Bureau of Indian Standard, widely known as BIS, is a department under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, & Public Distribution, which is ministry obligated to test varieties of products to determine whether they are on par and fit for the end-users. BIS, formerly known as ISI (Indian Standards Institution), plays a vital role in standardizing the quality of consumer-based products. BIS have stringent quality standards for electronic products. No electronic goods can make their way to the Indian marketplace without this certification in the present scenario. This write-up will reveal important information regarding BIS certification for electronic products.
An Outlook on the Role of Bureau of Indian Standard
Keeping in view the interest of end-users and the industry BIS is engaged with the various undertakings as given below:
Electronic products fall under Scheme I of the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS), also known as the ISI mark scheme. A sample of the items needs to be facilitated to BIS-certified labs for quality testing purposes.
It is examined if the sample product complies with the norms cited by BIS.
After testing, the BIS personal conduct an on-site inspection of the facility where the product is manufactured. Apart from that, these officials will also check the manufacturing process for any loopholes[1].
Overall, there are around 1687 standards set on electronic products, which include;
- Power System Control And Associated Communications
- Electromechanical Components And Mechanical Structures For Electronic-equipment
- Reliability of Electronic and Electrical Components and Equipment
Step-wise instruction to avail BIS certification for electronic products
Following are the steps to avail of BIS certification for electronic products.
Step 1: Submit the Product sample to BIS certified Lab
BIS certification for electronic products starts with the quality inspection of the product sample. For this purpose, OEM or manufacture needs to visit BIS-certified Lab to verify the sample. Please note that lab services are chargeable. The fees may differ as per the product under consideration.
Step 2: Sample testing and issuance of the report
The testing process generally takes few weeks or so to get completed. After the inspection, the lab tests the sample for consumer’s suitability and then finally issues the Test Report.
If the sample fails to comply with the underlying lab’s requirement, the lab will issue a non-conformity report.
Step 3: Submit the application along with the test report and requested fees
This test report attached with other mandatory documents needs to be furnished along with the application, namely Form-VI & Form-V (for the issuance of ISI registration), to the respective regional office of BIS. The application fees require to be remitted, too, in addition to the application form.
Step 4: On-site inspection by BIS’s officials
The next step is where BIS-appointed officials visit the premises for physical inspection. The objective is to determine the Quality-Control process & manufacturing process of the facility.
During the inspection, officers can draw a few samples from the product and sent them to the BIS testing facilities.
Step 5: Final documents’ inspection and issuance of a certificate
e) In the final step after all the requested documents have been furnished & the BIS officials are done with the manual inspection of the facility, all the reports and documents shall undergo final scrutiny to see whether there was any loophole in the overall process), before the BIS certification for electronic products is issued.
Once the approval is obtained, a standard fee needs to be submitted to obtain the certificate. BIS usually charges around Rs 50,000 for a small electronic gadget. However, it is recommended to seek expert advice from professional firms like CorpBiz to avail pinpoint guidance on the registration process. Please note that BIS and ISI registration costs vary product-wise.
What to do when the lab issues a non-conformity certificate?
In such a scenario, the product or the process seeks rectification and the report for the same needs to be furnished with standard fees or the annual marking fees (in case of ISI registration).
Upon successful submission, the BIS will grant a suitable certificate. Henceforth, the manufacturer should make sure that his product complies with underlying norms to the fullest.
Documentation required for the BIS certification for electronic products
Here is the list of documents that the applicant needs to furnish to the authority for BIS certification for electronic products.
- Technical specs of the product being manufactured at the premises
- Components & raw material details
- Drawing of the product
- Critical component list
- User manual
- Premises related documents. For SSI, apt registration certificate.
- Brief schematic of the manufacturing process
- Complete information about the machines present in the premises in terms of;
- Name,
- Purpose,
- Capacity
- In case of availability of outsourced process, the details & quality control documents pertaining to the same.
- Complete detail pertaining to the internal testing facilities manifesting info of the calibration status, the least count etc
- Certificate of calibration of the testing machines (not older than three months)
- Plant layout
- Details regarding the Packing & storage
- Organization hierarchy of the factory
- Location map
- Details of the staff handling activities of the quality department. Applicant can submit their qualification certificates for this purpose.
- Test report of the raw material and part.
- Authorization issued by CEO in case of an authorized signatory. In the case of an overseas entity, details of the Indian Representative.
- Original Test report granted by the BIS certified lab
Conclusion
Owing to myriad conditions, availing BIS certification for an electronic product could be a daunting affair for the OEMs and manufacturers. That is why it is advisable to indulge in the BIS certification process under the supervision of the expert’s firm. In case if you aren’t confident enough to serve this purpose, then hand over this undertaking to CorpBiz’s professional.
Read our article:Know all Documents required for BIS Registration: Complete Outlook
