ISI Mark Registration: How to obtain it in India

The acronym ISI stands for the Indian Standards Institutions. This mark denotes the Indian Standards, which are obligatory for all the manufacturer of tangible products to adhere to these standards. This unique ISI (Indian Standards Institution) mark comprises of 7 to 10 digits, and this mark is allocated to each product that is manufactured. Further, the ISI mark acts as a certificate for the goods sold in India.

Further, by obtaining ISI mark registration, the manufacturer offers a sense of assurance to the customers regarding the safety and quality of the product. In India, many products are being used daily carries ISI mark on its, but still, the people consuming that product does not know what the mark means.

The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) issues the ISI (Indian Standards Institution) registration to those companies which are manufacturing the products for selling. Further, the ISI mark registration is compulsory for all the certified products sold in India. Furthermore, there are some products like industrial items, electrical appliances which cannot be sold in India without bearing ISI mark. Any product bearing the ISI mark signifies that the concerned product is of good quality as per the prescribed standards and also safe to use for the consumers. Hence, the products which do not bear the ISI mark are not eligible to be sold in India. Lastly, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) with effect from September 2012 had made it compulsory for the steel products to obtain ISI mark registration.

The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) makes it compulsory to obtain ISI registration. Following are the main objects behind obtaining registration:

1. o increase the level of trust in the customer while he or she is buying the goods.
2. To protect customers health and provide them with safety
3. To lay down the quality standards of goods for consumer usage.

As per the rules and regulations prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), certain products must obtain ISI certification. List of those products is given below:

1. Steel Products
2. Cement
3. Food Products
4. Electric Stoves
5. Milk Powder
6. Electric Iron
7. LPG
8. Glass Feeding Bottles
9. Plastic feeding bottles
10. Batteries
11. Automobile Accessories
12. Steel Products
13. Capacitors
14. Chemicals and fertilizers
15. Kitchen appliances

As per the notification issued by the Government of India and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard), it is compulsory for the manufacturer of certain products which are sold in India to obtain the ISI mark registration. Further, the products which need the compulsory ISI mark registration include industrial items as well as the electrical appliances. However, from September 2012 onwards, government had made the registration for ISI mark compulsory for the certified steel products and steel items.

Following are the advantages of ISI mark in India:

1. It helps in increasing the level of consumer satisfaction.
2. In case the customer is unsatisfied with the quality of the product, then the concerned company selling the product will replace the product with a fresh new one.
3. The ISI mark makes it possible for the company to assure its customers the best quality of their product.
4. If in case any customer discovers about the bad quality of the product bearing ISI mark, then the concerned customer can take legal action against the product’s manufacturer.
5. It helps both the product manufacturers and owners to increase and grow their business.

Following are the required documents for ISI registration in India:

1. Company’s Registration certificate
2. Receipt of Property tax
3. Insurance policy
4. Rent agreement, if any
5. Telephone bill
6. Electricity bill
7. Bank statement
8. Copy of the Aadhar card of the company’s directors
9. Copy of the Voter ID card of the company’s directors
10. Copy of the Driving License of the company’s directors
11. Copy of the test reports
12. List of machinery used for Manufacturing

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had prescribed two ways of obtaining ISI registration in India

• Normal Registration Procedure:

1. In this Registration Process, the applicant is required to fill the online registration form.
2. Now, the next step for the applicant is to choose the product quality from the available option. The options of the product qualities are prescribed by the (BIS) Bureau of Indian Standard.
3. It is significant to note for the applicant that he is required to attach the prescribed fee and needed documents together with the application form. After that, the concerned application will be submitted in the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) office.
4. After the submission of the online application form, the authorized officers will visit the applicant’s factory for inspecting his manufacturing process.
5. Further, the authorized officers will collect the product’s sample and then send it to any of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) approved Laboratories for testing.
6. If the product sent for testing qualifies the testing process, then the applicant becomes eligible to get the ISI mark certification for that product.

• Simplified Registration Procedure:

1. The simplified registration procedure is another type of procedure prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to get the ISI mark registration.
2. In this procedure, it is obligatory for the applicant to take the product sample on his own to any of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) approved laboratory for testing.
3. After that, the Applicant is required to attach the registration application and the documents needed together with the Product’s sample.
4. If the authorized officer finds that the test reports are satisfactory in nature, then the Bureau of Indian Standards will grant the ISI mark certification for the product to the concerned applicant.

After discussing the type of procedure available for the ISI mark registration, the following are the generalized steps involved in the procedure for ISI registration:

1. Choose the Product Code: Firstly, the applicant is needed to choose from the available food quality declared by the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). Thereafter pick the ISI standard code for the product.
2. Filing the Application Form: After selecting the ISI standard code for the product, the next step is to fill the online application form in FORM-V. Thereafter, the applicant is supposed to annex all the required documents and records with the application form. Further, to complete this stage, the applicant is required to pay the prescribed fees along with the application form and documents. The fee prescribed is required for the certification and factory premise inspection.
3. Inspection of the Factory Premise: After the successful submission of the application form, the authorized inspection team together with the officers authorized by the government will visit the factory premise to inspect it and also to check quality control process. Lastly, the inspection team, together with the authorized officers, will collect the product sample and send it for the testing to the approved BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) Labs.
4. Collect the Test Report: After successful testing is done, the applicant is required to collect the test report, and thereafter submit the same to the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards).
5. Issuance of the certificate for the ISI Registration: After the completion of every step along with the proper completion of verification of the test reports, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will issue a certificate for registration to the applicant for his qualified product. Lastly, the whole procedure of issuing the certificate of ISI registration takes around. 30 days. The license or the certificate issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards is valid for a period of one year. The certificate issued is eligible for the renewal after the expiry of one year. Further, for the process of renewal, the applicant must file an online renewal application which is duly certified by the Practicing Charted Accountant.

At the time, there are chances where the concerned manufacturer tries to breach the Indian Standards or the rules and regulations set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and uses the false ISI mark on his product. Under such circumstances, the concerned manufacturer will be liable for hefty penalties together with the imprisonment. If in case, the manufacturer founds guilty of producing goods or products with a forged or falsify ISI mark. Then the concerned manufacturer has to bear a penalty of rupees fifty thousand or the imprisonment up to a year or both.