All goods imported into India are subject to domestic laws, rules, orders, regulations, technical specification, environment and safety norms, that are notified from time to time. There is no proposal at present to restrict imports of products, that otherwise satisfy the aforesaid conditions, including meeting the prescribed technical standards.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) formulates standards applicable to domestic products and also mandates the use of Standard Marks under a license which mutadis mutandis also apply to imported goods. Products have been notified under compulsory certification/registration with one of the objectives of checking influx of substandard products into Indian markets. Presently, there are 109 products covered under Compulsory Product Certification Scheme of BIS and 30 Electronic and IT Goods under Compulsory Registration Scheme of BIS. Till now, 204 licensees have been issued to Chinese manufacturers for Steel products, Electrical products, Tyres & Tubes etc. as per Product Certification Scheme of BIS. Also, 4636 manufacturers have been granted registrations for Electronic and IT Goods as per Compulsory Registration Scheme of BIS. As member of WTO. India’s regulations apply to all members equally.

This information was given by the Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Import standards require goods to meet domestic technical and safety norms and BIS certifications before market entry. All imported goods must comply with domestic laws, regulations, technical, environmental and safety norms; the national standardisation regime mandates Standard Marks under licence and enforces Compulsory Product Certification and Compulsory Registration schemes to ensure conformity of imports and prevent substandard products. These compulsory schemes are applied uniformly consistent with WTO non-discrimination.