BIS (The Bureau of Indian Standards) is the National Standards Body of India. It prescribes standards for various consumer products. The manufacturers can make their products as per the prescribed standard and receive certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards. BIS also from time to time notifies products to get mandatory BIS Licenses. This is to ensure the circulation of quality products in the market. Recently, BIS has announced the requirement of a BIS license for various types of footwear products. Manufacturers need to take a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards before selling their footwear products in the market.

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What is BIS License?

BIS publishes quality standards for various goods. If the manufacturers of these goods follow such standards in their manufacturing process then they can apply for the BIS License which is also known as ISI Registration. The Bureau of Indian Standards examines the application and provides a certificate of compliance to the manufacturer for such a product. It authorizes the manufacturer to put standard ISI Registration Mark on their products to show quality compliance and win consumer trust.

Which Manufacturers Need to Get BIS Registration for Footwear?

Manufacturers of the following footwear products need to obtain BIS Certificate for their footwear. It was optional but from the First of July, it is made mandatory for all footwear manufacturers to get BIS Certification before they sell their products in the market. The list of affected products is given below along with the standards they need to comply with-

Timeline for the Application of BIS Quality Control Order for Footwear Products

A Quality Control Order (QCO) is an official notification issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards to notify manufacturers to maintain the quality of their products. Although the Quality Control Order for Footwear Products was issued in 2022, the implementation was scheduled on 1st July 2023. From July of 2023, it is mandatory for notified footwear manufacturers to obtain BIS Registration for their footwear.

How to get BIS License?

The footwear manufacturers who are manufacturing any kind of footwear mentioned in the table above, need to obtain BIS Registration for Footwear. To get BIS registration for Footwear products, you may need to go through the following steps-

• Manufacturer Registration

The manufacturer first needs to get registered on the BIS Portal. This process is called ‘Know the Manufacturer’. Here you need to provide some basic information about your company and manufacturing unit.

• Test Request

Once the manufacturer registration is done, you can move on to the next step. Here you need to submit a request for the testing of your product. On a scheduled date, a BIS-recognized laboratory will test your product and provide you with a lab report.

• Document Submission

This lab report needs to be submitted to the Bureau of Indian Standards along with other product-related documents. If any BIS-certified raw materials are used in manufacturing then those certificates should also be submitted.

• Examination of Application and Product

The officials at BIS will examine your application, product and lab report. Documents are scrutinized and the authenticity of lab reports is also tested.

• Grant of Licence

If everything goes fine, the National Standards Body of India provides a certificate of compliance to the manufacturer and the manufacturer gets the right to use the standard mark on their product. This is called the BIS License which every footwear manufacturer needs to get after the implementation of Footwear Quality Control Orders of 2022.

Conclusion

BIS has notified twenty-four footwear products that require a BIS License for distribution in the market. The list was notified in mid-2022 and the implementation was scheduled on 1st of July 2023. Now as the date has passed, all the manufacturers of these products must ensure that they get a certification from BIS for their Footwear Products as it is now made compulsory by the National Standards Body of India. This will ensure the circulation of only certified quality products in the market. It is an important move considering the safety and welfare of consumers. Consumers are also instructed to buy only the products with ISI Registration Mark which means that the product is tested by BIS laboratories and found safe and durable as per Indian Standards.