Q.01

What is a quality control order in India?

A Quality Control Order (QCO) is a Gazette order made by the Central Government of India under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 16 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. It makes an Indian Standard mandatory for the goods it lists. Those goods must meet the named Indian Standard and must carry the BIS Standard Mark (the ISI Mark) under a BIS licence. Before QCOs, those standards were voluntary.

How a QCO is built (the 2019 Aniline order for chemicals and the 2023 Medical Textiles order are the examples used here):

  • Who issues it: The ministry responsible for the products issues it as an S.O. in the Gazette of India: Extraordinary, after consulting BIS. The ministry must be "of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the public interest." The Aniline order (S.O. 2792(E), 5 August 2019) came from the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals [1]. The Medical Textiles order (S.O. 4247(E), 27 September 2023) came from the Ministry of Textiles [2].
  • Core obligation ("Compulsory use of Standard Mark"): The listed goods "shall conform to the corresponding Indian Standard" and "shall bear the Standard Mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards." The licence is granted under Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 [1].
  • Product table: Each order has a table pairing each product with its IS number. For example, Aniline is tied to IS 2833 : 1973 [1], and sanitary napkins to IS 5405:2019 [2].
  • Start date: The order sets when it takes effect, and this can differ by product or company size:
    • The Aniline order applies from the 181st day after Gazette publication [1].
    • The Medical Textiles order sets dates item by item. For sanitary napkins it is 1 April 2024 generally and 1 October 2024 for Small & Micro Enterprises [2].
  • Exemptions: Both orders exclude goods meant for export. In the Aniline order the export goods must meet the foreign buyer's specification [1]. The Medical Textiles order also exempts Schedule A items made by Self Help Groups [2].
  • Certification and enforcement: BIS certifies and enforces. The Aniline order also makes the State Government's District Industries Centre an enforcing authority [1].
  • Penalty: Anyone who breaks the order "shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016" [2].

In short, a QCO turns an Indian Standard into a market-entry requirement. If you are a manufacturer, including one outside India supplying the Indian market, you need a BIS licence and the ISI Mark for each listed product from its start date. The only exceptions are the ones written into that specific order.

Approach: I read the Gazette texts of QCOs held in the BIS records for chemicals and for textiles, footwear and toys. I did not open the BIS Act, 2016 itself, so its penalty amounts and the text of section 16 are not given here.

Q.02

How do I check whether my chemical needs BIS certification?

How to check: BIS certification is compulsory for a chemical only when a Quality Control Order names it. So the check is to match your product against the product tables in the chemical QCOs, then confirm that BIS has not since rescinded, withdrawn or suspended the order. BIS's records hold 60 products in its chemicals, fertilizers, polymers and textiles group. For 35 of them, BIS lists a later notification that rescinds, withdraws or suspends the order. That leaves 25 with no such notification listed.

Step-by-step check

  1. Match the product and grade to an Indian Standard. Each QCO links a product to one specific IS. For example, Caustic Soda is tied to IS 252:2013 [3], and Phosphorous Pentachloride, Technical to IS 11744:1986 [4]. If the order is limited to a grade (technical, anhydrous, analytical reagent), check that the standard covers your grade.
  2. Read the obligation in the order. Listed goods "shall conform to the corresponding Indian Standard" and "shall bear the Standard Mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards as per Scheme-I of Schedule-II of BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018" [1].
  3. Check for exemptions. In the Aniline order, the order does not apply to goods "meant for export, which conform to the specification required by the foreign buyer" [1]. Other orders can set their own carve-outs and start dates, so read the order for your product.
  4. Check the order's later history. This step decides most cases now. Many chemical QCOs were amended several times to push back their start dates, and later rescinded or withdrawn:
    • Withdrawn (23 July 2025): Acetic Acid (S.O. 3378(E)) [5], Aniline (S.O. 3380(E)) [1] and Methanol (S.O. 3379(E)) [6].
    • Rescinded (October to December 2025): 31 more, including Acrylonitrile, Styrene, Toluene, Pyridine, Vinyl Chloride Monomer, the polyethylene and polyester orders, and the fatty-acid orders. For example, Toluene was rescinded by S.O. 5528(E) of 1 December 2025 [7].
    • Suspended: Linear Alkyl Benzene, by S.O. 3456(E) of 25 June 2026 [8].

The 25 entries with no rescission, withdrawal or suspension listed:

ProductIndian Standard
1,3 PhenylenediamineIS 17450:2020
3(N,N-DiEthyl) AminophenolIS 7686:2020
AcetoneIS 170:2004
Boric AcidIS 10116:2015
Caustic SodaIS 252:2013
EtherIS 336:1973
Gamma PicolineIS 16113:2013
Methylene ChlorideIS 4566:2020
MorpholineIS 12084:2018
n-Butyl AcrylateIS 14709:1999
Phosphorous Oxychloride, TechnicalIS 11657:1986
Phosphorous Pentachloride, TechnicalIS 11744:1986
Phosphorous TrichlorideIS 4581:1978
Poly Aluminium ChlorideIS 15573
Potassium Carbonate, AnhydrousIS 7129:1992
Precipitated Barium Carbonate, TechnicalIS 3205:1984
Precipitated Barium for Ceramic and Glass IndustryIS 12928:1990
Red PhosphorusIS 2012:2006
Rubberseed Fatty AcidsIS 12124:1987
Sodium Formaldehyde SulphoxylateIS 4505:2015
Sodium Sulphide, TechnicalIS 297:2001
Phthalic Anhydride, TechnicalIS 5158:1987
Stabilized Hydrogen PeroxideIS 2080:2021
Styrene-Butadiene Rubber LatexIS 11356:2020
Synthetic Micro-Fibres for Cement Based MatrixIS 16481:2016

The panel document has all 60 entries with their full amendment histories and a source citation for each. Two entries need a closer look:

  • Rubberseed Fatty Acids comes from the same S.O. 1961(E) order as the other fatty acids. BIS lists rescissions for those, but no later events for Rubberseed [9]. That record may be incomplete, so I would treat its status as unsettled.
  • n-Butyl Acrylate has its own 2020 order with no rescission listed [10]. It is also named in the combined Methyl/Ethyl/n-Butyl Acrylate order, which was rescinded by S.O. 5529(E) of 1 December 2025 [11]. Its status is unsettled for the same reason.

If your chemical is not in the list, I found no QCO record for it in the BIS chemicals group. If you send me the name, CAS number or the IS you make it to, I can search for it directly.

Approach: I went through all 60 products in BIS's Scheme-I (ISI Mark) list of compulsory QCOs for chemicals, fertilizers, polymers and textiles, including each order's history of amendments, rescissions and withdrawals as BIS lists it. I read the full Gazette text only for the Aniline order. Each product's status above comes from BIS's own list of events against its order.

Q.03