Bureau of Indian Standards

India BIS

What is Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)?

BIS stands for Bureau of Indian Standards. The establishment of a national standards body in India is based on the Bureau of Indian Standards Act established in 2016.

The aims of the BIS Act include harmonious development of the activities of standardization, conformity assessment and quality assurance of goods, articles, processes, systems, and services. The responsible authority is the Bureau of Indian Standards. Moreover, BIS aims to link Quality Control Orders with Indian Standards Institution (ISI).

BIS certification

BIS certification is required by every manufacturer (Indian or foreign) of those who are manufacturing products under Compulsory Certification.

Product certification includes two schemes:

Product Certification Schemes:

Scheme 1 – Indian Standards Institution (ISI)
Scheme 2 – Compulsory registration scheme (CRS)

The list of products that requires BIS certification is constantly being extended. See our summary on BIS Mandatory Product list: for Scheme II and Scheme II.

Who can apply for BIS Certification?

Registration Process for Indian Companies

Registration Process for non-Indian Companies

How to obtain the BIS certification?

For non-Indian manufacturers to comply with BIS certification, Authorized Indian Representative (AIR) can be appointed to assist the application process, including:

Required document
Documentation and application submission
Factory inspection by Indian auditor
Provision of test samples by the AIR and execution of the tests
Marking and labelling of products with the standard or ISI marks for BIS certification

In addition to above-mention rules, a number of chemicals are regulated under the BIS schemes. BIS stands for the Bureau of Indian Standards, the National Standards Body established based on the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016. The Act has enabling provisions for the Government to bring under compulsory certification regime any goods or article of any scheduled industry, process, system or service which it considers necessary in the public interest or for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of the environment, or prevention of unfair trade practices, or national security. There are two types of product certification schemes: Scheme 1 – Indian Standards Institution (ISI) and Scheme 2 – Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS).

Since 2018, 63 chemicals have been added to the BIS list with individual timelines for implementation via the publication of Quality Order Controls (QOCs). This means that manufacturers or importers of chemical substances that are on the BIS list need to apply for the certification before their business activities and get a BIS licenses. For non-Indian manufacturers to comply with BIS certification, they can appoint an Authorized Indian Representative (AIR) to submit the application.