kattupalli | Tamil Nadu | Chennai region |
| Krishnapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad, AP steel mills |
| Adani Gangavaram | Andhra Pradesh | Vizag, AP corridor |
For Maharashtra-based buyers – which includes the Jalna induction furnace belt – JNPT and Mumbai Port are the natural landing points. Road connectivity from Nhava Sheva to Jalna runs about 6-7 hours via NH-52. If you’re selling to Gujarat mills, Mundra or Kandla typically give faster port clearance and direct road access to Rajkot and Ahmedabad.
The remaining ports – Cochin, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Pipava, Kolkata – require PSIC for all shipments irrespective of country of origin.
What Replaces the PSIC
Dropping the PSIC doesn’t mean showing up with nothing. Every exempt shipment must carry a self-declaration certificate from the supplier or scrap yard authority confirming the consignment contains no radioactive materials, no explosives, no arms or ammunition, and that radiation levels are within natural background limits.
You generate this document yourself – on your company letterhead, signed by an authorized person at your yard. No third-party agency. No inspection fee. But it is a legal declaration under Indian trade law. If the consignment turns out to contain radioactive material after you’ve certified otherwise, the legal and financial consequences fall entirely on you as the exporter.
The declaration should reference the Bill of Lading number, container numbers, gross weight, and material description. Keep it specific and accurate – a vague one-liner creates customs queries that delay clearance.
What Still Happens at the Gate
PSIC exemption removes the paperwork requirement. It doesn’t remove the physical check.
Every exempt port runs radiation portal monitors and container scanners on all incoming scrap shipments – without exception, regardless of origin country. Your containers pass through them before customs clearance is granted. When material is clean, the check takes minutes. When the portal flags a reading – even from naturally occurring radioactive material sometimes present in certain scrap grades – the container gets pulled for manual inspection.
If manual inspection confirms contamination, the consignment is quarantined. Re-export costs and disposal charges fall on the importer and, depending on your contract terms, potentially on you. Don’t let the word “exempt” make you careless about what goes into the container.
The Complete Document Pack
| Document | Who Prepares It | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Invoice | Exporter | Yes |
| Packing List | Exporter | Yes |
| Bill of Lading | Shipping line | Yes |
| Certificate of Origin | Chamber of Commerce | Yes – confirms exempt country status |
| Radiation-Free Self-Declaration | Exporter / Scrap yard | Yes – replaces PSIC |
| Radiation Survey Report | Third-party lab | Recommended – speeds clearance |
| Contract copy | Exporter + Importer | Sometimes requested on first shipment |
The Certificate of Origin carries more weight than many exporters realise. It’s the document that proves your material qualifies for the exemption at all. If it’s missing, ambiguous, or shows re-export from a non-exempt origin, customs defaults to requiring PSIC before the goods move.
If Your Shipment Arrives at the Wrong Port
It happens. A logistics team books the wrong vessel. A port substitution occurs due to schedule changes mid-voyage.
If your consignment arrives at a non-exempt port without a PSIC, Indian customs will not release it until a valid PSIC is produced. Getting one retroactively – after the vessel has already sailed – is slow, expensive, and in some cases practically impossible.
Demurrage at Indian ports runs ₹3,000 – ₹8,000 per container per day depending on the port. On a 10-container shipment, a 10-day documentation delay costs ₹3,00,000 – ₹8,00,000. Always confirm the discharge port matches the exempt list before booking the vessel. Not after.
What Indian Mills Actually Pay for Imported Scrap
Understanding the import process is one half of the equation. The other half is knowing whether the price you’re being offered actually makes sense once the material lands.
Indian induction furnace buyers – particularly in active clusters like Jalna in Maharashtra – benchmark imported HMS against domestic grades. The live iron scrap rates in India give you that domestic context so you can judge whether your CIF offer lands at a real margin or gets squeezed on the import spread.
For exporters trying to understand what Indian mills specifically want from imported grades – yield expectations, size tolerances, contamination limits – the guide to how steel plants decide scrap buying rates explains the exact yield math behind every bid an Indian buyer makes.
And before you confirm any deal with a new Indian buyer, run the due diligence checklist for verifying Indian scrap buyers – IEC code, GSTIN verification, bank reference, and past transaction records.
The One Thing Most New Exporters Miss
Everyone asks about PSIC first. The radiation-free certificate gets asked second. Neither is what usually causes a first shipment to get stuck.
What causes problems is the wrong port in the booking, a Certificate of Origin that’s vague about country of origin, or a self-declaration that’s too generic to satisfy the customs officer reviewing it. These are paperwork errors that hold clean, legitimate material at port for days while demurrage runs.
Get the document pack right before the vessel sails. The physical checks at exempt ports are fast when everything is in order. Fixing paperwork after departure is not.
PSIC exemption rules are governed by the DGFT Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and the Handbook of Procedures. Port lists and exemption conditions are subject to amendment – always verify the current position on the DGFT official portal before confirming any shipment routing.
