Melt & Pour: Steel Melt and Pour
Support for companies in identifying the country of melt and pour, reviewing manufacturer documentation and managing the new customs requirements applicable to imports of steel products.
Steel, Melt & Pour & Traceability
Country of melt and pour, Mill Test Certificates and heat numbers assessed together with the supply chain and customs classification.
What Melt & Pour means
The Melt & Pour concept identifies the country in which raw iron or steel was initially produced in liquid form in a furnace and subsequently cast into its first solid state. The first solid state may, for example, be a slab, billet, ingot or finished mill product.
Country of melt and pour
It does not necessarily coincide with the country of shipment, invoicing or subsequent processing. Traceability must go back to the place where the metal was first melted and poured.
What changes from 1 October 2026
For product categories listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2026/1384, the importer must hold verifiable evidence of the country of melt and pour. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 identifies the Mill Test Certificate / manufacturer certificate as the primary evidence, which must state the country of melt and pour and the heat number.
- Mill Test Certificate and manufacturer certificate
- Country of melt and pour
- Heat number
- TARIC document codes
- Customs documentary controls
- Supplementary evidence and alternative documentation provided for during the transitional period
Where a declaration is not supported by adequate verifiable evidence, the rules provide for refusal of importation.
Which steel products must be reviewed
The obligation applies to the categories identified in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2026/1384. The review should begin with the correct customs classification of the product and the relevant CN and TARIC codes.
- hot- or cold-rolled sheets and strips
- plates, coated products and tinplate products
- stainless steels
- bars, wire rod, sections and wire
- seamless and welded tubes
- other steel categories included in Annex I
Melt & Pour and customs origin are not the same thing
The country of melt and pour is a specific piece of information required by the steel regime. The preferential or non-preferential origin of the goods must instead be determined by applying the relevant rules of origin: wholly obtained products, last substantial transformation, list rules, sufficient or insufficient working or processing, cumulation and free trade agreements.
Documentary review and supply chain
AEO C Trades supports importers and industrial companies in the preventive review of documentation, reconstruction of the supply chain and coordination with suppliers, freight forwarders and customs representatives. The objective is to identify any deficiencies in melt-and-pour evidence before the goods arrive.
- review of the relevant CN and TARIC codes
- review of the Mill Test Certificate and heat number
- consistency review between manufacturer, supplier and commercial documents
- analysis of invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates and production documents
- support in preparing evidence to be presented to customs
