In India, new BIS standards to restrict the uncontrolled import of goods

The Indian government is planning new regulations to limit the increasing number of imports. This mammoth task employs numerous ministries such as steel, chemicals, telecommunications, heavy industry and also the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Indian Prime Ministers bureau has set up a committee of secretaries of state which now has 6 months’ time to distinguish between imports that are necessary for production in the local industry and other imports that are not necessary. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce has pointed out that many imported goods are not properly declared according to the uniform HS system. The Harmonized System is a system introduced in international trade that identifies goods by their composition, product description or function with a specific code and levies import duties accordingly.

According to a government spokesman, it is important to control the exact content of imported goods as India has become largely dependent on imports. He also said that they want to offer consumers safe and environmentally friendly products and put an end to brand piracy. The different ministries are to analyse the exact figures on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce. After that, trade restrictions will most likely be introduced and monitored by the BIS. The BIS will therefore play a stronger role in the future in monitoring markets and regulations.
India’s exports last November amounted to around 26 billion US dollars while imports amounted to 38 billion US dollars. This corresponds to a trade deficit of 12 billion US dollars compared with 11 billion in October. Many of the imported goods are simply declared as ‘miscellaneous goods’ and do not have an HS code. Of these, toys, furniture, sports goods and glassware are just a few of the 370 items on a list for which there are no common technical standards. The BIS estimates the import value of these goods at 127 billion US dollars. The respective ministries are now called upon to draw up a list of goods which are to be tested and certified by the BIS in the future. It is assumed that the government wants to include at least 300 products in this list within the next three months. The Ministry of Commerce has instructed the BIS to raise the current 500 technical standards to 5,000.
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