What it costs to get an electronics product compliant for import into India: every official fee, two worked examples and the costs nobody publishes

There is no single fee. You pay several regulators, and the mix depends on the product:

1. BIS CRS registration for products on the Compulsory Registration Order. Covered goods cannot be imported, sold or stored for sale without the Standard Mark and a BIS registration number^[9].
2. WPC Equipment Type Approval (ETA) for wireless products in licence-exempt bands^[3].
3. MTCTE certification from TEC, for notified telecom equipment such as Wi-Fi access points and routers^[10].
4. LMPC importer registration under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules^[4].
5. EPR registration with CPCB for batteries, plastic packaging and, for listed equipment, e-waste. Each has its own fee and its own yearly obligations^[11].
6. EPR certificates, which you buy each year to meet your targets. CPCB sets a price band for these, but the actual price is agreed privately.
7. Private charges: labs, the Authorised Indian Representative (AIR), consultants, label printing and your customs broker. These are not government fees. Where BIS publishes labs' declared charges, or a firm publishes its price, the cost pages quote them and say so.

Below we add up the fees we can cite and work two examples. Each approval has its own cost page: BIS CRS cost, WPC ETA cost, MTCTE cost, LMPC cost and EPR registration cost. To add them up for your own product, use the compliance cost estimator; for the raw fee tables, see India compliance fees 2026.

All figures below are the published government fees. Read the source column: each fee comes from the regulator's own rules or fee table, and we flag in the sections that follow where a table is old or a figure is only reported.

Since 25 February 2026, a new CRS application costs an application fee of Rs 1,000^[1], an annual licence fee of Rs 1,000^[1] and a processing fee of Rs 25,000 a year, paid in advance^[1]. That is Rs 27,000 before GST in year one and Rs 26,000 in each later year (our addition). Each additional test report is Rs 20,000^[1], and GST is charged on all of it^[2].

Three rules decide how many times you pay this:

• One licence per factory. The applicant is the manufacturer, and the licence is granted per manufacturing unit, not to an importer or trader^[9]. Two factories means two licences.
• One application per brand, unless the brand owner is the same^[16].
• One licence per product category. BIS guidance says a separate licence is needed for each product name^[17]. Earphones and power banks are different CRS categories^[18], so they need separate licences even from the same factory.

The 2018 fee table has been replaced. The BIS (Conformity Assessment) Amendment Regulations, 2026 were notified in Gazette No. 142 on 25 February 2026^[1]. CRS licences are now granted for up to five years with fees paid annually in advance^[19], and the one-time Rs 50,000 processing fee of the 2018 table^[2] became Rs 25,000 a year. The fee PDF on crsbis.in still shows the old table, so expect older quotes to use it. Miss a yearly payment and the licence is suspended for 90 days until you pay with a Rs 5,000 late fee^[1].

Indian MSMEs get a processing fee concession: 80% for micro enterprises and start-ups, 50% for small and 20% for medium enterprises until 31 May 2029, then 20% for all MSMEs^[1]. It applies to the manufacturer, so a factory abroad does not get it. A foreign factory applying directly also needs an AIR in India^[16]; the published fee structure has no separate fee to nominate one, and BIS charges Rs 5,000 to change one^[2]. Model your own CRS numbers with the CRS fee calculator.

WPC ETA. Wireless devices in licence-exempt bands get Equipment Type Approval by self-declaration on the Saral Sanchar portal^[20]. The fee is Rs 10,000 per model, paid through Bharat Kosh^[3]. You need an RF test report, the manufacturer's authorisation if you apply as its Indian representative, and technical literature^[3]. There is no renewal fee: the ETA is valid for the model's lifetime unless WPC revokes it^[3].

Which products need it:

• Bluetooth earphones use the licence-exempt 2.4 GHz band, so they are likely to need an ETA by self-declaration^[21].
• On our reading, plain power banks have no radio and need no ETA; power banks with wireless (Qi) charging or Bluetooth may need one^[21].
• Bluetooth speakers^[21], smartwatches with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi^[21] and Wi-Fi routers^[21] are likely to need an ETA too.

MTCTE. Only notified telecom equipment needs a TEC certificate. Since 1 January 2024, only the administrative fee is charged for these applications^[22]. It is Rs 10,000 for Group A, Rs 20,000 for Group B, Rs 30,000 for Group C and Rs 50,000 for Group D^[8]. Equipment working in 2.4/5 GHz is Group B and routers are Group C^[8]. On our reading of TEC's list of notified products, earphones and power banks are not on it^[10], and smartwatches and mobile handsets are exempt from prior MTCTE^[23]. Selling notified equipment without a certificate costs ten times the normal fee to fix^[8].

Anyone who imports a commodity in pre-packed form for sale must register their name and address with the Legal Metrology authority^[4]. The application goes to the Director of Legal Metrology or the State Controller^[4], with a fee of Rs 500^[4]. Each later alteration to the certificate costs Rs 100^[4].

You must apply within 90 days of starting to import^[4]. Since 2026 the certificate is valid until cancelled^[12], but the rules now require you to update your details on the portal every year, including the products and numbers you imported, once the portal option is live^[12]. One registration covers you as importer and lists the commodities you import^[4], so it is not a per-model cost.

Batteries. Anyone who imports equipment containing batteries is a producer under the Battery Waste Management Rules^[13]. That covers TWS earbuds and their charging cases^[24] and power banks^[24]. CPCB's FAQ says importers must register before importing^[25]. The application fee is Rs 10,000 below Rs 5 crore turnover, Rs 20,000 for Rs 5-50 crore and Rs 40,000 above Rs 50 crore^[5]. That SOP's cover date predates the rules, so treat it as the latest schedule we found rather than settled.

Plastic packaging. If your product comes in plastic packaging, you are an importer under the plastic EPR guidelines^[26]. The application fee is Rs 10,000 under 1,000 tonnes a year^[6], and you pay 25% of it each year with your annual return^[6]. A fresh registration lasts one year and a renewed one three years^[6].

E-waste. Registration is needed for EEE listed in Schedule I^[27]. Schedule I does not name earphones or power banks separately; their coverage depends on generic entries^[11]. Earphones may fall under CEEW13^[27], and the coverage of power banks is unclear^[27]. The battery inside is a separate battery EPR obligation either way^[11]. If e-waste registration applies, a producer whose sales have just started pays Rs 10,000^[7] plus Rs 5,000 a year in annual maintenance^[7].

The full fee story is on our EPR registration cost page.

Meeting your yearly EPR target means buying certificates from registered recyclers or processors. The price is negotiated, but CPCB fixes a band: 30% to 100% of the environmental compensation (EC) for not meeting the target, for e-waste^[28], batteries^[29] and plastic^[30].

Targets are set against what you placed on the market in earlier years. For rechargeable consumer-electronics batteries, the target from 2024-25 is 70% of what was placed on the market five years earlier^[31]. For e-waste producers with a short sales history, it is 20% of sales two financial years earlier from 2025-26^[11]. Your target appears on the portal; check it before you budget.

• The e-waste floor is not settled. The copy of CPCB's e-waste EC guidelines we read is dated August 2024, and industry has reportedly challenged the floor price in court^[33].
• Battery figures are per kg of recovered metal, not per kg of battery. We cannot turn them into a per-unit cost for a power bank without the recovery data, so we do not.
• Certificates expire. Battery certificates are valid seven years^[31]; e-waste certificates two years from the end of the financial year they were generated^[11].

This is our arithmetic on the official figures above, not a quote. The assumptions:

• A new Indian importer, turnover under Rs 5 crore, plastic packaging well under 1,000 tonnes a year.
• One TWS earphone model and one plain power bank model (no wireless charging, no Bluetooth), each from a foreign factory that holds no CRS licence yet, under the importer's brand.
• Each model is covered by one test report, and no MSME concession applies.
• The 2026 CRS fee schedule, for year one; GST not added because its rate is not stated in the fee schedule.

Why each line is there: earphones are CRS-listed^[18] and are likely to need a WPC ETA^[21]; power banks are CRS-listed^[18]; both contain lithium batteries^[24] and come in plastic packaging^[26]; neither appears to need MTCTE^[10] or a BEE label^[35].

• Second year onwards. Per year, expect the CRS processing fee of Rs 25,000 and annual licence fee of Rs 1,000 per licence, paid in advance^[1], so Rs 52,000 for the two licences here, the plastic annual processing fee of 25% of Rs 10,000, which is Rs 2,500^[6], and Rs 5,000 e-waste maintenance if you are registered for e-waste^[7]. Then add certificates once targets apply.
• Compared with the 2018 table. Under the old one-time Rs 50,000 processing fee^[2], each licence cost Rs 52,000 in year one, Rs 25,000 more than now, but the yearly processing fee means a five-year licence^[19] costs about the same in total, Rs 1,31,000 per licence on the 2026 schedule^[1].
• An Indian MSME factory. A micro enterprise or start-up pays Rs 5,000 a year in processing instead of Rs 25,000 until 31 May 2029^[1].
• Five colours of the same earphone. Series models can be covered through supplementary reports referring to an accepted original report^[16]. If the lab needs a second full report, add Rs 20,000^[1].
• A power bank with wireless charging. It may then need its own ETA^[21]: add Rs 10,000.
• A second brand. A new CRS application with its own yearly fees, unless the brand owner is the same^[16].

Other products pull in more regulators:

The Indian fees do not change with the country of origin; the same BIS, WPC, LMPC and EPR tables apply. What changes is practical: whether the factory already holds Indian registrations, how far samples travel, and for MTCTE, whether a lab abroad can be used at all, since foreign labs cannot be recognised in a country that shares a land border with India^[39]. For China-specific practice, see importing from China and how to import electronics from China to India. For a second opinion on your product list before you pay any lab, ask for a free compliance check.

No regulator sets these, but most of them now have a visible market price. BIS-recognised labs declare their CRS testing charges on BIS LIMS^[40]; MTCTE labs must publish theirs^[41]; consultants advertise theirs. Figures marked "reported" come from vendors and are not official. Lab lists are on BIS labs in Delhi NCR; consultants on BIS consultants, WPC consultants, LMPC consultants and EPR consultants.

These add the official fees to the median declared lab charges and the reported consultant prices above. They are our arithmetic, before GST, freight, duty and EPR certificates.

• Small: an Indian importer brings in one plain power bank model from a factory that already holds a valid CRS registration covering it. The importer pays only for its own registrations and uses consultants for LMPC and EPR.
• Medium: the worked example above (one Bluetooth earphone model, one power bank model, new CRS for both), plus labs and consultants.
• Complex: a new laptop brand with three models from one factory needing three CRS reports and three ETAs, registered for battery, plastic and e-waste EPR.

• The small case is cheap because the factory already holds CRS. Registration belongs to the manufacturing unit^[9], so buying from a registered factory, under its registered brand or with your brand added, saves the biggest line. Check the R-number and model list before you order.
• Consultant lines use one firm's published CRS fee of Rs 14,999 plus Rs 10,000 for foreign applicants^[48], the Rs 7,500 WPC fee^[49], the Rs 4,999 LMPC fee^[50] and the Rs 5,000 EPR fee^[51]. Doing the filings yourself removes them.
• The earphone lab line uses one consultancy's published Rs 25,000 for wireless headphones^[52], because we have no LIMS figure for IS 616.
• Laptops need ETA where they have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth^[21], and they are e-waste code ITEW3^[27].
• Not included: customs duty, freight, AIR fees, sample shipping and EPR certificates.

Assume GST on top of almost every line. BIS CRS amounts exclude tax and GST is charged on every payment^[2]; a sample BIS invoice indexed online shows 18%^[53]. Lab charges on LIMS are declared excluding taxes^[40], MTCTE lab prices exclude taxes^[45], and consultants quote plus GST^[49]. One LMPC consultant shows its Rs 5,499 package as Rs 6,489 including GST^[54], which is 18% on our arithmetic.

At 18%, the medium case above rises from about Rs 2.46-2.71 lakh to about Rs 2.90-3.19 lakh. We have no official source for GST on the WPC, MTCTE and LMPC government fees, so check each payment screen. A GST-registered importer can usually claim input credit; confirm with your accountant.

Skipping an approval rarely saves money.

• BIS. Importing CRS goods without a valid licence and Standard Mark is punishable with imprisonment up to two years, or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for a first contravention and at least Rs 5 lakh after that, extendable to ten times the value of the goods^[55]. The BIS Act counts importers as persons bound by the rule^[55].
• Legal Metrology. Selling or importing a package without the required declarations draws an improvement notice for a first offence, a penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh for a second, and Rs 25-50 lakh after that^[56].
• MTCTE. Uncertified notified equipment can be certified within 180 days at ten times the normal fee^[39].
• EPR. For battery-rule breaches other than a target shortfall, such as not filing returns, EC is Rs 20,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000 for the first three defaults^[32]. E-waste producers face the same three figures^[33].
• At the port. Under a 2023 CBIC instruction, as reported, customs checks BIS registration for every consignment of CRS goods, tests random samples before out of charge, and failing goods may be sent back or destroyed at the importer's cost^[57]. CPCB has asked Customs to check battery EPR registration too^[58]. A customs penalty for goods under a prohibition can reach their full value or Rs 5,000, whichever is greater^[59]; where the problem is duty rather than a prohibition, the cap is 10% of the duty evaded or Rs 5,000, whichever is higher^[60].
• Storage and paperwork. While goods wait, one Mundra CFS charges ground rent of Rs 405 a day for a 20-foot container from day four, rising to Rs 2,610 a day by day 27^[61], about Rs 37,760 over 30 days on our arithmetic, before shipping-line demurrage. Examining a container costs Rs 3,600 or more in handling at the same CFS^[61]. Filing the bill of entry late costs Rs 5,000 a day for three days and Rs 10,000 a day after that^[62].

More in why shipments get held at Indian ports and the customs clearance documents checklist. For the step-by-step order of doing all this, see our first electronics import checklist.

Spend in the order that avoids paying twice. The factory-side approvals take longest, so they start first; the importer's own registrations are quick but must be in place before the first shipment.