The government will come up with 58 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) over the next six months for products such as aluminum, copper products, and home appliances, aimed at containing and promoting imports of substandard goods. domestic industry, said a senior government official. | Photo credit: Mustafa. KK
The government will come up with 58 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) over the next six months for products such as aluminum, copper products, and home appliances, aimed at containing and promoting imports of substandard goods. domestic industry, said a senior government official.
Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working hard to promote manufacturing of high quality products in the country.
“Since 1987, only 34 QCOs have been issued. But now we are coming up with 58 QCOs in the next six months. The main objective is to stop the import of substandard goods. This mandatory rule for domestic and It will be for foreign players,” Sanjeev, joint secretary at DPIIT, told PTI.
There will be 315 product standards under these orders. Goods under these orders cannot be manufactured, sold/traded, imported and stored unless they bear the mark of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards).
“These QCOs will be notified within one year after due process,” he added.
He said that this initiative will also help in providing the global market to the country’s products.
He further said that to facilitate the implementation of these orders, the provision of additional period for obtaining BIS license and upgrading their testing facilities, especially for micro and small industries, was considered. is going.
Similarly, exemption to very micro units (investment in plant and machinery up to ₹25 lakh) is being considered on a case-to-case basis.
“With notification of CCOs, manufacture, storage and sale of non-BIS certified products is prohibited as per BIS Act 2016,” the official said.
Violation of the law is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for the first offence, which increases to a minimum of Rs 5 lakh for the second and subsequent offences.
Recently, BIS has seized 18,600 non-BIS certified toys during raids at various retailers including Hamleys, WH Smith, Archies and Kids Zone at malls, airports and markets.
These orders are issued by the department in accordance with the WTO (World Trade Organization) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) for industries falling under its domain.
The Agreement recognizes that no country shall be prevented from taking measures necessary to ensure the quality of its exports or to protect human, animal or plant life or health, the environment, or to prevent fraudulent practices. Should go.
As a policy, the formulation of BIS standards has been harmonized as far as possible with the relevant standards laid down by the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission.
The standard issued for any product is for voluntary compliance unless the Central Government issues technical regulations mainly through notification of QCOs and BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 through Compulsory Registration Order (CRO). Not to be notified to make mandatory by
As of March 1 this year, BIS has issued around 22,228 standards, of which 9,774 are product standards. Till date, only 404 standards have been made mandatory through notification of QCO/CRO.
Sanyo said that the QCO for toys has changed the face of the sector.
Imports of toys have significantly decreased and exports have increased due to quality of toys.
According to government data, the country’s toy exports have reached Rs 1,017 crore during the April-December period of this fiscal year. Exports in 2021-22 were Rs 2,601 crore. During April-December 2013-14, the outlay was ₹167 crore.
In 2018-19, toys worth Rs 2,960 crore were imported into India. India’s overall toy imports declined by 70% to Rs 870 crore in 2021-22.
These orders will help promote the sale of quality products through the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) protocol, developed by DPIIT.
India’s imports rose to $602.2 billion during the April-January period of the current financial year from $494 billion in the same period last year.
