MTC (Mill Test Certificate)
/glossary/mtcManufacturer document certifying chemical composition, mechanical properties, and test results.
An MTC is the mill paper that ties one heat of steel to chemistry, mechanicals, and the tests that heat actually received. EN 10204:2004 names Types 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, and 3.2; Type 3.1 is the usual B2B sheet. The yard pack from RP Sales always includes that mill sheet. Kanpur stores match it to the stencil before the truck leaves Bartan Bazar. Budget GST at 18% extra on the steel invoice.
In detail
A Mill Test Certificate (MTC), also called a Mill Test Report (MTR), records declared material identity, heat or lot traceability, and the test results the mill ran on that unit. EN 10204:2004 defines Type 2.1 (compliance statement), Type 2.2 (non-specific test results), Type 3.1 (specific results validated by the manufacturer's authorized inspection representative independent of manufacturing), and Type 3.2 (specific results with a second validation by the purchaser or an officially designated inspector). The purchase specification picks the type. An EN 10204 sheet does not replace a BIS mark or an IBR form. RP Sales already attaches an MTC to each dispatch.
What an MTC is, and what it is not
The certificate is evidence for one identified heat or lot. It prints the specification, size, cast or heat number, ladle or product analysis, and the tensile, bend, flatten, or hydro results the mill recorded. Indian buyers also say MTR. On this site the two labels usually travel as one PDF.
EN 10204:2004 is the European inspection-document standard. BSI Knowledge lists the English publication as 25 October 2004 and identical to EN 10204:2004. Scope 1.1 applies the types to metallic products (plates, sheets, bars, forgings, castings) whatever the production method, and the type follows the order. Scope 1.2 extends the same system to non-metallic products when the parties use it. The 2004 revision deleted Type 2.3 and mapped the old 3.1.A / 3.1.B / 3.1.C labels onto today's 3.1 and 3.2.
A 2.1 sheet states that the goods comply and attaches no numbers. A 2.2 sheet attaches results from non-specific inspection. A 3.1 sheet attaches results from specific inspection and is validated by the mill's authorized inspection representative, who must sit outside the manufacturing department. A 3.2 sheet carries those same specific results plus a second validation from the purchaser's representative or from an inspector designated by official regulations.
An MTC is not an ISI mark. The mark is mill licence under the Indian Standard on the tube. An MTC is not Form III-B, Form III-A, or Form III-C. Those are IBR statutory forms. An MTC is not a TPI release note. ISO 9001 on the mill letterhead is a quality-system certificate, not heat data.
Who should demand which document type
The purchase specification, the tender, or the ordering authority selects which EN 10204 type a lot needs; RP Sales supplies Type 3.1 with each dispatch as its default, and Type 3.2 or a named TPI hold must be ordered on the PO before the mill dates the tests. PWD stores, JJM contractors, fire installers, and borewell crews all need heat identity on the paper and on the steel so a cut length can still be traced.
Sugar-mill and Panki boiler work adds the IBR form for the actual component. The Central Boilers Board index assigns III-A to steam pipes, III-B to tubes, and III-C to boiler mountings and fittings. That assignment is not a Type 3.2 trigger. Read the approved quality plan before adding a second signatory.
Dada Nagar cylinder shops still need the tube certificate (grade, heat, delivery condition). A roughness or H8 report is a second sheet. Do not file the profilometer trace as the MTC.
Do not skip the certificate on a small 15 NB plumbing lot because the run looks cheap. Heat identity still matters after the first cut. Do not treat Type 3.2 as automatic on every IBR line. Do not treat Type 3.1 as Form III-C on a safety valve.
EN 10204 types next to IBR forms
Keep the mill sheet and the statutory form on separate lines. The table is a release checklist, not a new test method.
| Paper | What it proves | Who signs | Typical Kanpur release | Cannot replace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 2.1 | Order compliance, no results | Manufacturer | Only where the purchase spec accepts 2.1 | A heat-wise test sheet |
| Type 2.2 | Non-specific results | Manufacturer | Rare; hold if 3.1 was named | Specific inspection |
| Type 3.1 | Specific heat results | Mill inspection representative | Default pack from the yard | IBR form or ISI mark |
| Type 3.2 | Specific results plus second validation | Mill plus purchaser or official inspector | Where the tender or ITP calls for 3.2 | Form III-B on a tube |
| Form III-A / III-B / III-C | IBR manufacture and test | Recognised authority for that duty | Steam pipe / tube / mounting | EN 10204 by itself |
BSI Knowledge lists EN 10204:2004 as current, identical to the European text, and replacing the withdrawn 1991 edition. Its contents list covers non-specific inspection, specific inspection, validation and transmission, transmission by an intermediary, and the summary of document types.
How to specify the MTC on an RFQ
Write the document type beside the steel. A late request for Type 3.2 after the mill has printed Type 3.1 is how a Lucknow gate holds a truck. Use the RFQ page so the certificate line is part of the first offer. RP Sales turns the technical pack around within 4 working hours.
- Steel: process, standard, grade, NB or OD, wall or class, length, quantity, finish.
- Certificate: EN 10204 Type 3.1 or Type 3.2. Do not write only MTC on a Type 3.2 tender.
- Identity: heat on stencil, bundle tag, certificate, and dispatch challan.
- IBR form by component: III-A steam pipe, III-B tube, III-C mounting or fitting.
- TPI: name the agency and the hold points, or write mill-only.
- Scan before loading when the ITP requires it. Delivery from the Kanpur yard. GST at 18% extra sits on the steel invoice, not on the certificate.
Worked heat check on 40 NB Medium
Take 40 NB Medium from the site weight table: OD 48.3 mm, wall 3.2 mm, 3.56 kg/m, 21.4 kg per 6 m. Check the formula once: W = (48.3 − 3.2) × 3.2 × 0.02466 = 45.1 × 3.2 × 0.02466 = 3.56 kg/m. One hundred and twenty lengths are 120 × 21.4 = 2,568 kg (2.57 MT).
The MS ERW price list Medium band at 40 NB is ₹54-61 per kg ex-warehouse Kanpur as of 24 May 2026. Invoice steel is 2,568 × 54 = ₹1,38,672 to 2,568 × 61 = ₹1,56,648 before GST and freight. The certificate that rides with those 120 lengths must say IS 1239, Medium, 40 NB, the heat number, chemistry, yield and tensile, and the 5 MPa leak-proof test from the BIS product manual.
If the sheet says 32 NB or Heavy class, hold the lot. Theoretical 2.57 MT is the commercial check when the invoice is per kilogram. Acceptance still follows the ordered class and the heat on the stencil. A weighbridge shortfall is a prompt to recount and re-measure, not a reason to accept a mismatched PDF.
Common MTC failures at receiving
In practice, the stencil heat is missing from the PDF. The how to read an MTC cluster treats that as a broken file. Do not cut the first length while someone searches email.
A Type 2.1 or a generic mill letter is offered as Type 3.1. Type 2.1 has no results. A PWD clause that asked for specific inspection cannot close on a statement of compliance.
A 3.1 sheet is handed over as Form III-B on a boiler-tube heat. The UP inspector registers the IBR form. Order that form at enquiry stage.
Phosphorus or sulphur sits above the ordered maximum while tensile looks comfortable. The MTC-reading cluster treats P and S as maxima. Hold the heat.
A factory ISO 9001 attachment is filed as the lot certificate. ISO 9001 does not prove this 40 NB Medium heat met IS 1239.
Standards that govern the certificate
The inspection-document rules sit in EN 10204:2004. DIN EN 10204:2005-01 is the German adoption of the same text. Use the type number, not a trade nickname, on the PO. The public BSI listing retrieved for this site is the 25 October 2004 publication.
The BIS product manual for IS 1239 (Part 1):2004 (PM/1239 (Part 1)/4, Feb 2022) gives a test-certificate template in Annex I: standard mark, cast or control unit, type, class, size, chemistry, mechanicals, galvanizing, and a statement that each tube was eddy-current or hydrostatically tested to 5 MPa. That mill certificate is still not an EN type number unless the mill also titles it 3.1 or 3.2.
IBR forms remain on the 1950 index. III-C certifies a mounting or fitting; it does not certify the tube heat. See IBR Form III-C and the Form III-C guide.
ASTM A53 and A106 abstracts give the purchaser the right to perform the specification tests. Those tests still need a recorded result on the certificate the PO named.
Reading the MTC before a Kanpur release
Stand at the Bartan Bazar gate with the PDF and one tube. Match specification, size, class or schedule, heat, and quantity. The quality hub and the field-by-field MTC guide are the site walkthroughs for that check.
On IS 1239 also match the embossed L, M, or H and the colour band to the class on the sheet. On A106 or A53 match NPS, schedule, type, and grade. On SA210 match OD, minimum wall, and grade A-1 or C.
A scan sent after the truck has left Kanpur is a late file. Ask for the PDF before loading when the ITP wants a pre-dispatch review. Intra-city drops to Panki and Dada Nagar still need the same envelope.
The standard Kanpur pack already has the mill sheet. Extra originals, bilingual copies, or a Type 3.2 countersignature are extra lines on the offer, not implied stationery.
MTC versus TPI versus ISI mark
The mill writes the MTC. A third-party inspector witnesses or reviews against the ITP; that visit may support Type 3.2 when the inspector signs that certificate, or it may produce only a Certificate of Conformity. The TPI page keeps those papers apart.
ISI marking under a BIS licence answers a different question: the mill is licensed for that Indian Standard. Tender language often wants the mark and the heat certificate. Neither paper becomes the other.
Name SGS, Bureau Veritas, Lloyds, or TUV only when the purchaser already named the agency. A walk-around at the Kanpur yard cannot recreate a mill tensile that already happened.
Heat, stencil, and challan must agree
The heat number names the furnace melt. Print it on the pipe or bundle tag, on the MTC, and on the packing list. Drop one of those three fields and the lot is untraceable. A remark after blasting or painting does not create a new melt.
Cut lengths inherit the parent heat. Transfer the stencil before the remnant leaves the bay. A Lucknow site that cuts 40 NB into nipples still needs those nipples traceable to the 2.57 MT lot above.
A certificate covers the heat or heats, or the lot, that it actually lists; one certificate can cover several heats when the mill groups them on that sheet. A mixed truck of Medium plumbing and Heavy fire pipe still needs each class identified against its own heat entry on the paperwork. Do not staple one certificate across heats it does not list.
Booking Type 3.2 and TPI from the yard
Type 3.2 is a document type, not a visit. Book the second validator before the mill dates the tests. The glossary lead-time entry lists a 5-10 day add-on for TPI planning; use that as a schedule allowance, not as a fee.
Stock pickup of ordinary IS 1239 Medium at Bartan Bazar stays on Type 3.1 unless the tender wrote 3.2. Adding a second signatory after the heat is already on the truck cannot create specific inspection.
Alloy SA213 indent follows the 21-30 day mill-direct alloy band on the same lead-time entry. Align the Inspecting Authority visit with that window. The certificate pack still includes Form III-B on the tube and the EN sheet.
Where you'll meet this in procurement
You will meet MTC (Mill Test Certificate) in inspection plans, dispatch packs, and tender checklists. Keep heat identity, certificate type, and any third-party witness tied to the order so MTC (Mill Test Certificate) is usable evidence at site acceptance—not a loose attachment after delivery.
Related terms
Related resources
Key points
- An MTC records heat identity and test results. EN 10204:2004 names Types 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, and 3.2.
- Type 3.1 is the usual B2B certificate. Type 3.2 is not automatic on IBR work.
- The RP Sales dispatch pack includes the mill certificate. An EN sheet does not replace Form III-A, III-B, or III-C.
- 40 NB Medium is 48.3 × 3.2 mm, 3.56 kg/m, 21.4 kg per 6 m; 120 lengths are 2.57 MT.
- Heat on the stencil, the certificate, and the challan must be the same number before the Kanpur gate releases the truck.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- EN 10204:2004. Metallic products. Types of inspection documents (Types 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2; published 25 October 2004; replaces EN 10204:1991) (BSI Knowledge / CEN)
- DIN EN 10204:2005-01. Metallic products — Types of inspection documents; German version EN 10204:2004 (DIN Media)
- PM/1239 (Part 1)/4 Feb 2022. IS 1239 (Part 1):2004 product manual Annex I test-certificate template; each tube eddy-current or hydrostatic to 5 MPa (Bureau of Indian Standards)
- Indian Boiler Regulations, 1950. Forms index: III-A steam pipes, III-B tubes, III-C boiler mountings and fittings (Central Boilers Board, Government of India)