BIS certification: Govt offers 50% concession for micro enterprises, women entrepreneurs, startups

A new license involves Rs 1,000 as application fee along with an inspection fee of Rs 7,000 per man day before preliminary inspection visit by BIS. (Image source: bis.gov.in)

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: In order to encourage micro enterprises, startups, and women entrepreneurs to get their products certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Modi government on Tuesday slashed the annual minimum marking fee by 50 per cent. “The Modi government has reduced the annual minimum marking fee for startups, micro enterprises, and women entrepreneurs to certify their products,” Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted. Existing BIS license holders including micro-enterprises and women entrepreneurs will be given an additional 10 per cent concession. “This will give a boost to the Vocal for Local campaign as well,” Goyal added. BIS works to ensure uniform standards in product quality, perform product testing, and issue licenses to indicate that products are certified as per its standards.

A new license involves Rs 1,000 as application fee along with an inspection fee of Rs 7,000 per man day before preliminary inspection visit by BIS. Post BIS decision to grant the license, the applicant is required to pay an annual license fee of Rs 1000 along with the minimum marking fee specified for the product. The minimum marking fee for each product differs.

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In a virtual press conference on Tuesday by BIS Director-General Pramod Kumar Tiwari and Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs Leena Nandan, the bureau noted that the entire process of certification of licenses has been automated through the eBIS portal and a new system for automatic renewal of licenses was introduced. Further, applicants are consulted at the stage of scrutiny of the application to avoid delay in processing. As a result of these initiatives, it has been possible to dispose of more than 90 percent applications within the prescribed timeframe, Tiwari added.

Moreover, over 80 per cent products have been brought under ‘Simplified Procedure’ – launched in 2016 for its ISI-mark certification programme intended to reduce the time required for issuing the license. The license for manufacturing of these 80 products under Simplified Procedure’ is issued within one month. According to a statement by Consumer Affairs Ministry, Tiwari said that BIS has nearly 21,000 Indian Standards, and to benefit particularly the MSME sector, Indian Standards are now available free of cost and can be downloaded from the standardization portal of e-BIS.