India signals QCO reset as industry pushes for risk-based BIS exemptions
The government is considering sector-, product-, project- and company-specific Quality Control Order exemptions after industry flagged certification costs and supply delays. A reset could ease sourcing friction in retail-linked categories including toys, footwear, furniture, ACs and domestic appliances.
What happened
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) · India may relax Quality Control Orders and consider risk-based exemptions, following industry pressure over BIS-related costs
Key facts
- QCOs rose from 88 in 2019 to a peak of 790 last year and are now roughly 600
- 72% of Japanese manufacturers in India said BIS certification has affected or may affect operations
- 92.3% of general-machinery firms and 76.8% of transportation-equipment makers reported impact
- 40% of QCOs cover metals, 21% machinery and electronics, 9.2% textiles, 6.8% chemicals, and 5.6% plastic/rubber
- 45.7% of QCOs apply to intermediate goods
- A Vietnamese screw maker spent ₹60 lakh on testing and inspections
- MSMEs face certification wait times of 6–12 months
Why this matters
Potential company-, product- and project-specific QCO exemptions could make India-based supply partnerships and acquisitions more attractive in regulated consumer-goods categories.
What to watch
- Formal commerce ministry or BIS notification defining exemption eligibility, duration and application process.
- Further decline or rebound in the number of active QCOs from the current roughly 600.
- Whether exemptions cover finished goods, components, samples, repair parts and e-commerce imports separately.
- BIS laboratory turnaround times, certification backlog data and customs clearance delays.
- Domestic manufacturer lobbying, anti-dumping actions or new local-content conditions attached to exemptions.
- Retail price changes and in-stock rates in affected categories during upcoming seasonal demand periods.
- Map exposed assortments by QCO status, BIS certification lead time, import dependence and gross-margin contribution.
- Prioritize suppliers with existing BIS licenses or demonstrated quality-management systems that could qualify for company-specific exemptions.
- Prepare alternate sourcing plans for toys, footwear, furniture, ACs and small domestic appliances where certification delays have constrained availability.
- Engage industry associations and ministries with SKU-level evidence of stockouts, cost inflation and unavailable domestic substitutes.
- Use potential relief to renegotiate supplier terms, reduce safety-stock requirements and test broader seasonal assortments before making permanent assortment changes.