Of everything that goes wrong with a first import, this is the one that costs the most. Duty you can pay. A missing certification you cannot pay your way past.
What BIS and CRS mean
The Bureau of Indian Standards runs the certification regime for products sold in India. Under the Compulsory Registration Scheme, listed categories may not be imported or sold unless the manufacturer is registered and the goods carry the correct marking.
Related requirements sit alongside it depending on the product — WPC or ETA approval for wireless devices, extended producer responsibility registration for electronics and plastics, and category-specific approvals for food, cosmetics, toys and medical devices.
Why it has to be settled before you order
Registration belongs to the foreign manufacturer, not to you as the importer. You cannot obtain it after the goods arrive, and you cannot obtain it on the factory’s behalf in the time a consignment will sit at a port.
So the question to ask a supplier is not “is this good quality” but “are you BIS registered for this product, and can you send the certificate”. If the answer is vague, that is the answer.
What happens when it is missing
- The consignment is detained at clearance rather than released.
- Demurrage and detention accrue daily while it sits, and those are yours to pay.
- The realistic outcomes are re-export at your cost, or abandonment. Neither is cheap.
How we handle it
We check the requirement from the HS code at the enquiry stage — before your money leaves the country — and we tell you plainly if a category needs registration your supplier does not hold. Sometimes that means telling you not to place the order. That is a better conversation than the one at the port.