Importing power banks from China to India: the factory's BIS licence, your EPR and customs checks in 2026

You need three things before the container leaves China: a BIS CRS registration held by the Chinese factory that covers your brand and model, your own battery EPR registration with CPCB, and labels that carry the BIS Standard Mark and Indian declarations.

Power banks have been a CRS product since 13 May 2015^[2]. The licence goes to the manufacturer for each factory, never to an importer or trader^[1], so the Chinese factory is the applicant. You are still bound by the ban on importing goods without the Standard Mark, because the BIS Act counts importers as persons under section 17^[13].

On your side of the border sit the environmental and consumer rules. Importing equipment containing a lithium-ion battery makes you a battery producer^[14], and CPCB says importers must register before importing^[8]. If the power banks come in plastic packaging you also need plastic EPR^[15], and as an importer of pre-packaged goods you register under Legal Metrology^[10].

This page covers what is different when the factory is in China: checking the factory's licence, who acts as its Indian representative, where the samples are tested, how customs checks the shipment, and what it all costs. For the product rules in general, read our power bank import guide. For everything else about Chinese suppliers, see importing from China.

The Chinese factory holds the BIS registration; you hold EPR, Legal Metrology and your IEC. The table splits the work so you know what to ask the supplier for and what to file yourself.

Most of it. India imported lithium-ion accumulators worth US$ 3,927.70 million from China in 2025-26, out of US$ 4,696.64 million from all countries^[11].

That line, ITC(HS) 85076000, is reportedly the one power banks are usually declared under^[25], though it also covers loose cells and battery packs, so the figure is not power banks alone. Imports from China under it grew from US$ 2,260.35 million in 2024-25^[11]. China was India's biggest source overall too, with US$ 131,620.29 million of goods in 2025-26^[26].

Why this matters to you: volume brings scrutiny. CPCB has asked CBIC to have Customs verify battery EPR registration when clearing consignments of batteries and equipment containing them^[27], and a power bank from China is exactly that kind of consignment. Treat your EPR certificate as a clearance document, not paperwork for later.

Power banks are commonly declared under ITC(HS) 85076000, lithium-ion accumulators^[25]; we mark that as reported practice, so confirm the line with your customs broker. The code does not decide BIS coverage: the CRS category name does.

BIS coverage follows the product description in the Compulsory Registration Order, 'Power banks for use in portable applications'^[2]. A Chinese supplier who suggests declaring a power bank as a 'battery pack' to dodge BIS is giving you bad advice: lithium cells and batteries for portable use are a separate CRS category under IS 16046 (Part 2)^[3], so the shipment still needs a registration, just a different one. See HS codes explained and our lithium-ion battery pack guide.

Borderline variants from Chinese factories:

• Power bank with wireless (Qi) pad or Bluetooth. Still a CRS power bank, but it may also need a WPC ETA because of the radio function^[23].
• Power bank sold with a charger in the box. Power adaptors for IT equipment are a separate CRS category^[2], so the adaptor needs its own R-number. See mobile chargers.
• Wireless charging pad without a battery. The CRS list had no 'wireless charger' category on 1 November 2026^[28]; see our wireless charger guide.

Search the factory's R-number on the crsbis.in 'List of Registered Manufacturers' page and match the name, address, brand and model to your purchase order before you pay a deposit.

The public search on crsbis.in finds registrations by R-number, product name, model or brand, and shows the manufacturer's name and address, its country, the product, the IS number, the grant date, the status, the validity and the scope of licence by brand^[29]. On a phone, the BIS Care app's 'Verify R-No under CRS' feature checks an eight-digit R-number^[30], and its 'Registered Manufacturer under CRS' search filters by product, model and brand^[30]. Our guide to verifying a BIS licence walks through both.

The factory applies online on crsbis.in, has samples tested at a BIS-recognised lab, and files Form I within 90 days of the test report, with you or another Indian entity named as its representative.

CRS applications are made on www.crsbis.in, where the manufacturer registers, generates a test request, selects a lab and files Form I^[34]. For a Chinese factory, the first hurdle is login: it must upload its business licence in English, or a certified translation, showing the factory's name, address and manufacturing in its scope^[34]. BIS lists missing or conflicting English translations of foreign business licences among the problems it frequently sees at login^[35].

After login the factory generates a test request. Product category, product name, models and brands entered there cannot be changed at application stage^[36], so give the factory your exact brand spelling and model list first. Samples with the portal QR code must reach the lab within 60 days^[34]. Once the report is issued, the application must reach BIS within 90 days of its date^[6].

With Form I the factory uploads the AIR nomination letter and a notarised affidavit^[37]. The affidavit goes on Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper^[38], and the original must reach BIS within 30 days of online submission or the application or licence can be cancelled^[37]. Couriering a notarised original from Shenzhen or Ningbo to New Delhi takes time, so the factory should send it the day it files.

BIS aims to finish within 20 working days if everything is right first time^[6]; if not, it gives at least 30 days to answer a query^[6]. Our CRS documents list and CRS application checklist cover each upload.

In practice, plan on testing in India. On 1 November 2026 the BIS lab search listed 68 laboratory entries for IS 13252 (Part 1), every one of them in India^[7], and 54 entries for IS/IEC 62368 (46 labs for the 2023 edition), none shown outside India^[39].

CRS accepts reports only from labs established, maintained or recognised by BIS for the product, government labs it has empanelled, and others decided by its Executive Committee^[6]. So the Chinese factory ships samples to an Indian lab. That import is allowed: MeitY's CRS FAQ says the Compulsory Registration Order does not apply to goods imported for testing in India^[40]. The samples must not carry the BIS Standard Mark, because the mark cannot go on products outside the licence scope, including lab samples^[41]. Our guide to importing samples for BIS testing covers the shipping paperwork, and the CRS test labs page explains how to pick a lab.

Two checks save a second round of samples:

• Group models into a series first. Power banks with an external adaptor can share a series across capacities if they have the same rated input voltage, class of construction, ingress protection, PCB design and layout, cell type and enclosure material^[42]. BIS caps a power bank series at 10 models^[12]. Our series guidelines page explains lead and series models.
• Check the cells are registered. Lithium cells for portable use are their own CRS category^[3], and from 30 April 2027 no new cell licence is granted without rated-capacity verification^[43]. Ask the factory which registered cell it uses and check that R-number too. See IS 16046.

Only if you accept legal responsibility for the factory's BIS compliance. The AIR must be an Indian resident who consents to answer for compliance with the BIS Act, rules and licence terms on the foreign maker's behalf^[44].

A foreign CRS applicant may nominate its Indian branch office, the brand owner or registered user of the brand in India, or another Indian entity if the brand owner declares it has no proprietor or registered user in India^[16]. If you are an Indian brand having a Chinese factory make your power banks, you are the brand owner, so you are the natural AIR. BIS's January 2025 advisory adds that a foreign maker choosing an unrelated Indian AIR must give a brand-owner declaration that the brand has no proprietor, registered user, subsidiary, branch or liaison office in India^[45].

Weigh three points before you sign:

1. One factory per AIR. An AIR may represent only one foreign manufacturer, except for factories in the same group or related importers^[44]. If you buy from two unrelated Chinese factories, you cannot be AIR for both.
2. Criminal exposure. If a company commits an offence under the BIS Act, its authorised representative can be deemed guilty with it^[13].
3. Surveillance registration. MeitY's CRS market surveillance portal requires manufacturers, AIRs and brands to register each R-number with model details, channels and MRP^[46].

Changing the AIR later costs Rs 5,000 plus GST^[17]. Read more on the AIR glossary page and our guide for foreign manufacturers.

You register with CPCB as a battery producer before the first shipment lands, mark your EPR registration number on the product or its packaging, and meet yearly collection targets by buying certificates from registered recyclers.

The rules define a producer to include anyone who imports batteries or equipment containing batteries^[18]. The fee depends on turnover: Rs 10,000 under Rs 5 crore, Rs 20,000 for Rs 5 to 50 crore and Rs 40,000 above that^[9]. CPCB must register you within two weeks of a complete application, after which registration is deemed granted unless refused^[18]. The certificate is valid until cancelled or withdrawn^[18].

The Chinese factory cannot do this for you, and it should not be on the box either: your EPR number goes on the product. For imported batteries, MoEFCC clarified that marking the EPR registration number on the equipment containing the battery, or on its packaging, is enough^[47]. Since February 2025 a QR code or barcode carrying the number can be used instead, after informing CPCB^[48]. Send the Chinese factory your registration number before mass production so it prints it on the gift box.

The obligation is yearly. For rechargeable portable consumer batteries, the collection target is 70% of the batteries placed on the market five years earlier from 2024-25 onwards^[49], and you file Form 1(C) with the quantity and weight imported by 30 June each year^[18]. Details are on our battery EPR targets page and in EPR for small importers.

Power banks are not named in the e-waste Schedule I, so e-waste EPR coverage is unclear^[50]; the cell inside is a separate battery obligation either way^[51].

The BIS Standard Mark with the IS number and R-number, www.bis.gov.in, model and batch details, the crossed-out wheelie bin, your battery EPR number, and the Legal Metrology declarations with your name as importer. Get them right on the artwork before mass production; relabelling in India is slow and some marks cannot be stickered on.

Partly. Since 29 May 2026, importers may make the Legal Metrology declarations at bonded warehouses of AEO Tier-2 or Tier-3 operators, provided every retail pack carries them before leaving the warehouse^[56]. The BIS mark is different: it is the factory's mark under its licence and should be applied at the factory.

The country of origin, 'China', must appear on every pre-packaged commodity^[54]. Stickers that alter mandatory declarations are not allowed, except a reduced-MRP sticker that does not cover the original MRP^[10]. Consumer care details must include a name, address, phone number and email^[10]. For full detail see our LMPC label rules, the BIS CRS labelling page and the product label checklist.

Customs checks that the model is BIS-registered and may draw samples for testing before out of charge; it can also ask for your battery and plastic EPR registrations.

CBIC Instruction 28/2023-Customs is reported to direct officers to check BIS registration in the system for every consignment of CRS goods, with the Risk Management System randomly picking consignments for sampling, limited non-destructive safety tests at BIS-recognised labs, and out of charge only if the sample passes^[57]. Failing consignments may be sent back or destroyed at the importer's cost under the same instruction. Separately, DGFT is reported to make BIS registration, or a MeitY exemption letter, a condition of import for CRS goods^[58].

On the environmental side, CPCB has asked Customs to verify battery EPR registration for batteries and equipment containing them^[27], and in June 2025 asked Customs to verify plastic packaging EPR registration for importers^[59].

Timing rules apply too. You must file the Bill of Entry before the end of the day before the vessel arrives, and may file up to 30 days ahead^[60]. Late filing costs Rs 5,000 a day for the first three days and Rs 10,000 a day after that^[61]. See why shipments get held at Indian ports, the customs clearance documents checklist and the Bill of Entry entry.

You can ship by sea container to a west-coast or east-coast port, or by air for small urgent lots; the port you land at decides which Customs house assesses your Bill of Entry.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva, near Mumbai) says it handles around 50% of all containerised cargo across India's major ports^[62], so it is the obvious first option to price for a western India warehouse. Choose the port nearest your warehouse, because inland trucking of lithium-ion cargo is a cost of its own. Whichever port you use, the time limit for the Bill of Entry for sea imports from China is the end of the day before arrival^[63].

Lithium-ion power banks are dangerous goods for carriers. Your freight forwarder will ask for the factory's transport safety documents before booking; this is a carrier rule, not an Indian compliance approval, so we do not cover it here. What we do cover: the minimum import documents under the Foreign Trade Policy are the bill of lading or airway bill, the commercial invoice cum packing list and the Bill of Entry^[21], and you or your broker must keep the assessed Bill of Entry and supporting documents for five years^[64].

Collect the factory's licence evidence, the test and cell details, and the commercial papers before you release the balance payment. Use this list as a purchase-order annex.

For one power bank model from a Chinese factory, official fees come to about Rs 27,000 on the factory's side in year one (Rs 26,000 a year after that) plus about Rs 23,500 on yours, before lab, consultant, freight and duty costs.

The example: a small Indian brand with turnover under Rs 5 crore imports one 10,000 mAh power bank model in plastic blister packaging from a factory in Guangdong, with the brand as AIR. All fees are official figures; GST is extra on BIS fees^[17]. The figures follow the fee schedule in Gazette of India No. 142 of 25 February 2026, which made the processing fee Rs 25,000 a year, paid in advance^[5]. It replaced the 2018 table's one-time Rs 50,000^[17], which the PDF on crsbis.in still shows.

It leaves out lab test charges, consultant fees, EPR certificate purchases, courier of samples and the affidavit, freight and customs duty, because we only print figures we can source.

Lab charges are set by each lab, so get quotes from two or three BIS-recognised labs. EPR certificate costs depend on your target and market prices; CPCB sets a band for battery certificates at 30% to 100% of the environmental compensation rate^[66]. Customs duty depends on your classification and any exemption; we have not verified the current rate for 85076000 in the official tariff, so ask your broker.

Who pays the factory's BIS fees is a commercial term. Many Chinese factories quote a price that bundles their CRS cost across all buyers; others charge a private-label buyer for a separate brand application. Agree this in writing. To model your own numbers, use the BIS CRS fee calculator or the compliance cost estimator, and see our cost of importing electronics and CRS registration cost pages.

Most failures are paperwork mismatches: the licence is for a different factory, brand or model than the goods you received. Fix them before shipment, not at the port.

We did not find an anti-dumping or countervailing duty notified on power banks from China in our searches of CBIC and DGTR notifications up to 1 November 2026, but that is not proof none exists, so ask your broker to check before you price.

Indian anti-dumping duty is imposed by a Finance Ministry customs notification under section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act after DGTR's final findings, usually for five years, and is paid in rupees^[72]. Duties are product- and origin-specific, so a duty on one Chinese product does not spread to others. China has no free trade agreement with India on the Commerce Ministry's July 2026 list of FTA partners^[73], so there is no preferential rate to claim on Chinese power banks. Our Vietnam guide covers how an FTA claim works where one exists.

1. Amazon seller buying a factory's own brand. You buy a Chinese brand's power bank and sell it on Amazon India. The factory's registration under its own brand covers you if your exact models are in scope. You still need battery EPR^[8], LMPC and plastic EPR. Marketplaces check documents; see compliance for Amazon sellers and the before-listing checklist.

2. Indian private label. A Chinese factory makes power banks under your brand. The factory applies for a registration in your brand name^[6], you act as AIR as brand owner^[16], and your trademark documents go into the file; BIS frequently rejects files with a missing brand registration certificate or brand authorisation^[69]. See D2C brands.

3. Distributor for a Chinese brand. You import a Chinese brand and supply retailers under that brand. CPCB says an importer has battery EPR obligations when it sells under the imported brand name, but not when buyers resell under their own brand^[8]. See compliance for distributors.

Customs can hold, return or destroy the goods, and BIS, CPCB and Legal Metrology can each penalise you separately.

• BIS. Importing or selling notified goods without the Standard Mark under a valid licence is punishable with up to two years in prison or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for a first offence, extendable to ten times the value of the goods, or both^[13]. BIS can order stop-supply and recall^[13].
• Battery EPR. Breaches other than a target shortfall, such as not following labelling or dealing with unregistered entities, carry environmental compensation from Rs 20,000 for a first default^[74].
• Legal Metrology. Packages without the required declarations bring an improvement notice for a first offence, up to Rs 5 lakh for a second and Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh after that^[75].

More on enforcement in selling without BIS: what happens. If you are unsure whether your shipment is covered, run the approval checker or ask us for a free compliance check.