The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has issued a press release on the importance of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for footwear and other products. This release was issued on 19th June, 2023.
QCO for the 24 footwear products covered under the Footwear made from leather and other materials and Footwear made from all polymeric and all rubber materials shall 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.
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.
Moreover, 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 an 80% cut on testing charges for footwear products under the QCOs for the certified start-ups and micro industrial units.
Furthermore, 19 Geo Textile products and 12 Protective Textile products are being brought under compulsory BIS certification w.e.f. 10th October 2023.
Additionally, 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.
