India: FAQs on Quality Control Orders for footwear products

 

India has published a new FAQ document on the Quality Control Order for footwear products.

In it, it explains among others that:

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India has issued three QCOs bringing 27 products under compulsory BIS certification, these are as follows:

Personal Protective Equipment – Footwear QCO:             3 products

Leather and Other Materials footwear Footwear QCO:   11 products

All-Rubber and all Polymeric material footwear QCO:     13 products

Among the 27 products covered under these 3 QCOs, the following footwear components are also covered: All-Rubber and all Polymeric material and its components, All-Rubber and all Polymeric material and its components, All-Rubber and all Polymeric material and its components, All-Rubber and all Polymeric material and its components.

Indian Standards for these products can be accessed from BIS website www.bis.gov.in under the tab “Standards>Download Indian Standards” which will direct you to the Standards BIS portal: https://standardsbis.bsbedge.com/.

BIS certification is granted to a manufacturing premises and not to a company. Therefore, separate certification (licence) shall need to be obtained for each manufacturing premises (manufacturing premise(s) means the premises, either owned by the applicant or otherwise, where a part of the manufacturing activity takes place and includes the premises where the final manufacturing activity is carried out and where Standard Mark is to be used or applied).

BIS grants certification to foreign manufacturers as well under the “Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS)”. Details including the application process, forms etc are available BIS website www.bis.gov.in under Conformity Assessment>FMCS.

Any exemptions like non-applicability of the Order on specific product(s), product(s) meant for export, extension of the date of commencement of QCO etc. come under the purview of the Line Ministry (Regulator) who has issued the QCO i.e. DPIIT in case of footwear. Wherever exemptions are permitted, these are clearly brought out in respective QCO itself such as exemption for products meant for export.

To find out more about regulatory requirements for footwear and other products in India, please contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.