BIS FMCS fees for foreign manufacturers: application, inspection visits, marking fee, bank guarantee and AIR costs in 2026

BIS's FMCS fee list says foreign applicants and licensees pay the same fees as domestic manufacturers, plus extra charges for overseas visits^[1]. The table lists every item. BIS's FMCS fee page, last updated 21 November 2025, still links this 2021 list^[4].

Every product under a BIS Quality Control Order except the electronics and IT goods that MeitY notifies, which use CRS instead^[7]. If a foreign factory makes footwear, toys, helmets, pressure cookers, plugs or household appliances for India, these fees apply.

The table shows examples from BIS's own FMCS licensee list. Each product page sets out the full approval route.

This is usually the largest and least predictable cost. Under FMCS, all visits are treated as special visits^[1]. You pay:

• Rs 7,000 per man-day for each officer-day spent on the visit^[1];
• tickets, visa and insurance for the officers, at cost^[1];
• per-diem at the rates in Regulation 12(4)(a) of the BIS (Terms and Conditions of Service of Employees) Regulations, 2020^[5].

The man-day count depends on how many officers come and how long the visit lasts. BIS does not publish a fixed visit cost. The grant visit verifies manufacturing and testing infrastructure and draws samples^[3], and after grant BIS continues surveillance visits^[14], each of which brings the same charges again.

Because tickets and per-diem are charged at cost, location and visit length drive the bill. Plan the visit window with the BIS FMCS division early.

The marking fee is the recurring cost of using the ISI mark. BIS notifies it per Indian Standard as an annual minimum marking fee, with different minimums for large enterprises and MSMEs, plus unit rates for each unit produced, in up to three slabs^[2]. The schedule is amended often; the latest amendments we have recorded are from 2 January and 10 June 2026^[15].

An example from the January 2026 schedule: for flashlights to IS 2083:2024, the minimum marking fee is Rs 2,87,000 for large enterprises and Rs 2,30,000 for MSMEs, and the unit rate is Rs 12.95 per 100 pieces, effective 10 July 2025^[16].

The advance minimum marking fee is paid before the licence is granted^[3]. To find the figure for your standard, use the IS-wise list linked from BIS's FMCS fee page, which points to Manakonline^[4].

MSME concessions. From 17 March 2026 to 31 May 2029 BIS gives concessions on the minimum marking fee of 80% for micro enterprises, 50% for small enterprises and 80% for start-ups, with an extra 10% for women-led enterprises^[17]. These categories are defined under Indian law. We have not seen BIS say that foreign manufacturers qualify, so budget at the large-enterprise rate unless BIS confirms otherwise in writing.

After the licence is granted, the foreign manufacturer signs an Agreement and Indemnity Bond and furnishes a Performance Bank Guarantee of USD 10,000 from a bank with an RBI-approved branch in India^[3]. It is not a fee: BIS holds it as security for compliance. But it ties up credit lines and costs bank charges for the guarantee.

At renewal, the guarantee has to be extended to stay valid for six months beyond the new licence validity^[18].

The applicant does. BIS's FAQ says samples drawn during the inspection are tested only in BIS laboratories or laboratories recognised by BIS; the applicant sends the sample to the laboratory in India and bears the actual testing charges^[6].

Two cost traps:

• Foreign test reports do not count. Only test reports against the relevant Indian Standard are accepted, not IEC or other standards^[6]. Do not budget on reusing CB reports.
• Retests cost more. If a sample fails and you ask for counter-sample testing, it costs twice the normal rate, and BIS witnessing costs Rs 10,000 plus the officer's travel^[1]. Samples for resumption of marking and verification are also charged^[5].

Add courier and customs costs for shipping samples to India; they are not BIS fees but they are real.

• Currency. Applicants from non-SAARC countries pay in the US dollar equivalent. SAARC applicants may pay in rupees with GST or in dollars^[1].
• Method. RTGS, NEFT or SWIFT transfer only^[1].
• Net amount. The listed amounts exclude bank commissions and transfer charges. You must add these and allow for exchange-rate movement so BIS receives the full rupee amount^[5].
• Online applications. Since 1 June 2026 BIS accepts FMCS applications only through Manakonline^[19]. See the Manakonline guide.

A short payment, typically because an intermediary bank deducted its charge, delays the file. Send a little more rather than less.

Every FMCS applicant must nominate an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR)^[19]. The FMCS fee list has no separate line for the nomination^[1], but the AIR is a real cost because someone in India has to take on legal responsibility.

BIS's rules for the AIR^[21]:

Because an AIR may represent only one manufacturer (with the group and related-importer exceptions)^[21], you cannot use a consultant who acts as AIR for many unrelated factories. In practice the choice is between your own Indian subsidiary or branch, your importer or distributor if related, or an individual you engage and pay.

The responsibility is serious. Under section 30 of the BIS Act, where a company commits an offence, its responsible officers and the authorised representative are deemed guilty too^[22]. Non-cooperation by the AIR can lead to suspension or cancellation of the licence^[21]. Expect a competent AIR to want a proper contract and fee.

Importers sometimes ask whether they can hold the licence instead. They cannot: under FMCS the foreign manufacturer applies^[6].

This is an illustration, not a quote. It uses BIS's published fees and one assumption we state openly: a grant visit of two officers for three days, so six man-days. Travel, visa, insurance and per-diem are left as a separate line because BIS does not publish them as fixed figures.

The core FMCS fee list has not changed: BIS's FMCS fee page, last updated 21 November 2025, still links the 2021 list^[4]. What has moved is around it:

• Marking fees. The Scheme-I marking fee schedule was amended on 2 January and 10 June 2026^[15]. Check the current figure for your standard before budgeting.
• MSME concessions. Extended from 17 March 2026 to 31 May 2029^[17].
• Online filing. FMCS applications have been online only since 1 June 2026^[19].
• Validity and yearly fees. Gazette No. 142 of 25 February 2026 replaced Scheme-I para 8: an FMCS licence is now granted for up to five years and renewed for up to five more, with fees paid in advance every year^[23]. A missed yearly fee with production statement suspends the licence for 90 days; paying with a Rs 5,000 late fee in that window lifts it^[23]. BIS's FMCS pages still describe one to two years at first^[18], so confirm with BIS how much marking fee the portal wants in advance.

None of these changed the Rs 7,000 man-day rate, the Rs 10,000 contingency payment or the USD 10,000 guarantee^[1][3].

After the first year the recurring items are the annual licence fee, the marking fee for each licence period, surveillance visits with their travel costs, and periodic testing^[1][14]. Renewal needs Form XII, month-wise production details with consignee addresses, an extended bank guarantee and payment of marking fees; a late renewal costs Rs 5,000 more^[18].

Since 25 February 2026 an FMCS licence is granted for up to five years and renewed for up to five more, with fees paid every year in advance^[23]. BIS's FMCS FAQ, written before the change, still says up to two years at first^[6]. Longer terms mean fewer renewal rounds, and under the 2026 rule the fees are spread year by year. Manakonline warns that licences past their validity are automatically deferred and expire after 90 days^[24], so do not let renewal slide.

You pay the licence fee and the advance minimum marking fee for every year you renew for. BIS's Scheme-I renewal guidelines of 2025 allow one to five years and ask for all of it up front^[25]; since 25 February 2026 the regulations have those fees paid every year in advance instead^[23]. The total is the same; the timing changes.

Worked example. A large flashlight factory licensed under IS 2083:2024, whose minimum marking fee is Rs 2,87,000^[16], renews for five years. It pays the Rs 1,000 renewal application fee^[1], then 5 x (Rs 1,000 licence fee + Rs 2,87,000 marking fee) = Rs 14,40,000. The total is Rs 14,41,000 before bank charges, plus unit-rate marking fees on actual production and the surveillance visit costs. Paid yearly in advance, that is Rs 2,89,000 in the first renewed year and Rs 2,88,000 in each of the next four. A two-year renewal would cost Rs 5,77,000 on the same basis. An MSME factory pays the lower Rs 2,30,000 minimum^[16].

The renewal goes on Form XII through the portal, preferably two months before validity, and is endorsed on Form XIII^[25]. With it go production details with consignee addresses and an extended bank guarantee^[18].

A production statement certified by an accountant. To settle the actual marking fee before each operative year ends, the licensee submits production for the first nine months (in year one) or for the last three months of the previous year plus the first nine of the current year, authenticated by a chartered or cost accountant on letterhead with a membership number^[25]. High-volume licensees may opt for, or be told to make, quarterly marking fee payments^[25].

Foreign licensees must also file a self-compliance report at each renewal or annual review, a rule in force for them since 1 April 2022^[26]. It covers changes to the firm, the AIR, brands, machinery and testing equipment, implementation of the current Indian Standard, raw material conformity and calibration. Without it, the licence is not renewed automatically^[25], and BIS branch offices check automatic renewals and flag any shortfall in documents or fees within seven working days^[25].

Yes, for up to a year, but it is not free. A licensee may ask, at least 30 days before validity, to defer renewal for up to one year, which makes the licence 'dormant'; BIS charges 10% of the minimum marking fee or Rs 7,000, whichever is higher^[27]. For the IS 2083 example above, 10% of Rs 2,87,000 is Rs 28,700, so that is the charge^[16].

While dormant, the factory may not mark or dispatch goods with the Standard Mark, and it can renew within the year with the Rs 5,000 late fee^[27]. Three other rules matter if a licence lapses instead:

• Marking fee still due. BIS's letters say the marking fee is payable for the whole period, including time without the right to use the mark^[28].
• Stock declaration. The licensee must stop marking and declare marked stock and pending orders within 21 days^[29].
• Easier re-entry. If the licence expired for non-payment or was surrendered, a fresh application within one year with the same scope can be granted on simpler criteria^[30].

BIS's licensee list shows how common lapses are: of 256 FMCS records for factories in China on 30 October 2026, 209 were deferred and 23 operative^[9].

FMCS is the most expensive of the three because of overseas inspections and the bank guarantee. CRS has no factory visit and no marking fee; a domestic ISI licence has the same fees as FMCS but no foreign travel.

On BIS's licensee list of 30 October 2026, Vietnam had the most records (325), followed by South Korea (321), Nepal (260), China (256), Japan (220) and Thailand (208)^[11]. The list had 3,216 records in all: 2,752 operative, 438 deferred and 26 under stop marking^[11].

The country guides explain the product mix and the practical route from each source: Vietnam, South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Germany. Our CRS vs ISI vs FMCS explainer helps if you are not sure which scheme applies, and the ISI licence cost page adds private costs. For a cross-regulator view, see the India compliance fees data; for help with a budget, try the compliance cost estimator, compare BIS consultants, or ask us for a free compliance check.