The Indian government should withdraw the mandatory quality control order (QCO) on steel fasteners as its implementation will severely disrupt industrial supply chains and create unnecessary regulatory roadblocks, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), an independent economic think-tank, said in a statement on Tuesday, March 18.
GTRI said that the certification process of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as mandated under the QCO has not been undergone by any foreign or domestic manufacturer and will bring imports to a complete standstill from March 20, 2025.
The QCO for steel fasteners was notified by the government in September 2024 and scheduled to come into effect from March 20, 2025.
Under the QCO, no products, in this case steel fasteners, will be permitted to be manufactured, stored, traded or sold without a quality certification from the BIS. In the case of imports, importers or overseas sellers would need to secure a quality certification from the standards organisation, which would be issued only after a physical inspection of the manufacturing facility overseas.
Violation of a QCO is liable to attract financial penalties as well as imprisonment.