BIS compulsory registration for electronics, end to end

Two documents govern this space and they do different jobs. The order decides whether your product is caught and from when. The scheme decides how a registration is obtained, held and lost. The order for electronics and IT goods is the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021, published as S.O. 1248(E) dated 18-03-2021 and amended many times since. The scheme is Scheme II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.

What is a registration, as distinct from a licence?

Paragraph 1(1) of Scheme II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 provides that under the scheme, which is based on Type C, a licence to use or apply a Standard Mark through registration based on self-declaration of conformity may be granted by the Bureau for goods or articles manufactured in a manufacturing premises and conforming to all the requirements of the relevant Indian Standard. So a registration is a licence, obtained on a self-declaration route rather than on a factory inspection route, and it is granted against a premises and a standard.

An explanation to that sub-paragraph provides that manufacturing premises may include other premises, owned by the applicant or otherwise, where part of the manufacturing activity takes place, and includes the premises where the final manufacturing activity is carried out and where the Standard Mark is to be used or applied. A registration therefore does not travel with the brand. It stays with the factory that finishes the goods.

Which order puts your product inside the scheme?

The one issued by the line ministry for that product category. For electronics and IT goods that is the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021, published as S.O. 1248(E) dated 18-03-2021, made in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 16 read with sub-section (3) of section 25 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. The note to a recent amendment records the chain: S.O. 1353(E) dated 25-03-2021, S.O. 2844(E) dated 01-07-2021, S.O. 1929(E) dated 26-04-2023, S.O. 1652(E) dated 09-04-2024, S.O. 4378(E) dated 09-10-2024, S.O. 1363(E) dated 20-03-2025, S.O. 4362(E) dated 22-09-2025, S.O. 4997(E) dated 29-10-2025, S.O. 352(E) dated 22-01-2026 and S.O. 1246(E) dated 10-03-2026.

How those commencement dates work, how staggered dates for small and micro enterprises are read, and how a superseding order resets a schedule are all set out in quality control orders, the transition route and its dates, which reads one order clause by clause. This guide takes the registration itself.

Who holds the registration, and who signs?

The manufacturer, always. Paragraph 3(1)(c) of Scheme II provides that a manufacturer may apply for grant of licence through registration based on self-declaration of conformity separately for each product in Form I, and paragraph 3(1)(d) provides that a separate application shall be made for each brand-name unless the brand-name owner is the same. An importer cannot hold the registration for a factory it does not operate, which is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this area.

Where the factory is abroad, paragraph 3(1)(g) provides that an Indian representative is to be nominated in Form IV, and that the nominated Indian representative shall submit an affidavit as per Form III A, B or C, as applicable, to ensure conformity to sub-sections (6) and (7) of section 18 and section 31 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. Paragraph 3(1)(f) requires the same affidavit from the manufacturer. Those affidavits are the mechanism that puts a person inside India behind an overseas registration.

What does the registration rest on?

One test report from a laboratory the Bureau recognises. Paragraph 3(1)(e) of Scheme II provides that the manufacturer shall ensure that the product has been tested for conformity against all the requirements of the Indian Standard, submit an undertaking in Form II, and submit a test report issued by a third party laboratory as per the sampling guidelines available for that product. Paragraph 2(1) defines third party laboratory as one established, maintained or recognised by the Bureau, or a Government laboratory empanelled by the Bureau, or any other laboratory decided by the Executive Committee of the Bureau.

Paragraph 3(1)(a) puts the identification work on the applicant before any of that: the manufacturer identifies the Indian Standard applicable to the product, confirms the manufacturing and testing capabilities are available, and identifies the model numbers and brand-name to be used. Paragraph 3(1)(b) requires the applicant to ascertain, from the intended scope of the licence and the sampling guidelines, the minimum number of samples required for testing.

What does it cost?

Paragraph 5 of Scheme II states the figures. The application fee, the annual licence fee and the renewal application fee are Rs 1,000 each. The processing fee is Rs 50,000 per application for grant of licence, with applications carrying more than one test report charged an additional Rs 20,000 for each additional test report, payable in advance. Renewal carries a processing fee of Rs 50,000, and where renewal is sought for a period of more than two years, Rs 25,000 is charged for each additional year, again in advance for the validity period.

Three more figures matter to a live registration. A concession in processing fee of twenty percent applies to micro, small and medium enterprises as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. An application for inclusion of new varieties or models, or extension of scope, is charged Rs 30,000 per application. Service requests after grant, such as a change of name, address, management, Indian representative or contact details, or the withdrawal of a model from the scope, are charged Rs 5,000 each. Paragraph 5(8) puts the cost of surveillance and complaint samples and their testing on the applicant or licensee.

How long does it last, and when do you renew?

Paragraph 8(1) of Scheme II provides that the licence to use the Standard Mark shall be granted initially for two years, and paragraph 8(2) provides that it may be renewed for a further period of not less than two years and up to five years. Paragraph 9(1) provides that an application for renewal shall be made to the Bureau in Form VI before three months of its expiration, and paragraph 9(2) provides that the Bureau shall renew the licence in Form VII.

The renewal window is the diary entry that matters, because the fee structure rewards renewing for longer while the application deadline stays fixed at three months out. A registration that lapses is not a paperwork problem at the port: an expired certificate at the moment of import has the same effect as no certificate, which is the argument what stops a container at the port makes about every artefact with a date on it.

What happens after grant?

Three things, and all of them can bite. Paragraph 3(6) provides for surveillance: the Bureau may draw samples from the market or in transit and send them for testing to a third party laboratory, and where a market sample cannot be drawn, samples may be drawn from the despatch point. Paragraph 11(1) requires the licensee, on its own, to suspend use of the Standard Mark under intimation to the Bureau if at any time there is difficulty in maintaining conformity of the product to the Indian Standard, and paragraph 11(3) requires the same on relocation of the manufacturing unit to a new address.

Paragraph 12(2) provides that if at any time the Bureau has sufficient evidence that the product bearing the Standard Mark may not be conforming to the relevant Indian Standard, it may cancel the licence after serving notice, and paragraph 12(3) provides that the licensee or his representative shall stop the supply, import and sale of the product with the Standard Mark after the date of cancellation. Marking obligations sit in paragraph 6, which requires the Standard Mark to carry the licence number and reference to the Indian Standard in a visible manner as specified in the licence.

What moves under your feet?

The schedule, quietly and often. On 05-05-2026 the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology published S.O. 2204(E), substituting the entry at serial number 50 of the Schedule to the 2021 Order as Standalone Hard Disk Drives against IS 13252: Part 1: 2010, and providing that requirements for USB type external hard disk drives continue as per existing notified provisions while, for all other standalone hard disk drives, the provisions of the Order apply with effect from 05-11-2026.

Relief moves too. A MeitY circular dated 12-03-2026 records that under S.O. 1246(E) dated 10-03-2026, Highly Specialized Equipment meeting specified criteria may be granted exemption from the application of the Order on a specific exemption issued by the Ministry, subject to the equipment being manufactured or imported in less than 100 units per model per year and satisfying defined technical requirements, that the provision comes into force with effect from 15-06-2026, and that customs authorities shall allow import of such equipment only on the basis of exemption letters issued by MeitY through the ICEGATE portal.

Purser keeps these artefacts against the specific line and model on a purchase order, with the commencement dates of the orders that touch your own tariff lines, so a schedule entry that changes in six months is a question raised at the order rather than a discovery at the port. Purser never submits to a government portal, and it never sends an outbound message without a recorded human approval event. It does not obtain a registration and it does not replace the customs broker.

Where to go from here

Registration is one half of the question. The other half is when the order that catches your product actually starts to bite.

• The transition mechanics. Quality control orders, the transition route and its dates reads commencement dates, staggered enterprise dates and supersession clause by clause.
• The wireless gate on the same goods. WPC equipment type approval for wireless goods covers the approval most electronics also need.
• The survey of what blocks a consignment. What stops a container at the port sets certification against trade remedy and origin.
• Where validity sits on the calendar. The EXIM compliance calendar lists the obligations carrying a validity rather than a fixed date.

Frequently asked questions

Who holds a BIS compulsory registration, the manufacturer or the importer?

The manufacturer. Paragraph 3(1)(c) of Scheme II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 provides that a manufacturer may apply for grant of licence through registration based on self-declaration of conformity separately for each product, and paragraph 1(1) grants the licence for goods manufactured in a manufacturing premises. Where the manufacturer is overseas, paragraph 3(1)(g) requires an Indian representative to be nominated in Form IV, who must also submit an affidavit in Form III A, B or C as applicable.

How long is a BIS registration valid, and when must renewal be applied for?

Two years initially. Paragraph 8(1) of Scheme II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 provides that the licence to use the Standard Mark shall be granted initially for two years, and paragraph 8(2) provides that it may be renewed for a further period of not less than two years and up to five years. Paragraph 9(1) provides that the application for renewal shall be made in Form VI before three months of its expiration.

What test report does a BIS registration require?

One from a third party laboratory. Paragraph 3(1)(e) of Scheme II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 provides that the manufacturer shall ensure the product has been tested for conformity against all the requirements of the Indian Standard and shall submit a test report issued by a third party laboratory as per the sampling guidelines available for that product, together with an undertaking in Form II. Paragraph 2(1) defines a third party laboratory as one established, maintained or recognised by the Bureau, a Government laboratory empanelled by the Bureau, or any other laboratory decided by its Executive Committee.

Which order notifies compulsory registration for electronics in India?

The Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021, published as S.O. 1248(E) dated 18-03-2021 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, made under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 16 read with sub-section (3) of section 25 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. It has been amended repeatedly, most recently in the chain recorded in S.O. 2204(E) dated 05-05-2026, so the schedule in force has to be read as at the date of the consignment.

Is there an exemption for specialised equipment under the 2021 Order?

Yes, on application and within a numerical limit. A circular of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology dated 12-03-2026 records that under S.O. 1246(E) dated 10-03-2026, Highly Specialized Equipment meeting specified criteria may be granted exemption from the application of the Order on a specific exemption issued by the Ministry, subject to being manufactured or imported in less than 100 units per model per year and satisfying defined technical requirements, with effect from 15-06-2026, and that customs authorities shall allow import only on the basis of exemption letters issued through the ICEGATE portal.