BIS License Mandatory for 24 Footwear Products from 1st July 2023

· Chappals all sorts including non-rubber covered for first time

· Geo Textiles to be covered in Oct 2023

· New Standards Text not Free on the BIS site, Allege Users

· Imports Too Must Get Licence

· Small Scale from 1 Jan 2024

· Micro from 1 July 2024

· Move to Curb Competition and Limit Consumer Choice

· Import of Raw Material Natural Rubber and Synthetic Rubber Highly Restricted

· Price Rise and Inspector Raj Feared

· 80% Cut on Testing Charges for Footwear Products under QCOs for Certified Start-Ups and Micro Industrial Units

· BIS Launches 'Public Call Facility' to make the Process of Standardisation more inclusive

Quality Control Orders (QCO) for 24 footwear products covered under the Footwear made from leather and other materials and Footwear made from all polymeric and all rubber materials will be implemented from 1st July 2023 and thereafter, a BIS Licence would be mandatory for the manufacturing, importing or selling of products under these QCOs. However, for 5 standards, which were revised recently, manufacturers, according to the revised specifications, shall be given a further six months’ time up to 1st January 2024 to comply.

The BIS DG Pramod Tiwari said in a press conference on 19 June that the standards for footwear products are developed in consultation with trade and industry bodies, consumer organisations, and representatives of various other concerned stakeholder groups to ensure quality and authenticity.

He said that to make compliance convenient for the small-scale and micro-scale industries, the implementation date would be 1st January 2024 for the former and 1st July 2024 for the latter. He also informed that test facilities have been created in two BIS labs, two Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) Labs and Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), while 11 private labs have been recognised for testing footwear. Notably, the government recently announced a 80% cut on testing charges for footwear products under the QCOs for the certified start-ups and micro industrial units.

DG, BIS also mentioned that the Ministry of Textiles had issued the Geo Textiles (Quality Control) Order, 2023, and Protective Textiles (Quality Control) Order, 2023, on 10 April 2023. He said that 19 Geo Textile products and 12 Protective Textile products are being brought under compulsory BIS certification w.e.f. 10th October 2023.

A 'Public Call Facility', the latest initiative of BIS, is a proactive measure of BIS to make the process of standardisation more inclusive. He said that modern communication technologies are being leveraged to invite viewpoints, feedback, suggestions, etc., from all the stakeholders. For this purpose, a virtual interaction platform has been created that will be open on all working days from 10:00-11:00 AM. Any person can join the 'Public Call Facility' through the VC Link - https://tinyurl.com/PublicCF.

Manak Rath will provide a feature for an online classroom that will give access to lesson plans under the Learning Science via Standards initiative, informative videos, and live classrooms delivered by experts.

Mr. Tiwari said that a section for interesting and informative articles has also been provided in Manak Rath for the continuous learning of students and mentors. Besides, students and mentors can also share their experiences with others through Manak Rath, which can be accessed through www.exchangeforum.bis.gov.in. He said that the Manak Rath also features a magnificent photo and video gallery of different activities.

The recently released BIS theme song 'Manak Geet' with music created by the DG himself was also played during the press conference.