Alerts & Updates 30th May 2024
Dear Reader,
We are writing to you with an important update regarding mandatory certification requirements applicable to the manufacture and imports of self-contained drinking water coolers in India.
| Background | The Government of India has recently notified a renewed Quality Control Order (“QCO”) for self-contained drinking water coolers. This QCO replaces a previous QCO on self-contained drinking water coolers issued in September, 2023 (“September, 2023 QCO”). As per the QCO, compliance with certain Indian Standards, as listed in the QCO, would be a pre-requisite for the sale of the covered products in India and the products must be certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (“BIS”).
The relevant order is available here. |
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| Products concerned | The QCO would apply to products covered by the following Indian Standards:
There is no difference in the coverage of products in the present QCO vis-à-vis the September 2023 QCO. For a master list of all products under mandatory BIS certification, please click here. |
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| Timelines for Implementation | The QCO would come into force in a staggered manner for different types of enterprises:
While the September, 2023 QCO envisioned implementation beginning on March 27, 2024 for enterprises (other than small and micro enterprises), the present QCO has the following timelines for implementation. § For all enterprises other than micro and small enterprises: October 1, 2024. § For small enterprises: January 1, 2025 § For micro enterprises: April 1, 2025. The additional time for implementation granted to small enterprises (i.e. 3 months) and micro enterprises (i.e. 6 months) under the present QCO is the same as that given under the September, 2023 QCO. |
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| Next Steps | Once the QCO comes into force, both domestic and foreign manufacturers of self-contained drinking water coolers will only be able sell these products in India after obtaining certification from the BIS.
To obtain this certification, both foreign producers and domestic manufacturers of these self-contained drinking water coolers would need to submit a formal application to the BIS. Furthermore, the process of certification will also require physical testing and inspection of the relevant product at the factory premises as well as parallel testing by a BIS authorized laboratory in India to verify the same. BIS certification is a time-consuming process and therefore it is recommended that interested producers make applications for certification at the earliest, in order to obtain certification by the date when the QCO comes into force. |
For any queries or comments on this update, please feel free to contact us at insights@elp-in.com.