Indian Government will Introduce New Standards for “Non-Essential Imports”

In a move to curb imports of cheaper products such as electrical products, plastics and toys, coming mostly from China, the Indian government has asked its biggest certification body BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) to draft up to 400 new standards for products considered “non-essential”. This is a clear reaction to the current ongoing political and economic tensions going on between the two Asian giants.

Global news outlets have extensively reported on the Cashmere border region dispute that has recently escalated to new heights. In addition to that, there have been on-going licensing disputes of cheap Chinese products without proper Indian quality approvals. Lots of products from China are imported either without any or, even worse, with fake quality certifications, which is hurting Indian consumers and the local economy.
BIS already has more than 25,000 quality standards for a wide range of different products, but most of them are on a voluntary basis. Only about 150 product standards are mandatory, but this number is about to be increased to more than 500, and will affect mostly cheaper products coming from China.
This means that Indian consumers’ demand for quality will rise and this in turn will open up the Indian market to importers from other countries. It also means that some companies in Europe or the US will already be affected by these new standards as well.
Please make sure to keep reading our news to stay informed of these updates whenever they come out and do not hesitate to contact us for any BIS specific certification questions. Many products require a mandatory BIS Certification in India.