BEE star labelling under the Appliance Labeling and Compliance Regulations 2026: what electronics importers need to know

The BEE star label is the energy-efficiency label run by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under its Standards and Labelling programme. Since 1 January 2026 it is governed by a single set of rules: the BEE (Appliance Labeling and Compliance) Regulations, 2026, notified on 26 December 2025 under section 58 of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. They replace the earlier separate labelling regulations listed in their Schedule D^[1].

The regulations split appliances into two lists. Schedule A lists mandatory appliances, and Schedule B lists voluntary ones. For both, no BEE label may be affixed without prior written permission from the Bureau^[1].

For an electronics importer, the practical question is which list your product is on:

• Mandatory (Schedule A). Colour and UHD televisions and self-ballasted LED lamps are the main electronics on the mandatory list, along with large appliances such as refrigerators, ACs and washing machines^[1]. Every company that makes, sells or imports one must register with BEE^[1].
• Voluntary (Schedule B). Laptops, printers and other office automation products, solid-state inverters and lithium-ion traction batteries are voluntary^[1].
• Neither. Many small electronics, such as phones, earphones, power banks, chargers, routers, smartwatches and CCTV cameras, are on neither list. See the table below, or run your product through the approval checker or the HS code approval finder.

The big change is consolidation. Until the end of 2025, each appliance had its own labelling regulations. From 1 January 2026, one set of regulations covers them all, and the old ones listed in Schedule D are replaced^[1]. The new regulations also bring in QR-coded labels shown both online and offline^[1], a clear e-commerce enforcement route^[1] and a planned move to prepaid label fees from April 2027, if BEE's portal supports it^[1].

More changes are scheduled for 2027. The table lists the dated changes we could confirm.

The table brings together the BEE position for the products an electronics importer is most likely to handle. "Mandatory" means Schedule A of the 2026 Regulations; "voluntary" means Schedule B. Label fees are per unit labelled.

Most large home appliances are mandatory, most small kitchen appliances are not. The label fees below come from Schedule A and Schedule B of the 2026 Regulations and are paid per unit you label, on top of the one-time registration fees.

If you import white goods, the BEE fee is small next to the deposit and the testing. A room AC importer labelling 2,000 units in a quarter pays Rs 30 a piece^[6], which is Rs 60,000 for that quarter. A ceiling fan importer labelling the same 2,000 units pays Rs 2 a piece^[6], or Rs 4,000. Every one of these products also needs a separate BIS licence or registration, so check the product page before you budget.

Schedule A of the 2026 Regulations lists these mandatory appliances^[1]:

• refrigerators (frost-free and direct cool) and deep freezers;
• room air conditioners (fixed and variable speed, and cassette, floor-standing, ceiling and corner units), light commercial ACs and chillers;
• ceiling fans;
• storage water heaters;
• colour televisions and UHD televisions;
• washing machines;
• tubular fluorescent lamps and self-ballasted LED lamps;
• distribution transformers;
• grid-connected solar inverters;
• domestic LPG stoves.

BEE's Standards and Labelling portal lists 18 mandatory categories, ending with induction hobs marked as mandatory with effect from 1 January 2027. Induction hobs are not in Schedule A of the 2026 Regulations and are still on the voluntary list until then^[4]. We have not seen the notification that makes them mandatory.

LED lamps are changing too. Self-ballasted LED lamps are mandatory, with S.O. 4097(E) of 28 December 2017 and S.O. 2976(E) of 10 June 2026 among the notifications, and IS 16102 (Parts 1 and 2) as the reference standard^[2]. BEE has issued an advisory upgrading the LED lamp star-rating table from 1 January 2027^[3]. We have only seen the advisory's title, not the new thresholds, so ask your lab which table it will test against.

Schedule B includes laptops and notebooks, office automation products, solid-state inverters, microwave ovens, induction hobs, high-energy lithium-ion traction battery packs, EV chargers, pedestal, table and wall fans, side-by-side refrigerators, air coolers, solar PV modules, motors, pumps, DG sets and tyres^[1].

On BEE's portal these appear as numbered schedules: for example, Schedule 14 for computers (notebooks and laptops), Schedule 17 for solid-state inverters, Schedule 29 for high-energy lithium-ion batteries and Schedule 41 for EV chargers^[5].

Voluntary means you do not have to label. But if you choose to, the same permission rule applies: no label without BEE's prior written permission^[1]. Companies dealing in voluntary appliances register their company and appliances under the procedure in BEE's Operational Manual^[1]. The regulation does not state registration fees for voluntary appliances^[1].

Two points worth knowing for importers:

• The "high-energy lithium-ion battery" schedule covers traction batteries and systems, not portable packs; no BEE scheme covers portable packs, in our reading^[5].
• UPS units are not named in either schedule. We have not checked whether home inverters or UPS units fall under "Solid State Inverter"^[1].

Both can. Every company that manufactures, sells or imports a Schedule A appliance must register with BEE^[1]. Importers are named expressly.

Three registration layers stack up:

1. The company, once, with a one-time application fee of Rs 5,000^[1].
2. Each appliance category, separately, with a label security deposit^[1].
3. Each model, separately, with a model registration fee of Rs 5,000 per application^[1].

On top of that, each brand must be registered separately on the BEE Star Label portal, even when several brands belong to the same manufacturer, and appliances must be tested in BEE-recognised labs^[9].

Foreign manufacturers registering directly should know that the BEE Star Label portal is accessible from Indian IP addresses; users outside India must formally ask BEE to whitelist their IPs^[9].

The regulation lets either do it: the duty to register falls on every company that manufactures, sells or imports a Schedule A appliance^[1]. The choice is commercial, but some rules point one way or the other.

• The deposit follows the registrant. The Rs 3 lakh security deposit is paid per appliance category by the registered company and is refundable on permanently ceasing manufacture^[1]. It can be forfeited if a label non-compliance is not explained^[1]. Whoever registers carries that risk.
• Brands are registered one by one. If you import the same appliance under two brands, each brand needs its own registration^[9].
• Access from abroad needs whitelisting. A foreign factory that registers directly must ask BEE to whitelist its overseas IP addresses^[9].
• Yearly paperwork lands on the permittee. Quarterly label fees and production statements, the annual CA-certified reconciliation^[1] and the 30 April authorised-sellers list^[1] all have to be handled by whoever holds the permission.

An importer that owns the brand in India may prefer to hold the registration itself, so that a change of supplier does not interrupt sales. Others leave it with the factory. Either way, agree in writing who files the quarterly returns.

The sequence below follows the 2026 Regulations. The forms and portal screens are on the BEE Star Label portal.

Everything runs on the BEE Star Label portal, and BEE's own operating procedure for it is Version 2.0, updated on 4 February 2026 for the new regulations^[10]. Our BEE Star Label portal guide walks through each screen; the short version is below.

Company registration. Go to Login, Manufacturers, Register New Agency. Accept the disclaimer, enter company, brand and appliance details, upload the listed documents including a list of retailers in BEE's format, and submit. You get a Reference ID and a verification email^[10]. The portal treats each brand as an individual company^[10].

Paying. The registration fee and security deposit are paid under Pay Registration Fee using the Reference ID^[10]. Payments take 2 to 3 working days and show on the portal only once the bank realises them^[11], so do not pay on the last day.

Model registration. Log in with the verification code, open New Application, fill three pages of details and documents, pay the Rs 5,000 label permission fee and upload the sample label^[10]. The sample label must be a JPG, JPEG or PNG of 100 to 300 KB^[10].

Logging in. Each login asks for Agency ID, password, captcha and a verification code that is valid for three minutes^[10]. The portal is down for maintenance every Tuesday and Thursday from 16:00 to 19:00^[12].

QR codes. From the dashboard you request QR codes for an approved model, download an XML file, map each code to a unit serial number and upload the file back. One QR code cannot be mapped to more than one model^[13].

Documents. BEE's older written instructions list a trade mark certificate in the label user's name, ISO 9001 certificates for each factory, an authorised signatory letter and a BIS licence where applicable; model applications need a test report and a sample label^[14]. Those instructions date from 2014, so check the portal's current upload list before you collect papers.

BEE charges a mix of one-time fees, a refundable deposit and per-unit label fees. Lab testing is extra and paid to the lab.

Label fees are paid quarterly, within thirty days of each quarter end, with a production statement. An annual reconciliation certified by a chartered accountant is due within two months of the end of the financial year. From 1 April 2027, label fees are to be prepaid when you request QR codes; if BEE's portal has no prepaid mechanism by then, quarterly payment continues^[1]. Unpaid fees can be recovered with 10% annual interest from the security deposit^[1].

On our reading, for an importer "production" means the units you label for the Indian market. Keep a register of units labelled per model, because the quarterly statement and the annual reconciliation must agree.

BEE must finish scrutiny of applications within thirty working days. If there are discrepancies, you get up to sixty days to fix them; if you do not, the application is cancelled^[1]. Testing time at the lab comes first and is not counted.

Permission to affix labels on a permitted model is granted for three years. Renewal must be applied for before expiry and is processed within thirty days, with no fee when the star-rating plan is revised or continued^[1].

While the permission runs, you have yearly duties. Permittees must give BEE an updated list of authorised sellers by 30 April each year, and failure can lead to revocation of permission^[1].

Renew from the dashboard before the model expires: a model becomes eligible six months before expiry, and an expired model cannot be renewed and needs a fresh application^[15].

The portal manual adds three conditions. All production data and CA documents must be uploaded and all label fees paid, and the renewal fee is Rs 500 per model^[15]. The technical specifications must match the original application, or the renewal is put on hold; on renewal the old application number is cancelled and a new one assigned^[15]. Update the new number in your marketplace listings.

The regulation itself says renewal is processed within thirty days and carries no fee when the star-rating plan is revised or continued^[1], so the Rs 500 portal charge and the regulation do not line up neatly. Expect the portal to ask for it. Use our licence renewal date tool to work out when your six-month window opens.

Your approved model does not stay at the same star level forever. When BEE revises the energy standard, the old label expires and you either re-rate the model or stop selling it under that label.

The rules are in the 2026 Regulations. If standards are revised during a permission, the permittee must file a self-declaration within sixty days of the notification, or before the label series ends, confirming compliance with the revised standards^[6]. Production under the expired standards must stop, and when an appliance moves from voluntary to mandatory, every unit must carry the label within six months^[6]. That six-month window is the one to watch for induction cooktops from 1 January 2027.

Recent upgrades show the pattern. For colour TVs, the table moved up one star level for 2025 to 2027, old labels expired on 31 December 2024, and continuing a model cost Rs 1,000 against Rs 2,000 for a fresh one^[16]. Refrigerators, ceiling fans and room ACs saw the same Rs 1,000 continuation and Rs 2,000 new-model charges in 2025^[17]. Storage water heaters were upgraded from 1 July 2026, and makers had until 20 July 2026 to upload a revised label before unconverted models were deactivated^[18]. The revised label designs in the 2026 Regulations apply from 1 July 2026, and already approved models do not need fresh approval to switch^[19].

Worked example. A TV importer with eight approved models that all drop one star level when the table is upgraded pays 8 × Rs 1,000 = Rs 8,000 to continue them, against 8 × Rs 2,000 = Rs 16,000 to register them as new models^[16]. Put each table's end date in your compliance calendar.

A BEE label must show the appliance name, brand, model number, energy performance parameter, label series, rated capacity, star level or endorsement, country of origin, the BEE logo and any appliance-specific particulars^[1].

Two 2026 rules change how the label is used:

• QR code. Every labelled appliance must carry the label with a QR code embedding the label particulars^[1].
• Online and offline. The label must appear on every registered unit at both online and offline points of sale^[1]. If you sell on a marketplace, the listing must show it.

The country of origin on the BEE label should match the country of origin on the Legal Metrology declarations on the package.

Before you print, run the artwork through our label checker and the product label checklist, which cover the BEE label alongside the BIS standard mark and the Legal Metrology declarations.

The 2026 Regulations set out three enforcement routes.

Label non-compliance. If a label problem, such as no label or a counterfeit label, is not explained within thirty days of a show-cause notice, BEE forfeits the label security deposit and suspends the model registration for one year. Penalty action follows under the Energy Conservation (Compliance Enforcement) Rules, 2025^[1]. We have not yet researched the penalty amounts under those rules.

Check testing. If a first check test fails, BEE runs a second test on twice the quantity in two labs, at the permittee's cost. On final failure, BEE publishes the details, can order stock withdrawal and label correction, and withdraws permission for at least three months if its directions are not followed^[1].

E-commerce. BEE market surveillance includes e-commerce platforms. Where non-compliance is found online, BEE directs the platform to de-register the model^[1].

The Energy Conservation Act allows a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh, plus up to Rs 10,000 a day for a continuing failure, and an extra Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per appliance for breaching the labelling clauses of section 14^[21].

The per-appliance part adds up fast. On 500 unlabelled TVs, the extra penalty alone would be between 500 × Rs 2,000 = Rs 10 lakh and 500 × Rs 5,000 = Rs 25 lakh, on top of the Rs 10 lakh^[21].

Before any penalty, BEE can revoke your permission after a hearing for failing to meet the standard, failing to display labels, not paying label fees or not filing the authorised-seller list by 30 April^[6]. It can forfeit the deposit and suspend the model for a year^[1]. After a failed check test, it publishes your name and model within two months and recovers the advertisement cost, up to the security deposit^[6].

Old arrears are being chased. A BEE notice of 21 July 2025 required permittees to file outstanding production data and label fees for FY 2017-18 to FY 2023-24 with a 10% penalty, on pain of portal suspension^[22]. If you bought a brand or took over a distributor, check its BEE arrears first. Our guide to selling without BIS covers the parallel safety-side consequences.

The common problems are about scope and paperwork rather than testing.

These examples add up the BEE government fees only. Lab testing, BIS registration and other approvals are extra.

1. An importer of LED bulbs, one brand, three models. LED lamps are mandatory^[1]. The importer pays the one-time Rs 5,000 company registration^[1], a Rs 3 lakh refundable security deposit for the LED lamp category^[1], and Rs 5,000 for each of three model applications, Rs 15,000^[1]. Up front that is Rs 20,000 in fees plus the Rs 3 lakh deposit. If it then labels 1,00,000 bulbs in a quarter, the label fee at Rs 10 per 100 pieces is Rs 10,000 for that quarter^[1].

2. A laptop importer. Laptops are voluntary^[1]. The importer can sell without a BEE label. If it wants the label for marketing or tenders, it registers under the Operational Manual procedure^[1] and pays Rs 20 per labelled piece^[1].

BEE is about energy efficiency. It sits alongside the safety, radio and packaging rules rather than replacing any of them. LED lamps are the clearest example: they are on BEE's mandatory list^[2] and are also on the BIS CRS product list^[23]. Televisions are the same: mandatory for BEE^[1] and CRS-listed^[23].

Start with the free tools, then bring in a lab and, if you need one, a consultant.

• Fees and budgets. Our BEE fee guide, the compliance cost estimator and the 2026 compliance fee table put BEE next to BIS and EPR costs.
• Which list your product is on. The BEE products list has every Schedule A and Schedule B entry.
• Testing. BEE requires testing in BEE-recognised labs^[9]. Many of the same labs also test for BIS; see our lab directory and the city pages for Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, and confirm the lab's BEE recognition for your appliance.
• Consultants. BIS consultants in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai often handle BEE filings too. Read how to choose a consultant first.
• Marketplaces. The label must show online^[1], so read our guides for Amazon sellers and Flipkart sellers.
• A second opinion. Ask us for a free compliance check and we will tell you which approvals apply to your list.

BEE sits beside the e-waste EPR duty that most of the same appliances carry, and beside the QCO for electrical appliances, which brings many white goods under BIS.

As of 30 October 2026, we could not confirm:

• whether UPS units or home inverters fall under the voluntary "Solid State Inverter" schedule^[1]; we found no BEE scheme for UPS, monitors or smartphones;
• the notification making induction hobs mandatory from 1 January 2027^[4];
• the new LED lamp star-rating thresholds that apply from 1 January 2027^[3];
• the penalty amounts under the Energy Conservation (Compliance Enforcement) Rules, 2025^[1];
• registration fees for voluntary appliances, which the regulation leaves to the Operational Manual^[1].