Govt to Extend Quality Certification Fee Concessions For Small Firms By Three Years

The government is set to extend quality certification fee concessions by three years beyond the current mid-2026 deadline to support small and medium enterprises, a senior official said on Tuesday, as India pushes a quality-first approach to manufacturing.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has moved a proposal for the extension, which provides 80 per cent fee reduction for micro units, 50 per cent for small enterprises and 20 per cent for medium-sized firms.

"Very recently we have moved a proposal, it is likely to fructify... this concession would be available for the next three years," said Bharat Khera, additional secretary in the Consumer Affairs Ministry, at a PHD Chamber of Commerce event.

India needs to shift from compliance-driven to culture-driven quality standards to transform its Viksit Bharat manufacturing vision into reality, Khera said, warning that quality is not a compliance cost but "an enabler for market access".

The BIS has published over 23,000 standards with about 95 per cent aligned with international benchmarks, but implementation challenges persist, particularly for small and medium enterprises that account for 80 per cent of BIS licensees.

"Viksit Bharat is not just the scale of manufacturing. It's about credibility, consistency and trust in Indian products," Khera said.

BIS has issued 55,000 certification licenses, with half obtained voluntarily by manufacturers despite no regulatory mandate, indicating growing industry commitment to quality standards, according to H J S Pasricha, BIS deputy director general for certification.

Quality control orders currently cover over 700 products under mandatory certification, while another 900 products are under voluntary certification.

The government has digitised the certification platform with compliance rates reaching 96-97 per cent over the past two years for Indian manufacturers obtaining certification within 30-90 days.

BIS operates with about 1,400 staff, including 600-700 technical personnel, but relies on 15,000 industry experts working across more than 400 technical committees to develop standards.

The organisation has recognised 700 laboratories for testing, though officials acknowledged gaps remain in sectors like medical devices.

Testing infrastructure remains a challenge in sectors without mandatory standards, officials said, urging industry associations to identify specific gaps and locations where facilities are needed.

Private laboratories have emerged quickly in sectors with quality control orders due to clear business opportunities, but investment lags in other areas.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry's National Test House is assessing gaps in testing infrastructure after recent tours of industrial clusters in Rodera near Ahmedabad, Shindra in Aurangabad and Vikram Udyogpuri in Ujjain.

Officials said they are prepared to establish government-funded facilities where private sector investment is insufficient.

BIS removed the requirement for manufacturers to maintain in-house laboratories, now accepting cluster-based facilities or shared testing arrangements.

The organisation also made its quality assurance plan recommendatory rather than mandatory.

All Indian standards are now available free on the BIS website except for adopted ISO-IEC standards, which must be purchased due to membership obligations. When adopted as Indian standards, these cost about one-tenth of original ISO-IEC publications.

Officials urged manufacturers to participate actively in standard formulation and review processes, which occur on a five-year cycle.

BIS recently launched the Manak Manthan program, organising standard discussions through branch offices at state level to gather feedback from local manufacturers