What is BIS?

The BIS Act 2016 established the National Standard Body of India for the harmonious growth of the operations of standardization, marking, and quality certification of goods, as well as things, connected or incidental thereto. Through standardization, certification, and testing, the BIS has provided traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a variety of ways, including providing safe, reliable quality goods, minimizing health hazards to consumers, promoting exports and imports as a substitute, and controlling the proliferation of varieties, among other things. 

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BIS is headquartered in New Delhi, with regional offices in Kolkata (Eastern), Chennai (Southern), Mumbai (Western), Chandigarh (Northern), and Delhi (Central) (Central). Branch Offices (BOs) in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Parwanoo, Patna, Pune, Rajkot, Raipur, Durgapur, Jamshedpur, and Vishakhapatnam provide certification services to the industry and serve as an effective link between State Governments.

BIS Market Surveillance

After Grant of a license, a surveillance audit plan is prepared to ensure surveillance visits at least once a year:

• First surveillance is carried out within 12 months from the date of certification.
• The next surveillance audit to be completed in the next calendar year.
• In the third year, a surveillance audit is replaced with a Re-certification (Renewal) audit.

Latest Marker Surveillance Guidelines 

The Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) is run by the BIS, India's National Standards Body, and is based on Scheme II of Schedule II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. The program is based on manufacturers' self-declaration of conformity. The number of licenses issued under this method has increased dramatically over time. As a result, a system is required to verify that only items that meet the applicable Standard(s) are available/sold on the market. Market surveillance is an important part of CRS for determining the quality of products on the market. A thorough surveillance method is required to ensure that certified items on the market meet the applicable standard (s). Such surveillance initiatives also provide manufacturers with feedback and possibilities for improvement. BIS is currently conducting market monitoring under the requirements of Scheme II of Schedule II BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. All licensees are required to submit details of their consignees, distributors, dealers, or retailers as part of the requirements of their license to use the Standard Mark under Regulation 6 of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. If a single license covers many brands, the information should be given per brand. Furthermore, licensees will be responsible for the cost of surveillance under subparagraph 8 of paragraph 5 of Scheme II of Schedule II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 All licensees must deposit the surveillance cost in order for surveillance to be effective.

The market surveillance activity will be implemented in stages. Emails/letters are being addressed to affected licensees requesting that they provide the required information and deposit fees with BIS. A mechanism for feeding consignee information and depositing fees online is being developed. Please send the information by email till it is ready, and the fees can be paid using Demand Draft. It is requested that details of the consignees, distributors, dealers, or retailers be submitted via email in the format attached and that the surveillance cost be paid by Demand Draft drawn in favor of the Bureau of Indian Standards payable at Delhi within 10 days and 15 days, respectively, of receipt of the e-mail/letter. Annexure-II of this circular contains the format for submitting consignee information. If the required information is not submitted and the fees are not paid within the specified time frame, it will be considered a violation of the conditions of the license to use or apply the Mark, and appropriate action, including suspension or cancellation of the license, will be taken in accordance with the provisions of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. The process for conducting surveillance is included in this circular as Annexure I.

Annexure I (Procedure for carrying out surveillance)

• Cost of surveillance: Under the terms of subparagraph 8 of paragraph 5 of Scheme II of Schedule II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018, the licensee is responsible for the cost of samples and the testing fee of the sample obtained for surveillance. In order for the monitoring procedure to be effective and pleasant, the licensee must pay the fees in advance (interest-free).
• The licensee is responsible for paying the cost of monitoring for the licenses they have, which will be held by BIS and returned only when the license expires or is terminated.
• Following completion of procurement, packaging/transportation, and submission of Samples to BIS/BIS recognized labs, actual invoices will be raised to the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative, against which payment will be made by the manufacturer/Authorized Indian Representative to replenish the cost incurred by BIS, including applicable taxes.
• Refund: If a license expires or is canceled, the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative may file a refund request to recover any unpaid payment (interest-free). BIS will verify and process reimbursement claims as soon as possible.
• Revision of Surveillance Cost: The cost of surveillance is subject to periodic adjustment by BIS. All licensees must comply with, the revised surveillance charges if they are revised.
• Drawl of Sample: BIS can collect samples from the open market, organized purchasers, and dispatch stations, among other places. Where the Authorized Indian Representative/ Importer is not the end consumer, the producer must give details of the distribution channel(s) via which the product will be available, such as warehouses, wholesalers, retailers, and so on.
• Final Stage of Surveillance: Once the test reports are obtained and deemed to be non-conforming to the applicable Standard(s), BIS will notify the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative, and steps will be taken in accordance with the procedures for dealing with surveillance sample non-conformity(s).
• Disposal of Samples/Remnants: Once the surveillance procedure is completed and the test report is passed, the Licensee/Authorized Indian Representative will be notified via the portal to collect the sample from the concerned laboratory where the sample was sent for testing. Only once the surveillance process is completed will the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative be given information about the testing lab. If the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative fails to collect the samples, laboratories can dispose of them according to the BIS's Laboratory Recognition Scheme (LRS) disposal policy.

Format for Submission of Details of the Consignee(Domestic Manufacturers)

Format for Submission of Details of the Consignee(Foreign Manufacturers)

Note for foreign manufacturers: In case the importer is not the end-user, details of Wholesalers/distributors/retailers are to be provided.

Latest Update for BIS CRS Market Surveillance

On 28 April 2022, the Bureau of Indian Standard published an update regarding the Surveillance to be conducted on all stakeholders registered with BIS

• According to the updated guidelines of market surveillance (BIS), the cost of samples and the testing fee of the sample drawn for surveillance shall be paid by the licensee.
• The charges associated with surveillance shall be collected in advance (interest fee) from the licensee so that the implementation process of Surveillance can be more effective and hassle-free.
• The surveillance cost for the product will be retained by BIS and refunded only at the time of expiry/cancellation of the license. 
• Actual invoices will be raised to the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative upon completion of procurement, packaging/transportation, and submission of samples to BIS/BIS recognized labs, against which payment will be made by the manufacturer/Authorized Indian Representative to replenish the cost incurred by BIS along with applicable taxes.
• The cost of surveillance is subject to periodic adjustment by BIS. All licensees must comply with the revised surveillance charges if they are revised.
• BIS is authorized to draw the samples from the open market. But for the foreign Manufactures, their Indian representative has to submit all the details of their distribution channel(s) including warehouses, wholesalers, retailers, etc.
• Once the test reports are obtained and deemed to be non-conforming to the applicable Standard(s), BIS will notify the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative, and steps will be taken in accordance with the procedures for dealing with surveillance sample's non-conformity(s).
• Once the surveillance procedure is completed and the test report is passed, the Licensee/Authorized Indian Representative will be notified via the portal to collect the sample from the concerned laboratory where the sample was sent for testing.
• Only once the surveillance process is completed will the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative be given information about the testing lab. If the licensee/Authorized Indian Representative fails to collect the samples, laboratories can dispose of them according to the BIS's Laboratory Recognition Scheme (LRS) disposal policy.