Govt should cap charges of product testing under quality control order: GTRI

New Delhi: The government should cap testing charges for routine industrial products as high costs to comply with the quality control orders (QCOs) may impact the country's manufacturing and small importers, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday.

While the QCO policy aims to improve product quality and consumer safety, the pace of expansion is putting pressure on testing infrastructure and has created significant compliance bottlenecks for MSMEs, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.

"India's expanding quality control regime is imposing such high testing and certification costs that many MSME importers may be pushed out of business, leaving the market increasingly dominated by large importers," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.


The charges arise under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under which foreign manufacturers of products covered by India's Quality Control Orders have to obtain BIS certification before exporting to India.

The process requires foreign suppliers to appoint an authorised Indian representative, submit technical documents, undergo BIS factory inspections, provide samples for testing at BIS- approved labs, and secure a BIS licence before exports can commence, he said.

"While large importers can spread these costs across high volumes of imports, smaller firms importing specialised or low-volume products cannot. For many MSMEs, certification expenses running into Rs 15-20 lakh upfront can make imports commercially unviable," Srivastava said.

GTRI urged the government to "cap" testing charges for routine industrial products, recognise reports from accredited foreign laboratories, adopt risk-based testing norms instead of excessive sample requirements, and conduct regulatory impact assessments before imposing new QCOs.

"High certification costs also undermine the 'Make in India' initiative, as many domestic manufacturers rely on imported specialised inputs, components, and machinery that are not produced locally at the required quality or scale," he added. PTI