The government has agreed to consider delaying the implementation of the Quality Control Order (QCO) for electrical appliances, following demands from the industry.
The request was raised during a stakeholder meeting convened by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) on Thursday, which brought together various associations representing manufacturers of electrical appliances.
The meeting focused on challenges faced by the industry in implementing the horizontal QCO on the “Safety of Household, Commercial and Similar Electrical Appliances,” which was notified by the DPIIT on September 20, 2024.
The horizontal QCO sets uniform quality standards across a broad category of products, rather than targeting individual product types. It creates a baseline requirement that all appliances within the defined category must meet.
Industry representatives urged the government to allow more time to comply with the standards as they feel that not enough time is available for obtaining Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for both domestic and foreign manufacturers. Concerns were also raised about the lack of of product manuals and test labs all 85 appliances included in the illustrative list and lack of certification by domestic manufacturers as well as foreign manufacturers.
Manufacturers also stated that ambiguity regarding the inclusion of DC-supplied and battery-operated appliances under the QCO. The order applies to both domestically manufactured and imported products.
The meeting, presided over by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, also saw the industry call for a phased implementation of QCOs. “They requested for notifying QCOs on finished goods first, followed by QCOs on components and raw materials, considering the complexity of global supply chains,” the statement said.
The meeting saw the participation of representatives from leading industry players and associations like CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CEAMA, RAMA, ICEA, IFMA, SMTA as well as officials of BIS.