Steel cos hike prices despite excise cut; Paswan angry

In the wake of reports of steel companies hiking prices despite a 2 per cent cut in excise duties in the budget...

In the wake of reports of steel companies hiking prices despite a 2 per cent cut in excise duties in the budget, steel minister Ramvilas Paswan today launched a broadside against the industry asking them to be more transparent regarding pricing.

“There is a price-monitoring committee that has been instituted to review prices but there is a need to rein in prices and take the consumers into confidence whenever a hike occurs,” the minister said at a steel summit organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce. “When excise duties are cut and the benefit is not passed on to the consumers then a case for further reduction gets weakened.”

Paswan’s tirade comes days after the industry had rolled back prices at the behest of Steel Ministry only to hike it again today. Some steel producers led by Tata Steel have hiked spot prices between Rs 1500 and Rs 3000 for various products. Essar, Ispat Industries Ltd and Jindal South West are also reported to have effected a price hike on their products while state owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is deliberating doing the same.

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“We are monitoring global prices and would take a decision on whether to increase price or not within a week’s time,” said SAIL chairman S K Roongta.

Paswan pointed out that the steelmakers should increase prices in tandem with the global increase in raw material prices. “There should be an analysis of the extent of price increase of raw materials like coking coal and iron ore and the ratio in which steel prices can be increased,” he said. “Steel as a commodity affects the common man and acts as an inflationary agent.”

Last month Paswan had intervened after steel companies increased prices and requested them to refrain from doing so. The companies had ‘voluntarily’ agreed to do the same but the ministry had received flak for trying to regulate prices.