Law Updates

Subject

Summary: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which operates under the Department of Consumer Affairs, issued a corrigendum on 15 May 2026, amending earlier notifications that were published in the Gazette of India under the Bureau of Indian Standards, BIS Rules, 2018. The amendment also revises the withdrawal date mentioned in earlier BIS notifications bearing reference numbers HQ-PUB013/1/2020-PUB-BIS (1088) dated 14 November 2024 and HQ-PUB-BIS (1312) dated 14 August 2025. As per the corrigendum, the date specified in Serial Number 06, Column (5) of the schedule has been changed from 12 February 2026 to 12 August 2026.  The extension also provides industries and stakeholders additional time to transition and comply with the updated Indian Standards before the earlier standards are formally withdrawn. The move is also expected to ease compliance challenges and ensure smoother implementation of revised quality and regulatory requirements. BIS issued the corrigendum in exercise of its powers under Rule 15(1) of the BIS Rules, 2018.

Subject

Summary: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has released a new notification dated 15 May 2026 under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Rules, 2018, introducing the various updated Indian Standards (IS) pertaining to environmental management, sustainability, and textiles. One of the main key updates includes the establishment of IS/ISO 14001:2026, the third revision of the Environmental Management Systems standard, which also provides requirements and guidance for the organizations to improve environmental performance. The previous version of IS/ISO 14001:2015 will remain in force until 14 November 2026 before being withdrawn. BIS also introduced IS 19756:2026 for benchmarking environmental monitoring services and IS 19766 (Part 2):2026, which focuses on sustainability indicators for civil engineering works. A new textile specification, IS 19782:2026 for knitted pyjamas, has also been notified. These standards came into effect on 14 May 2026. The notification also reflects BIS’s continued emphasis on sustainability, environmental compliance, and quality assurance across industries in India.

Subject

Summary: The Ministry of Heavy Industries issued a new order on 14 January 2026 in New Delhi. This order cancels an earlier notification dated 28 August 2024. The cancelled rule was called the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024. The Central Government used powers given under Section 16 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. The decision came after reviewing public interest needs. The cancellation takes effect immediately. This change removes mandatory safety rules that applied to machinery and electrical equipment under the 2024 order.  Industries no longer need to follow that specific regulation. However, other BIS standards and safety laws still apply. This update gives relief to manufacturers, importers, and suppliers. It also brings clarity on BIS compliance requirements in India. The notification appeared in the Gazette of India as an official government record. This order marks an important policy shift in machinery and electrical equipment regulation in India.

Subject

Summary: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has issued implementation guidelines for the revised IS 16242 (Part 1):2025 / IEC 62040-1:2017, which replaces IS 16242 (Part 1):2014 / IEC 62040-1:2008. The concurrent operation of both standards will continue only until 19 November 2025, after which the older version will be withdrawn. All existing BIS licensees are required to ensure compliance with the revised standard before the deadline. They must submit complete test reports from BIS-recognized laboratories for lead models and provide an undertaking confirming conformity for all series models under their licence. Non-compliance beyond the deadline may lead to licence cancellation or model deletion. For new applicants, processing under the old standard will be allowed only until the implementation date, with a declaration of commitment to adopt the revised version. After 19 November 2025, no licences will be granted under the old standard. These revised guidelines aim to align India’s certification framework for UPS systems with international safety norms under IEC 62040-1:2017.  

Subject

Summary: 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 samples' 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.

Subject

Summary: In the recent update from BIS received on 17th March 2022, the amendment against the old regulation of Conformity Assessment 2018 was issued. The Conformity Assessment Amendment Regulation 2022 includes the introduction of a new scheme that is BIS Scheme X. The main highlights of the issued amendment are The Bureau may grant a certificate of conformity instead of a licence in case the product is not desired to be manufactured on a continuous basis and in such a case, the manufacturer shall not be authorised to use the Standard Mark. The manufacturer may opt for a demonstration of conformity of the management system to the specified requirements given in standard   Each product or the package or both shall be marked with the Standard Mark in case of licence The licence shall be granted initially for not less than three years and up to six years