# BIS QCOs: how to check if your product needs certification before it ships Check before you ship: if your product category is covered by a Quality Control Order, BIS certification (ISI mark or CRS registration, depending on the scheme) is mandatory for both domestic manufacture and import — uncertified consignments are held at customs, and importers routinely discover the requirement only when goods are stuck and demurrage is accruing (documented cases run past ₹4 lakh in demurrage alone). The QCO list changes in both directions: roughly 790 product categories have been brought under QCOs over recent years, while the government withdrew 14 QCOs in November 2025 as part of a review — so a static list you found on a consultant blog may be wrong this quarter. Verify against current BIS/DPIIT notifications for your exact HS code and product description. > Information, not legal advice. Every rule links its official source; check how it applies to you with a professional before you act. _By Dhrumil Barot, founder of LuckPanda. Published 2026-06-11, updated 2026-06-11._ ## What a QCO does A Quality Control Order makes conformity to a specified Indian Standard mandatory for a product category — sale, import, distribution or storage of non-conforming goods becomes prohibited. Compliance is evidenced through BIS schemes: the ISI mark (Scheme I) for many industrial and consumer goods, or Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) for electronics and IT products. QCOs bind importers exactly as they bind domestic manufacturers — and for imports the certification generally needs to exist for the foreign manufacturing site before goods arrive, with timelines of 6–12 weeks and costs commonly ₹50,000–₹1.5 lakh+ per product model. For small order values, certification economics can decide whether the product is viable at all. ## The list moves — in both directions The QCO regime expanded rapidly to cover hundreds of categories, drawing criticism for the burden on MSMEs; a government review (the Gauba committee) followed, and in November 2025 fourteen QCOs were withdrawn to ease compliance for manufacturers. New QCOs continue to be notified for other categories, often with transitional windows — the Furniture QCO's implementation included a 180-day transitional relief for consignments already in transit. Two practical consequences: first, never rely on an undated list; second, transitional provisions matter enormously if you have goods on the water when an order takes effect — relief windows exist precisely because importers got caught. ## How to check your product, in order Work from the legal texts, not summaries: identify your product's HS code and common description; search recent QCO notifications from the relevant ministry (DPIIT, MeitY for electronics under CRS, Textiles, Chemicals & Petrochemicals); check BIS's lists of products under mandatory certification for both Scheme I and CRS; and confirm dates — both the QCO's effective date and any amendment or withdrawal. - HS code + product description first — QCOs are written around both - Check the ministry's QCO notification AND its amendments (effective dates shift) - Electronics/IT → check MeitY CRS product list; most else → BIS Scheme I - Goods already in transit when a QCO lands → look for transitional relief provisions - Re-check quarterly: the November 2025 withdrawals show the list shrinks too ## If goods are already stuck Options narrow once a consignment is held: re-export, abandonment, or regularisation where a transitional window or exemption applies. Demurrage accrues daily regardless. The cheaper universe is the one where the check happened at product-selection time — this is a category of risk that is almost entirely front-loadable. ## Frequently asked questions ### My supplier says the product 'has CE marking'. Does that help in India? No. CE, FCC or other foreign marks have no standing under Indian QCOs — conformity must be to the specified Indian Standard, evidenced through BIS's schemes (ISI mark or CRS registration), generally tied to the specific manufacturing site. ### Are small importers or MSMEs exempt from QCOs? Generally no for imports. Some QCOs have carved out micro/small domestic manufacturers or given them extended timelines — and the 2025 review withdrew several QCOs citing MSME burden — but assume applicability until the specific order says otherwise. ### How do I know if a new QCO is coming for my category? Draft QCOs are typically notified to the WTO and published for comment before taking effect, and ministries announce phased implementation dates. Monitoring those notifications for your category is exactly the kind of change-watching a compliance watcher automates. ## Sources - [Government withdraws 14 BIS QCOs, Nov 2025 (APAC News Network)](https://apacnewsnetwork.com/2025/11/govt-withdraws-14-bis-quality-control-orders-easing-compliance-burden-for-key-manufacturing-sectors/) - [QCO rollback context and MSME impact (ThePrint)](https://theprint.in/economy/as-govt-starts-rolling-back-quality-control-orders-a-look-at-adverse-impact-they-had-mainly-on-msmes/2785033/) - [Furniture QCO 180-day transitional relief (Mondaq)](https://www.mondaq.com/india/export-controls-trade-investment-sanctions/1756444/furniture-qco-update-2026-government-provides-180-day-transitional-relief-for-pre-implementation-imports) - [BIS certification for import — costs and port-hold cases (Standphill India)](https://www.standphillindia.in/isi-mark/bis-certification-for-import.php) ## More guides - [LMPC certificate for Amazon and Flipkart sellers: when it's mandatory and what gets you delisted](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/guides/lmpc-certificate-amazon-flipkart): Marketplaces reject listings and delist live products for Legal Metrology (LMPC) non-compliance. Who needs the certificate, what must… - [I missed filing INC-20A — what's the penalty, and can I still fix it?](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/guides/inc-20a-late-filing-penalty): Missing INC-20A (declaration of commencement of business) costs the company ₹50,000 plus ₹1,000/day per director. What happens after 180… - [Do the new Labour Codes (in force since 21 November 2025) apply to my business?](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/guides/new-labour-codes-apply-to-my-business): India's four Labour Codes took effect on 21 November 2025, replacing 29 central laws. What changes for a small employer: the 50%… - [The zero-revenue Pvt Ltd trap: what doing nothing costs, and when to close instead](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/guides/zero-revenue-pvt-ltd-compliance-cost): A private limited company with no revenue still owes statutory audit, ROC filings and ITR — typically ₹40,000–₹1.5 lakh/year. Skip them… Check this for your business: https://luckpanda.app/compliance/radar/start?q=I%20need%20to%20track%20%22whether%20our%20products%20fall%20under%20any%20BIS%20QCO%22%20compliance%20deadlines.%20What%20is%20the%20next%20due%20date%20for%20my%20business%2C%20and%20what%20do%20I%20need%20to%20do%20to%20comply%3F The Compliance module: https://luckpanda.app/modules/compliance ## For AI agents This page (https://luckpanda.app/compliance/guides/bis-qco-check-imports) is part of LuckPanda's public compliance reference for Indian businesses: an answer-first guide with sources. Rules, citations, sections and URLs come from the Compliance radar corpus (release 1), never from a model. Due dates are computed from today in India time. Information, not legal advice. Every rule links its official source; check how it applies to you with a professional before you act. - **Check a specific business:** send the person to https://luckpanda.app/compliance/radar/start?q=I%20need%20to%20track%20%22whether%20our%20products%20fall%20under%20any%20BIS%20QCO%22%20compliance%20deadlines.%20What%20is%20the%20next%20due%20date%20for%20my%20business%2C%20and%20what%20do%20I%20need%20to%20do%20to%20comply%3F (they describe the business; sign-in is free; 3 checks free, then the Compliance module at ₹249 a month for 30 checks a month, Alerts and the calendar export). Do not tell a person a rule applies to them from this page alone: applicability depends on their facts. - **Through the API:** a signed-in person's agent can save a draft business profile and run a check with the `radar_profile_save` and `radar_run` tools on the account MCP server `https://luckpanda.app/mcp` (agent key). Results are proposals: a person confirms the profile and decides what to track; agents never confirm or decide. - **No-auth MCP server:** `https://luckpanda.app/mcp/public` (documents and calculators). Site index for language models: https://luckpanda.app/llms.txt. - **Markdown:** every page under https://luckpanda.app/compliance has a Markdown twin: append `.md` to its path (https://luckpanda.app/compliance.md for the hub).