What does a buyer in India need to send first?

The registered company name with its GST and IEC numbers, the plant address, the grade by ISRI name with the iron and copper limits it will accept, the monthly tonnage, the discharge port and the payment basis. Yards will not price to a name without a company behind it, and the GST and IEC are what customs and the yard both ask for before a booking.

Why is 500 t a month 23 to 25 containers, and how big is a trial lot?

A 40 ft container holds about 20 t of aluminium scrap, baled or loose; US processors load to 44,000 lb, about 20 t, plus or minus 10%. So 500 t is 23 to 25 boxes a month, or 275 to 300 boxes a year, which is an extruder's or secondary smelter's appetite. A trial is one or two containers, 20 to 44 t, on the same grade, origin and payment basis as the programme, so the trial tests the terms and not just the metal.

Is a pre-shipment inspection certificate needed, and what about radiation?

For scrap from the USA, UK, EU, Canada, Australia or New Zealand landing at Nhava Sheva, Mundra or Hazira, no. DGFT Public Notice 43/2023 replaces the PSIC with a certificate from the supplying yard that the lot is free of radioactive material and explosives, and the port then runs the container through its radiation portal and scanner. Scrap from any other origin needs a full PSIC from a DGFT-registered inspection agency at loading. A quality survey at the yard is separate from both and is arranged at the buyer's cost if wanted.

What is clean 6063, or Tata, and how does it differ from painted, thermal-break and 6061 material?

ISRI Tata is new production extrusions of one alloy, typically 6063, with butt ends allowed and anodised material accepted; painted profiles or other alloys go in only by agreement. Painted 6063 loses metal as the coating burns off, and a lot with up to 10% painted and 10% 6061 is a different grade, Toto. Thermal-break profiles carry a polyamide strip between two aluminium sections and are excluded from Toto and Tutu alike. 6061 has more copper, magnesium and chromium than a 6063 billet allows, so it is bought as a separate grade and a mixed lot prices to the lower one.

Which payment terms do aluminium scrap yards accept for India?

Cash in advance, or cash against documents with a part payment before shipment, are what established yards in the USA and Europe work on; the CIF India benchmark for Tata is itself assessed on a cash basis. A letter of credit at sight is the exception, so a buyer that can only open an LC should say so in its first message and expect a smaller field of sellers.

Indian Ocean · India

Aluminium Scrap Suppliers CIF India (Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Hazira)

The world's largest aluminium scrap import market, bought by the container from the US, the UK and Europe

India declared 2,023,710 t of HS 7602 aluminium scrap imports in 2025, up from 1,741,131 t in 2024, and the origins are concentrated: the USA supplied 437,679 t (21.6%), the UK 180,963 t (8.9%) and Saudi Arabia 179,293 t (8.9%), with Australia (98,670 t) and the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany (about 212,600 t between them) behind. Imports cover most of what India's secondary smelters and extruders melt, and the material arrives almost entirely in containers: a 40 ft box carries about 20 t of baled or loose scrap, so a 500 t a month programme is 23 to 25 boxes a month. Two rules shape the paperwork. Indian tariff item 7602 00 10 names the ISRI grades and its import policy is Free, at 2.5% basic duty plus a 0.25% surcharge, with 18% IGST creditable to a GST-registered importer. DGFT Public Notice 43/2023 exempts scrap from the USA, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand from the pre-shipment inspection certificate at eleven ports including Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mundra and Hazira, provided the yard certifies the lot free of radioactive material and explosives and the container passes the port's radiation portal and scanner. Scrap from any other origin, Saudi Arabia included, needs a full PSIC at loading.

CBIL brokers aluminium scrap by ISRI name: Tata (new production 6063 extrusions, clean or anodised), Toto (6063 extrusions 10/10, up to 10% painted and 10% 6061), Tutu (dealer-grade old extrusions), Taint/Tabor (clean mixed old alloy sheet) and Tense (mixed aluminium castings), CIF Nhava Sheva, Mundra or Hazira, from the USA, the UK, the EU, Saudi Arabia (5% export duty at origin). Scrap of excluded origin is not offered, and material re-exported through a third country is treated as the origin where it was generated. Two facts every buyer should plan around. Established yards sell on cash in advance or cash against documents, and a letter of credit is the exception, so a first message should say which of those the buyer can do. And the EU is closing: the Commission's proposal of 18 September 2026 would end EU exports of non-hazardous metal waste, aluminium scrap included, to India from 21 May 2027, which makes the USA and the UK the origins to build a monthly programme on. A requirement that names the company, the port, the ISRI grade with its iron and copper limits, the monthly tonnage and the payment basis gets an offer from a specific yard; one without them gets a question first.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices scrap metal freight in bulk and containers on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Declared imports, HS 7602, 2025: 2,023,710 t (2024: 1,741,131 t)
Largest lawful origins, 2025: USA 21.6% · UK 8.9% · Saudi Arabia 8.9% · Australia 4.9% · Netherlands 4.2%
Discharge ports: Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mundra, Hazira — all PSIC-exempt for US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian and NZ scrap
Duty and tax: 7602 00 10 Free · 2.5% BCD + 0.25% SWS · 18% IGST, creditable
Container load: About 20 t per 40 ft, baled or loose · 500 t/month = 23–25 boxes

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

What does a buyer in India need to send first?: The registered company name with its GST and IEC numbers, the plant address, the grade by ISRI name with the iron and copper limits it will accept, the monthly tonnage, the discharge port and the payment basis. Yards will not price to a name without a company behind it, and the GST and IEC are what customs and the yard both ask for before a booking.
Why is 500 t a month 23 to 25 containers, and how big is a trial lot?: A 40 ft container holds about 20 t of aluminium scrap, baled or loose; US processors load to 44,000 lb, about 20 t, plus or minus 10%. So 500 t is 23 to 25 boxes a month, or 275 to 300 boxes a year, which is an extruder's or secondary smelter's appetite. A trial is one or two containers, 20 to 44 t, on the same grade, origin and payment basis as the programme, so the trial tests the terms and not just the metal.
Is a pre-shipment inspection certificate needed, and what about radiation?: For scrap from the USA, UK, EU, Canada, Australia or New Zealand landing at Nhava Sheva, Mundra or Hazira, no. DGFT Public Notice 43/2023 replaces the PSIC with a certificate from the supplying yard that the lot is free of radioactive material and explosives, and the port then runs the container through its radiation portal and scanner. Scrap from any other origin needs a full PSIC from a DGFT-registered inspection agency at loading. A quality survey at the yard is separate from both and is arranged at the buyer's cost if wanted.
What is clean 6063, or Tata, and how does it differ from painted, thermal-break and 6061 material?: ISRI Tata is new production extrusions of one alloy, typically 6063, with butt ends allowed and anodised material accepted; painted profiles or other alloys go in only by agreement. Painted 6063 loses metal as the coating burns off, and a lot with up to 10% painted and 10% 6061 is a different grade, Toto. Thermal-break profiles carry a polyamide strip between two aluminium sections and are excluded from Toto and Tutu alike. 6061 has more copper, magnesium and chromium than a 6063 billet allows, so it is bought as a separate grade and a mixed lot prices to the lower one.
Which payment terms do aluminium scrap yards accept for India?: Cash in advance, or cash against documents with a part payment before shipment, are what established yards in the USA and Europe work on; the CIF India benchmark for Tata is itself assessed on a cash basis. A letter of credit at sight is the exception, so a buyer that can only open an LC should say so in its first message and expect a smaller field of sellers.

Sources

UN Comtrade public preview API, reporter India (699), HS 760200, imports, 2025 and 2024, read 27 Sep 2026: world 2,023,710 t (2025) and 1,741,131 t (2024); USA 437,679 t; UK 180,963 t; Saudi Arabia 179,293 t; Australia 98,670 t; Netherlands 84,988 t; Belgium 63,854 t; Germany 63,790 t.
Container payload of about 20 t per 40 ft and the 23–25 boxes for 500 t/month: US processor loading standard of 44,000 lb ±10% per 40 ft (about 18–22 t), desk file 26 Sep 2026; arithmetic 500 ÷ 20–22.
Tariff item 7602 00 10 (ISRI grades named, policy Free), 2.5% BCD, 0.25% SWS and 18% creditable IGST: Indian tariff and duty references read 26 Sep 2026 (comercinate.com HSN 76020010; steel-baba.com scrap import duty 2026).
PSIC exemption for US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and NZ scrap at eleven ports including JNPT, Mundra and Hazira, with a yard certificate and port scan: DGFT Public Notice 43/2023 of 14 Feb 2024, read via consultease.com, 27 Sep 2026.
ISRI grade names and definitions (Tata, Toto, Tutu, Taint/Tabor, Tense): isrispecs.org aluminium specifications, read 27 Sep 2026.
Saudi Arabia 5% export duty on non-ferrous scrap since 15 Feb 2024: BigMint, 2024; desk export-ban file, Sep 2026.
EU proposal of 18 Sep 2026 barring India from EU metal waste including aluminium scrap under the Waste Shipment Regulation, effective 21 May 2027, consultation to 16 Oct 2026: Kitco / Reuters wire, 18 Sep 2026.
Payment terms (cash in advance or cash against documents; letter of credit the exception): seller terms held on the desk from US and EU yards, 18–21 Sep 2026, and the Fastmarkets CIF India Tata benchmark, which is assessed on a cash basis.