A senior official at Bureau of Indian Standards confirmed industries including automotive, electronics and steel have requested the rescinding of QCOs, which make BIS certification mandatory to manufacture, import and distribute hundreds of products, components and raw materials.
The move would help develop alternative sourcing hubs such as China, from where imports remain largely restricted, offering a potential lifeline for sectors strained by the supply squeeze amid disruptions in key shipping routes to the West.
“The government is evaluating requests from several industries affected by the shortage in supplies,” the official informed, adding that a final decision could be taken shortly.
Firms across industries urge the govt to ease QCOs for diversified sourcing of raw materials
The Centre this month offered an early indication of this change in stance, deferring quality control curbs on specified wrought aluminium products used across general engineering, electricals and utensils.
In a notification on March 11, the government granted all enterprise categories an additional 14 months to achieve BIS norms compliance for these products.
Auto parts makers have urged the government to relax QCOs on certain types of specialty steel used to make rings for pistons in engines among others, while electronic manufacturers have sought additional time to comply with QCOs on AC compressors.
The deadline for complying with the QCO for 2-tonne capacity and above compressors ended last month while the one on the more popular 1.5-tonne capacity expires next month. The industry has said if it’s not approved, local production of ACs will take a hit as over half of all compressors used are imported, mainly from China.
Blue Star managing director B Thiagarajan said an industry representation has been made to the government, which is considering the request since even now imports account for over 50% of total air conditioner compressor requirement. “There is a need for (relaxation in) QCO approval at least till 2028 by which time domestic capacity will be fully ready,” he said.
Last year, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had allowed QCO exemption on AC compressors of two tonnes and above till February 10, 2026 and the remaining models till April 17, 2026.
“QCOs were invoked to encourage local manufacturing by restricting imports from countries with competitive pricing,” a senior automotive industry executive said. “However, now because of the crisis in West Asia, shipping routes have got affected, creating scarcity of some raw materials in the market. China could be an alternative, but the government would have to ease quality control curbs to allow for imports.”
The executive, who did not wish to be identified, said there is a shortage in supply of key inputs like aluminium scrap, carbon black, petrochemicals like polypropylene and synthetic rubber, among others, in the local market.
Electronics contract manufacturer Epack Durable’s chief executive officer Ajay DD Singhania said the industry has been facing multiple disruptions and challenges in the last 3-4 years, including notification of QCOs and revision in energy rating norms for appliances.
“These disrupt the industry. For every upgrade in regulation, an investment is required. At a time when there is a lot of uncertainty in trade, exemptions in QCOs will help the industry overall,” he said.
As of early 2026, India has notified about 190 QCOs covering more than 770 products across sectors such as steel, electronics, chemicals and textiles. The Centre has revised/withdrawn a handful of these curbs on commodities like chemicals, textile, machinery in the past few months.