Foreign manufacturer Certification scheme ( FMCS ) refers to the scheme of BIS in which product certification for ISI mark is granted for all the foreign manufacturers who want to export their products to india. This scheme was started by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 2000 and till date there are 1,300+ licensees under FMCS certification under various Indian Standards. The department concerned for FMCS is foreign manufacturer Certification Department (FMCD) and is present in the headquarter of BIS in New Delhi.
Foreign manufacturers can take FMCS certification for the products falling under mandatory or voluntary regimes.As on date over 380 products fall under the mandatory list and 1000+ products under voluntary list. Once the certification is obtained by the manufacturer, they have to mention their licence number ( or CM/L No: ) along with other standard details as mentioned in the Indian standard.
Is obtaining an ISI mark for Indian importers mandatory?
For the products falling under the mandatory list, FMCS BIS certification is mandatory, the list of products mandatory can be accessed on this link .
In case of FMCS , the foreign manufacturer has to mandatorily appoint an Authorized Indian Representative ( Also known as AIR ) who is the official representative of the firm to BIS, the following points must be checked by the manufacturer before appointing an AIR:
1. AIR must be an individual who is a resident of India.
2. Must have minimum educational background, to understand the complete procedure and documents.
3. Must be well-versed with the BIS procedure.
4. Have a proper address, as their name and address is mentioned on the certificate.
Majority of the documents required for application are from the manufacturers and and a few documents of Indian representative are required, the list of documents are as follows:
All of the above documents are required in certain formats given by BIS which are to be submitted during the application. As FMCS consultants, we at Sun Consultants and Engineers are experts for preparation of all the documents above, contact us for more details at
Email: info@sunconsultants.co.in , sunconsultantsinfo@gmail.com
Phone : +91-9958575407 , +91-9315973373
Stage-1: Submission of application to BIS in hard copy
Stage-2: The application will be scrutinized by BIS officials in-line with the Indian standard ( IS ) and then the shortcomings will be communicated.
Stage-3: Clearing of queries ( if any ) by submitting the reply to BIS.
Stage-3: Assignment of the BIS auditor for conducting audit at the manufacturing premises.
Stage-4: Finalization of audit date with mutual consent of the manufacturer
Stage-5: Conduction of audit at the manufacturing premises in foreign ( Generally for 2 days ) and sealing of verification sample by the auditor.
Stage-6: Testing of sample as per the Indian Standard at the manufacturer’s in house test lab
Stage-7: Sending of the sealed sample to selected BIS lab in India
Stage-8:Clearing of queries ( if any ) raised during the audit
Stage-9 After BIS receives the test report of the sample sent for testing, the license is granted.
Stage-10 Submission of Bank Guarantee of USD 10,000 ( As per BIS guidelines ), Indemnity bond and Agreement.
Note: 1.) Performance Bank guarantee must be issued by any bank worldwide that has a RBI approved branch in India.
2.) Time to obtain BIS certification in the case of foreign manufacturer is approximately 3 months from the date of application.
A Sample copy of BIS licence:
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Note: The BIS license legibly and clearly marks the scope in the license, mentioning the products on which you can mention the license number, Violation of the same ensures stringent actions like license being canceled.
There areprovisions of upto imprisonment in BIS regulations.
BIS license initially can be granted for 1 or 2 years, depending upon the request of the manufacturer, and it has to be renewed after that.During renewal various mandatory documents have to be submitted along with the payment of minimum marking fee and licence free. If the application is submitted after the due date, late fee is also applicable.
The requirements for e-labelling are as given below:
1.) Payment of application fee during the submission of application
2.) Payment of Audit charges after allotment of the auditor ( Eg: Man day charges, Per diem fees, Officer travel charges, etc.)
3.) Payment of Minimum marking fee and license fee before the grant of licence.
Note: All the payments have to be done by the manufacturer directly to BIS’ bank account mostly in USD or INR ( for some countries )
BIS conducts surveillance on the manufacturers to ensure that the standards are being followed as per the guidelines.This is done in 2 ways:
1. Market surveillance:
This is done twice yearly. Samples are randomly picked from market and sent to government labs for testing as per the standards, If the sample passes, no problem, but if the sample fails , the manufacturer is informed and they have to take corrective action.Subsequent failure of market sample can lead to suspension or cancellation of the licence.
2. Factory surveillance:
After obtaining the licence, there are certain formalities like maintenance of test records, regular testing of the product and so on.To keep a check that all the protocols are followed, BIS conducts random factory surveillance twice in a year to keep an eye on the manufacturer. If subsequent mistakes are observed during several visits, the license is liable to be suspended / cancelled.
From collection of documents to getting the final license is an exhaustive and tedious procedure, and requires technical know-how and experience. Being a FMCS Consultant, this is exactly where Sun Consultants and Engineers come into the picture.
With over 10 years of experience in this field and after providing assistance to numerous manufacturers and importers we can help you in smoothening of this process, by complete hand-holding solution, right from the beginning of the procedure to the grant of BIS license.
Below is the scope of work of Sun Consultants & Engineers:
To submit a bank guarantee is a standard procedure that is followed by BIS in case of FMCS, this is to ensure that the manufacturer follows the protocols whole-heartedly and maintain the license error-free.
