A new labelling amendment by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has sent IT hardware importers into a tizzy as they fear it will impact the supply of products. They are now seeking at least six months extension to the April 4 deadline to comply with the regulations.
Revised labelling rules
On March 25, BIS had uploaded an amended circular on its Web site that mandated companies to screen-print, emboss or engrave labels on products and packaging material. The revised labelling rules also mandate font size of the letters (12 or one-fourth the size of the brand name or whichever is lower).
Where the one-fourth font size of the statement is less than 6, in such cases it shall be a minimum of font size 6, the regulation stated.
“This is extremely ambiguous and the regulation, which was created to stop the import of low-quality products and keeping customer interests in mind, has lost its purpose,” Alok Bharadwaj, past president of Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT), said.
One issue is that of the short deadline, which cannot be met. Further, this is in contrast to the earlier labeling requirements specified by BIS, which mentioned stickers. Also, the size requirements may be impractical particularly for smaller products, he added.
“There will be chaos in the market due to shortage of IT products, if this notification is not withdrawn,” said Bharadwaj, who is also the Executive Vice-President at Canon India.
Compliance with BIS certification
The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) had mandated that all imported electronic goods should comply with the BIS certification with an intention to regulate the flow of sub-standard electronic products into the country, some of which were also safety hazards.
The goods were listed under 15 items, ranging from laptops to tablets and TV sets to microwave ovens. Printers, scanners, set top boxes and wireless keyboards also find a place on the list.
Six months extension
The industry now wants BIS to extend the deadline by another six months, and more importantly to have a consultation with the industry.
“There is not enough time,” concurs S. Rajendran, chief marketing officer at Acer India.
“Additionally, it is impractical as the engraving tools have to be changed to suit this requirement. This is difficult as these products are manufactured in factories that cater to global requirements,” Rajendran said, adding that the cost also would rise “considerably”.
With the deadline barely a day away, the industry is kept its fingers crossed.