BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units – An Overview

A Visual Display Unit (VDU) is a device that presents information, situations or events at home, work or public places. This unit may be responsible for permanent or temporary ergonomic problems depending on a number of factors related to the display & the observer. A gas plasma, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube), digital light processing, other image projection technology, or other imaging display technologies may be used in a video display device. In simple terms, The Visual Display Unit is the viewing screen. In 2018, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) released an official notification stating the Compulsory Registration requirement for the said product category under Scheme II. Any manufacturer who wants to manufacture Visual Display Units must register themselves with the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) of BIS. Because without BIS Certification or License, no manufacturer can sell or trade its products in India. Scroll down to check more details regarding BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units.

What is CRS?

CRS stands for Compulsory Registration Scheme and is operated under the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulation, 2018 (Scheme II of Schedule II), as per the BIS Act, 2016. The Scheme intends to provide momentum to the rapidly expanding sectors of Electronics and IT while simultaneously protecting Indian customers from fake & substandard products. It has improved or enhanced the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers & given Indian customers the right to enjoy world-class quality-compliant products. This strategy passed by the Government of India has helped in preventing the dumping of non-compliant products & bridging the gap between technology, people & safety.

Requirements for BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units

In India, to get BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units, the Manufacturer must fulfil the following requirements:

1. Product: If a manufacturer is manufacturing more than a single product, then he or she must apply for a separate license for each product category.
2. Manufacturer: The most important thing is that BIS License or Certification is only granted to the Manufacturer and this License is not granted to importers or sellers. The importer may act as an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) of a Foreign Manufacturer & can submit the application to BIS. But, the final BIS License is only issued to the Manufacturer of the product.
3. Manufacturing Address: The BIS License is issued to the Manufacturer for a particular manufacturing site address. If the address of the Manufacturer changes, then he or she needs to apply for a new BIS License. Or in case the Manufacturer has one/more manufacturing addresses for the manufacturing of the same product, then separate BIS Licenses are applied.
4. Brand: If a manufacturer manufactures the same product for more than one brand, the applicant must apply for a separate BIS License. For instance, if a manufacturer is manufacturing a product for Brand X and Brand Y, then the Manufacturer has to apply for 2 separate licenses with the Department.

Documents Required for BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units in India

Following are some crucial documents required for BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units in India:

1. Duly-filled application form;
2. Marking labels or details of marking on the Visual Display Units;
3. Business License of Manufacturing Unit;
4. Completely filled CDF or CCL Form;
5. Trademark Registration Certificate;
6. ISO Certificate of the Manufacturer;
7. The scope of Business License;
8. Nomination Letter of AIR;
9. Technical specification sheet or product manual of the applied device;
10. Photo ID of AIR or Authorised Signatory;
11. Trademark Authorisation Letter (in case of Trademark is owned by other than the Manufacturer).

Important Points to Know Before Obtaining BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units

Following are some vital points to know before getting BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units:

1. All documents, as mentioned above, should be signed by the brand owner, Manufacturer and Indian Representative (in case of Foreign  Manufacturer), and additional documents should be notarised & stamped by the Indian Representative and Indian Representative;
2. All the vital documents shall be ready before the testing of the sample;
3. Another crucial point you should consider while choosing a lab for product testing is that the License of the lab should be valid and not suspended and at that time lab shall not be in the middle of/about to get audited;
4. Select a BIS-certified testing organisation & an experienced compliance partner until you have the expertise and/or office in India that can help you;
5. In CDF (Construction Data Form) product details shall be filled correctly & in CCL (Critical Component List), product components details should be filed in a brief & accurate way;
6. Also, remember that the test report is valid for 90 days or 3 months, before its expiry test report should be submitted to BIS. In case you are not able to submit the report to BIS, then you have to submit the new sample again for testing.

Procedure for Obtaining BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units

Following is the step-by-step procedure for obtaining BIS CRS Certification for Visual Display Units:

• Procedure for Indian Manufacturers:

1. First, the Manufacturer needs to file the application correctly and submit it along with the required documents.
2. After submitting the application and documents, then it will be sent to BIS for examination and after examination, an inspection will be conducted by the BIS Officers and they will perform a physical assessment & samples of the products will be collected.
3. Then the collected samples will go for testing in a BIS-certified lab and a detailed report of the inspection and product sample is drafted by the BIS Officer.
4. If all the standards have complied with BIS, then the authority will issue BIS CRS Certificate.

• Procedure for Foreign Manufacturers:

1. In this procedure, the Foreign Manufacturer need to appoint or nominate an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR^[1]).
2. Then, they need to correctly fill out the application form and submit it along with all the vital documents.
3. After that, a product sample will be collected for the test in a BIS-certified lab.
4. Then the test report of samples generated from the inspection conducted by the BIS Officers and submit it to BIS without tampering.
5. If all the documents and test reports of a product are satisfactory, then the BIS CRS Registration Certificate is granted.

Instructions for Appointing Authorised Indian Representative (AIR)

Following are some important instructions for appointing AIR:

1. If the Foreign Manufacturer has a liaison office/a branch office in India, they will be designated as an Authorised Indian Representative;
2. If the Manufacturer does not have a liaison office located in India & there is no registered user or proprietor of the Trademark/brand shown on the product located in India, then the other entity will become the AIR;
3. If the Foreign Manufacturer does not have a liaison office or a branch office in India, but the registered user/proprietor of the brand or Trademark appearing on the product or device is located in India, the owner of the Trademark or Brand will become an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR).

Conclusion

BIS CRS Certification is vital for all the electronic products listed in the Compulsory Registration Scheme. All manufacturers (Indian or Foreign) must apply for this Registration to sell the products or import the product into India. In the Manufacturer (Foreign or Indian) sell the products without BIS Certification, then the Manufacturer would be penalised under the BIS Act.