Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard body of India, Under the BIS-CRS Labelling Scheme (78 product categories mandatory as of date) all products must get BIS approval before doing business in India as it ensures quality, safety and trust of the product. 

A smart buyer must check and verify the BIS-CRS label before purchasing an electronic or any other type of good/product from the market or e-commerce website. 

Maybe you have seen the BIS-CRS logo in many products in the market and have no idea about it and why it is important, then this article is for you. 

 What is BIS-CRS? 

BIS regulates the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) 2012 as per Scheme-II. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) introduced this scheme for manufacturers to obtain a BIS-CRS registration certificate for their electronic and IT products before launching them in India.

The objective is to provide standardised goods to the Indian public that comply with the required quality levels by issuing BIS certification.

Initially, the scheme covered 15 product categories. However, with the introduction of new products, the scheme now covers 79 products under different Indian Standards, as per a recent notification.

(List of products covered under the BIS-CRS Label Scheme.)

In this order, no manufacturer or store for sale shall sell, import or distribute goods that do not conform to the Indian Standard specified in the order and do not bear the Standard Mark with a unique registration number. 

Also, the BIS CRS Registration Certificate will be valid for two years and can be renewed if neither the product nor the standard changes.

What is a Standard Mark? 

A standard mark indicates that a product, article, process, system, or service conforms to an Indian Standard or to a standard whose mark has been established, adopted, or recognized by the Bureau. 

It is visible on the article or goods as a standard mark or on the label or covers attached to such products. 

BIS-CRS Standard Mark for Self-Declaration

The CRS scheme of BIS is a self-declaration of conformity by the manufacturers. The upper half of the logo denotes “SELF” and the lower half denotes “DECLARATION”.

Till December 2015 there was no logo for self-declaration of conformity (SDoC) products, so manufacturers were using the statement “Self-Declaration of Conforming to IS xxxxxx-x with R-xxxxxxxx”. 

But in December 2015, BIS launched a Standard mark for self-declaration. 

Note: The provision “Self-Declaration of Conforming to ISI” is no longer in practice.

Only the use of a “standard mark” with a unique R-number, IS, and website reference should be visible to the naked eye.  

For more details, you can check out the official notification issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

 Labelling Requirements According to Para 6 of Scheme II 

1. The Standard mark must be displayed on the Product or Package or both. Which is to be easily visible, legible, and non-removable.

2. IS No., unique registration number and display of words should be not less than Arial Font size 6. 

3. The standard mark should be displayed as a single colour or multi-colour as per the following image & for multi-colour standard marks, the colour must be Red, Blue and black.

For single-colour standard marks, there is no restriction on the choice of colour. 

4. The Standard mark should carry the Registration number, and IS & BIS website reference as per the following image. 

Guideline for E-labeling under BIS-CRS Scheme

If the product is e-labelled with a link to a BIS website, the labelling must still bear the mark.

The e-labeling shall apply to the type of products having integrated (non-removable) displays and shall not be mandatory for the e-labeling products. 

It will be the option of the manufacturer whether to use a physical label or an e-label. 

Following are the E- labelling requirements:  

1. Devices that use e-labels must have a physical label on the packaging of the product. For devices not packaged in bulk and individually, a removable adhesive label on the packaging is acceptable. 

2. To access the e-label, the devices will not require accessories (like SIM/USIM). 

3. The compliance information will be programmed by the party responsible, and the information will be protected in such a way that it cannot be modified by third parties.

4. Also, the responsible party must provide instructions in the user manual on how to access the information so that users can access it easily without any codes. 

Common Mistakes Done by Manufacturers while Using BIS-CRS Label

The following are some examples of often-seen incorrect use of standard marks on products: 

The correct way of using BIS-CRS Label 

The below picture shows the correct way of using the standard mark. 

VINCULAR: Your Trusted Compliance Partner

As India’s leading regulatory compliance firm, VINCULAR is the one-stop solution for all your compliance needs. Our experts will assist you throughout the entire registration process for obtaining the BIS-CRS Registration Certificate.   

Also, Our services extend beyond to BIS-CRS; we also aid in acquiring licenses and certificates for WPC, CDSCO, BEE and so on.