The government will table the amendments to the BIS Act in the next Parliamentary session to bring more products under the mandatory standards regime, Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, told newspersons here on Thursday. It is amending both the BIS Act and the Consumer Protection Act, he said.
On Wednesday, there was a meeting with the Finance Minister and the Group of Ministers on this, Paswan added.
A Central consumer protection authority has also been proposed to investigate unfair trade practices and order recall or replacement of defective products, he said.
Quality and standards should become the hallmark of consumer services and products to give impetus to the Centre’s Make in India programme, Paswan noted. Under the WTO, standard goods can be imported if similar domestic goods are also covered under the relevant standards.
The amendments will provide for manufacturers to comply with orders to recall non-conforming products and also make it mandatory to repair or replace such products, providing compensation to the consumer. At present, there are 92 items that are under mandatory standards and plans are on to bring more products under the system.
Paswan said a mobile app will be launched soon to enable consumers to verify the genuineness of BIS marked products.