BIS Registration & Certification
Selling certain categories of products in India — from electronics and IT equipment to cement, packaged drinking water, and specific chemicals — without valid BIS certification can lead to your goods being seized at customs or pulled off shelves, since these categories fall under compulsory quality-control orders. Justsetu LLP identifies which BIS scheme applies to your product, coordinates the required lab testing, and manages the registration/licensing paperwork with the Bureau of Indian Standards.
What Is BIS Registration?
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) operates several conformity schemes depending on the product category: the ISI Mark scheme (product certification under the BIS Act for items like cement, LPG cylinders, and electrical appliances), the CRS (Compulsory Registration Scheme) for electronics and IT products (covering a defined list of items under the Electronics and IT Goods order), and Hallmarking for gold and silver jewellery. Manufacturers and, in some categories, importers must register or obtain a licence before the product can be legally sold in India.
Which Products Typically Require BIS Certification
Common examples include electrical appliances and accessories, LPG cylinders and regulators, cement, packaged drinking water and mineral water, certain steel products, and a defined list of electronics and IT goods (such as mobile phone chargers, power banks, and laptops) under the CRS scheme. Since the list of products under compulsory BIS orders is periodically updated by notification, we confirm current applicability for your specific product before beginning the process.
Documents Required
- Manufacturing unit details and process flow.
- product technical specifications and test reports from a BIS-recognised laboratory.
- factory premises documents.
- and, for the CRS scheme, an authorised Indian representative’s details in the case of foreign manufacturers.
Process & Timeline
- Identifying the applicable BIS scheme (ISI Mark, CRS, or Hallmarking) for your specific product.
- Coordinating product testing at a BIS-recognised or NABL-accredited laboratory as required by the scheme.
- Filing the registration/licence application with BIS along with test reports and factory documentation.
- BIS review, including a factory inspection for certain product categories under the ISI Mark scheme.
- Grant of the registration number or licence, after which the product can carry the applicable mark; timelines vary significantly by scheme and product category, from a few weeks for CRS to several months for ISI Mark licensing involving factory audits.
Why Justsetu LLP
Getting the scheme wrong at the start — applying under CRS when your product actually needs an ISI licence, or vice versa — wastes months. We confirm the correct classification against the current BIS product list before any testing begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
ISI Mark is a product certification scheme (often involving factory audits) mainly for items like cement, LPG equipment, and electrical appliances, while CRS is a registration scheme specifically for a notified list of electronics and IT goods, generally without a full factory audit requirement.
A defined and periodically updated list under various Quality Control Orders — commonly including electrical appliances, LPG cylinders, cement, packaged water, select steel products, and a specified list of electronics/IT goods; we check the current notification against your specific product.
Both — importers of covered products must ensure the product is BIS-certified/registered before import, and for CRS-covered electronics, foreign manufacturers must register through an authorised Indian representative.
It varies by scheme — CRS registration for electronics can often be completed in a matter of weeks, while ISI Mark licensing involving factory audits can take a few months.
It can lead to seizure of goods, penalties, and legal action under the BIS Act and relevant Quality Control Orders, along with reputational damage with retailers and marketplaces.
No, Hallmarking is a specific scheme for gold and silver jewellery purity certification, separate from the ISI Mark and CRS schemes for other product categories.
Yes, BIS licences and registrations are typically valid for a fixed period and require renewal along with continued compliance monitoring, including surveillance testing in some schemes.
Yes, BIS schemes apply regardless of business size, though smaller manufacturers should plan for the testing and, where applicable, factory audit costs as part of their compliance budget.
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