In the past, BIS certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards was voluntary for many product groups. Although technical conformity was recommended, it was not a mandatory requirement for market access. This situation is currently undergoing fundamental change. India is increasingly publishing so-called Quality Control Orders, or QCOs for short, in growing numbers and for more and more product groups.
What are Quality Control Orders (QCOs)?
Quality Control Orders are legal texts issued by Indian ministries and published in the official gazette of the Indian government, the "Gazette of India". A QCO specifies which products are affected, which Indian standard to apply, which BIS certification scheme applies and which additional requirements must be met. These requirements can go beyond pure product safety and relate to spare parts, labeling, technical documentation or aspects of market surveillance, among other things.
With a QCO, a standard is transformed from a voluntary standard into a legal obligation. If a product is covered by a QCO and does not meet the requirements, it may not be imported, sold or placed on the market in India.
Good news for European manufacturers
From a technical perspective, India is not a high-risk market. Most Indian standards to which QCOs refer are based on international standards, in particular IEC standards. In terms of content, they are largely congruent with European requirements. Another advantage is that the Indian standards are freely accessible. The corresponding database can be accessed via the following link:
https://standardsbis.bsbedge.com/
For many CE-compliant EU products, this means that the technical requirements are already fulfilled.
Why technology alone is not enough
Even if the technical conformity is given, a central hurdle remains: The BIS certification procedure must be completed in full. This is precisely where practical risks currently arise. Existing certifications such as CE conformity are not recognized. Tests must be carried out in approved Indian laboratories and local testing capacities are limited, especially for serial products and household appliances. A regulatory bottleneck is therefore foreseeable.
Concrete example: Household appliances from March 2026
One particularly relevant QCO concerns electrical household appliances. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has stipulated that all electrical appliances for domestic, commercial or similar use with a rated voltage of up to 250 volts for single-phase appliances and up to 480 volts for other appliances, including DC and battery-powered appliances, are covered. The standard to be applied is IS 302 (Part 1):2024, which corresponds to IEC 60335-1:2020 in terms of content. Entry into force is scheduled for March 19, 2026. This means that practically all household appliances that fall under IEC 60335-1:2020 will be subject to mandatory BIS certification in future.
Conclusion for product compliance
Technically, India is generally not a problem for EU manufacturers. In regulatory terms, however, the market is becoming much more demanding. QCOs are laws and not non-binding guidelines; they must be actively monitored and evaluated. The critical factor here is less the standard itself and more the availability of testing capacities, the duration of certification procedures and early, realistic project planning. Manufacturers are well advised to systematically monitor QCOs and secure testing and certification capacities at an early stage in order to avoid delays in market access.
Further information
The Bureau of Indian Standards provides an up-to-date overview of published and announced Quality Control Orders here:
Support from Globalnorm
Globalnorm supports manufacturers and distributors in classifying the regulatory requirements for market access to India.
Author's note
This article has been machine translated into English.
