Empowering Quality: The Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016

Every time you buy a packet of biscuits, a pressure cooker, or a piece of gold jewellery in India, there’s a good chance you’re relying on a system you may never have thought about – standardization. Who ensures that the 22-karat gold you paid for is actually 22 karats? Who certifies that the electrical cable in your home won’t be a fire hazard? The answer, in large part, is the Bureau of Indian Standards – and the legal backbone behind it is the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.

Why a new law was needed 🔗

India’s standardization framework had long been governed by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. That law served its purpose for decades but had a major limitation: it covered only goods, articles, and processes. It had no mechanism to deal with the rapidly growing services sector, digital systems, or emerging technologies. With India’s economy transforming through e-commerce, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence, a more expansive legal framework became essential.

The BIS Act, 2016 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and notified on 22nd March 2016, coming into force on 12th October 2017. It repealed the 1986 Act and established a far broader mandate – covering not just goods and articles, but also services, systems, and processes. This shift brought Indian standardization law in line with global best practices.

What the BIS Act, 2016 establishes 🔗

At its core, the Act formally constitutes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as India’s National Standards Body, functioning under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. BIS is a statutory body corporate – it can acquire property, enter into contracts, and be sued – giving it the institutional weight to operate as a credible national authority.

The Bureau is governed by a Governing Council with 25 members drawn from central and state governments, industry, scientific and research institutions, and consumer organizations. This multi-stakeholder composition ensures that standards aren’t just dictated by government or industry alone – consumer and scientific voices have a formal seat at the table.

The Central Government, under the Act, has the power to give binding policy directions to BIS, and the Government’s determination of what constitutes a “policy question” is final. In practice, this means that on matters of national priority – public health, environmental safety, or national security – the State can direct BIS to act swiftly.

Expanded scope: from goods to services and systems 🔗

One of the most significant advances of the 2016 Act over its predecessor is the inclusion of services and systems within the standardization regime. Under the old law, a software company or a healthcare service provider would fall entirely outside BIS’s purview. The new Act changes this by defining – for the first time – what constitutes a “good,” “service,” “article,” “process,” and “system,” each of which can now be brought under Indian Standards.

The Act has also identified new priority areas for standardization, including digital technologies such as Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain, as well as new and renewable energy. This future-proofing of the law reflects an understanding that standards are not static – they must evolve with technological change.

The Standard Mark and compulsory certification 🔗

The most visible symbol of the BIS system is the Standard Mark – commonly known as the ISI Mark for goods and the BIS Hallmark for precious metals. Under Section 16 of the Act, the Central Government can notify specific goods, services, or processes for mandatory certification, requiring them to carry the Standard Mark before they can be sold in the market.

This compulsory certification regime can be invoked in the public interest, for protection of human, animal, or plant health, for environmental safety, to prevent unfair trade practices, or for national security. This is a broad and deliberately flexible mandate, allowing the government to respond to emerging risks – whether that’s a substandard children’s toy or an unsafe electrical appliance.

For products where compulsory certification is not required, manufacturers can seek certification voluntarily. The presence of the ISI mark on a product is an assurance of conformity to the relevant Indian Standard, backed by BIS’s product certification scheme.

Multiple conformity assessment schemes 🔗

A practical challenge with older standardization frameworks was the one-size-fits-all approach to certification. The BIS Act, 2016 addresses this by allowing multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes, including self-declaration of conformity against a standard. This gives manufacturers – particularly smaller ones – a less burdensome path to demonstrate that their products meet Indian Standards, without necessarily going through full third-party certification for every product category.

In addition, the Central Government can appoint any authority or agency – not just BIS itself – to verify conformity of products and services and issue certificates of conformity. This decentralization of certification authority is designed to scale the system and reduce bottlenecks, particularly as India’s manufacturing and services sectors grow. Foreign manufacturers selling products in India can also obtain BIS certification through the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme, and must appoint an Authorized Indian Representative to liaise with BIS.

Hallmarking: protecting buyers of precious metals 🔗

One of the most consumer-facing aspects of the BIS Act, 2016 is its provision for mandatory hallmarking of precious metal articles. The Act defines “Hallmark” as the Standard Mark applied to a precious metal article, indicating the proportionate content of the precious metal as per the relevant Indian Standard.

Under the BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018, gold and silver jewellery are subject to hallmarking. In practice, mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery came into force on June 16, 2021, covering 14, 18, and 22-karat gold. Since then, BIS introduced a six-digit alphanumeric Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number for each hallmarked item, linking it to the purity grade, testing centre, and jeweller. This makes counterfeiting traceable and punishable.

The results have been significant. Over 40 crore gold articles have been hallmarked since 2021, and registered jewellers increased nearly six-fold following the mandate. As of late 2024, the BIS CARE app – which allows consumers to verify the authenticity of hallmarked gold jewellery using the HUID – had been downloaded over 82 lakh times. Consumers can verify jewellery purity in seconds, directly from their phones.

Product recall and liability: a new consumer safeguard 🔗

Perhaps the most impactful new provision introduced by the 2016 Act – one absent from the 1986 law – is the recall mechanism. Under the Act, if a product bears the Standard Mark but does not actually conform to the relevant Indian Standard, there is a provision for its repair or recall, including product liability. This shifts significant responsibility onto manufacturers and sellers of certified goods.

Before this provision, a consumer who bought a substandard ISI-marked product had limited recourse specifically under the BIS framework. The recall provision fills this gap and aligns Indian law with global product safety frameworks where defective certified goods must be taken off the market and affected consumers remedied. It also creates a financial incentive for manufacturers to take quality compliance seriously – not just at the point of certification, but continuously.

Penalties and enforcement 🔗

The BIS Act, 2016 substantially strengthens penal provisions compared to its predecessor. Under Section 33 of the Act, any person who misuses the Standard Mark or contravenes key provisions faces imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to ₹50,000, or both. For certain serious violations – such as improper use of the Indian Standard Mark or selling goods that are required to bear a Standard Mark but do not – the fine can extend to ₹5 lakh.

Notably, fines collected under the Act are not simply absorbed into general government revenue. The Act specifies that fines are to be used for consumer awareness, consumer protection, and promotion of quality – creating a feedback loop where enforcement directly funds education and protection initiatives. The Act also allows for compounding of offences, giving authorities some flexibility in resolving violations without protracted litigation.

BIS as a global standards participant 🔗

The BIS Act, 2016 also strengthens India’s position in international standardization. BIS is a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and represents India at the ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the World Standards Service Network (WSSN). It also functions as India’s WTO-TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) enquiry point – meaning that when foreign countries question whether India’s product standards are trade barriers, BIS is the designated point of contact.

As of January 2019, BIS had formulated over 20,000 Indian Standards across economic sectors ranging from food and chemicals to electrical equipment and construction materials. These standards don’t just protect domestic consumers – they enable Indian products to compete in international markets by demonstrating that they meet recognized quality benchmarks.

What the Act means for consumers 🔗

For an ordinary consumer in India, the BIS Act, 2016 translates into concrete protections. When you buy an ISI-marked pressure cooker, you know it has been tested against Indian Standards for safety. When you purchase hallmarked gold jewellery and scan the HUID through the BIS CARE app, you get independent third-party confirmation of what you’re paying for. When a certified product fails to meet its stated standard, the recall mechanism means you have legal recourse beyond just consumer forum complaints.

The Act also reflects a broader philosophy: that quality assurance is not a burden on trade but a foundation for it. A marketplace where consumers trust product standards is one where manufacturers compete on genuine quality – and that ultimately benefits both buyers and legitimate sellers.

What do you think? As India pushes to make silver hallmarking mandatory following the success of gold hallmarking, do you think a phased, district-by-district rollout is the most effective way to enforce such standards across a diverse country? And given that the BIS Act now covers services and systems – including digital technologies – what challenges do you foresee in setting and enforcing meaningful standards for something as fast-moving as artificial intelligence or fintech platforms?

References

1. https://www.bis.gov.in
2. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=171705
3. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/bureau-indian-standards-act-2016/
4. https://www.bis.gov.in/hallmarking-overview/?lang=en
5. https://ssrana.in/corporate-laws/consumer-laws/hallmarking-of-gold-jewellery/
6. https://openthemagazine.com/business/explained-why-india-wants-to-make-silver-hallmarking-mandatory
7. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2157?view_type=browse
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Indian_Standards