Importing toys from China to India in 2026: the factory's ISI licence, port sampling, duty and what it really costs

Yes, but only from a Chinese factory that holds its own BIS licence for the ISI mark, and BIS's licensee list showed none for toys on 30 October 2026. Without that licence the toys cannot legally be imported or sold.

The Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 has been in force since 1 January 2021^[2]. It covers products designed or clearly intended for play by children under 14^[1], and requires them to meet IS 9873 or, for electric toys, IS 15644, and carry the ISI mark under a Scheme-I licence^[1]. A factory outside India gets that licence through the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS), run from BIS headquarters in New Delhi^[3].

Here is the China-specific problem. BIS's FMCS list of 30 October 2026 had 60 toy licence records, all operative, from Vietnam (28), Thailand (10), Malaysia (6), Indonesia (4) and nine other countries, and none for a factory in China^[4]. So if a Chinese supplier says its toys are 'BIS approved', ask for the CM/L number and check it yourself before paying anything.

This page covers what that means in practice: how to check a licence, what Customs does with every toy consignment, the 70% duty, the documents and the costs. For toy rules in general, read our toy import guide; for Chinese suppliers in general, see importing from China.

None, on BIS's own list of 30 October 2026. Across all products, BIS's FMCS list had 256 records for factories in China, of which only 23 were operative, 209 deferred and 24 under stop marking^[4].

None of those 256 China records was under the toy standards IS 9873 (Part 1) or IS 15644^[4]. Compare Vietnam: all 325 Vietnamese records were operative or deferred, 320 of them operative^[10], and they included 18 toy licences under IS 9873 (Part 1) and 10 under IS 15644^[10].

Most of the value is parts, not finished toys. In 2025-26 India imported US$ 35.31 million of parts of electronic toys from China, against US$ 7.69 million of non-electronic toys and US$ 0.05 million of electronic toys^[11].

Parts used to make toys are a separate tariff line, and the government cut its tariff rate to 20% from 1 May 2025, with a lower AIDC where the parts are used to manufacture electronic toys^[12]. That points to Indian toy makers importing components. Finished toys do still arrive: China supplied US$ 7.69 million of the US$ 41.47 million of non-electronic toys India imported from all countries in 2025-26^[13]. Some will fall under exemptions such as R&D imports^[9]; the official data does not say which.

We do not read the trade figures as permission. If you import finished toys from a Chinese factory with no licence, the QCO and the BIS Act apply to you as importer^[14]. Use the figures as a sign of where the market has moved: for finished toys, many buyers now source from licensed factories in Vietnam or Thailand.

The Chinese factory holds the BIS licence; you hold the IEC, Legal Metrology registration, EPR registrations and the customs obligations, including the no-use bond at the port.

Ask for the CM/L licence number and check it on BIS's FMCS licensee list, on Manakonline's licence search or in the BIS Care app; the factory name, address, standard and status must all match.

An ISI licence number is written below the mark as 'CM/L-' followed by digits^[28]. The BIS Care app's 'Verify Licence Details' feature fetches a licensee's details from a CM/L number^[29], and Manakonline offers a licence search^[30]. The FMCS list itself shows the CML number, name and address with country, validity date, standard, status and the varieties or brands covered^[4]. See our guide to verifying a BIS licence and the Manakonline portal guide.

It applies online on Manakonline, nominates an Indian AIR, hosts a BIS factory visit where samples are drawn, passes independent testing and then gives a USD 10,000 bank guarantee; BIS says this takes about six months on average.

From 1 June 2026, BIS accepts FMCS applications only through Manakonline^[16]. The process is scrutiny, a BIS visit to verify the factory's manufacturing and testing set-up and draw samples, independent testing and grant^[7]. BIS's toy manual asks for 3 to 10 fully packaged and labelled pieces, enough for complete testing^[34].

Testing covers both primary and secondary standards. Non-electric toys are licensed against IS 9873 (Part 1) with Parts 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9 as secondary standards; electric toys against IS 15644 with the IS 9873 parts as secondary^[31]. One Scheme-I licence covers one product and one standard^[35], so a Chinese factory making both plush and battery-powered ride-on toys needs two licences. See IS 9873 (Part 1).

After grant the factory signs an agreement and indemnity bond and gives a Performance Bank Guarantee of USD 10,000 from a bank with an RBI-approved branch in India^[7]. BIS states the average time is about six months from a complete application^[7]. Since 25 February 2026 the licence is granted for up to five years at first and renewed for up to five more, with fees paid every year in advance^[36]. BIS keeps watching through visits and market samples^[37].

Our FMCS guide, FMCS fees and CRS vs ISI vs FMCS explain the scheme in full.

Customs draws a sample from each toy consignment and sends it to an NABL-accredited lab; you may get the goods released only on condition you do not sell them until the sample passes.

This comes from DGFT Notification 33/2015-20 of 2 December 2019, which revised Policy Condition 2(iii) of Chapter 95: a sample is randomly picked from each consignment, tested at an NABL lab, and if it fails the consignment is sent back or destroyed at the importer's cost^[5]. The same notification says toys imported under any chapter are governed by the BIS standards in that condition^[18], so declaring a toy under a different heading does not avoid it.

This port test is on top of the factory's BIS licence. The QCO bans import without the ISI mark; the DGFT condition adds a consignment-level check.

It does: the procedure and nominated labs are set by each Customs house. For Nhava Sheva, JNCH Public Notice 113/2019 nominated six labs in the Delhi NCR and Mumbai regions^[18].

The six were Eko Pro Engineers (Ghaziabad), Geo-Chem Laboratory (Gurgaon), Intertek India (Gurugram), Reliable Analytical Laboratories (Thane), Alpha Test House (Bahadurgarh) and Sigma Test & Research Centre (New Delhi)^[18]. That notice is from 2019, so ask your broker for the current list at your port.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port handles around 50% of containerised cargo across India's major ports^[38], which is why we use its toy procedure as the example. If you land elsewhere, expect the same DGFT condition but a different public notice. Lab capacity near the port matters because your goods sit unsold until the report arrives; see why shipments get held at Indian ports and the BIS labs in Mumbai and Pune.

Basic customs duty on toys under heading 9503 is 70%, raised from 60% in the 2023-24 Budget, with toys exempt from the Social Welfare Surcharge^[6].

Parts of electronic toys are treated differently. Their tariff rate was cut from 70% to 20% from 1 May 2025, with 20% BCD plus 7.5% AIDC where they are used to make electronic toys and 20% BCD plus 20% AIDC otherwise^[12]. From 2 February 2026 every good under heading 9503 is exempt from SWS^[39]. IGST is charged on top; we do not quote its rate here.

Toy tariff items are reported as 9503 00 10 (electronic), 9503 00 20 (non-electronic), 9503 00 91 (parts of electronic toys) and 9503 00 99 (other)^[40]. Getting the line right matters for duty, but not for BIS: the QCO follows the product, not the code. See HS codes.

We found no anti-dumping duty on toys from China in our search of CBIC and DGTR notifications, and India has no free trade agreement with China, so the full 70% applies.

Anti-dumping duty, where it exists, is imposed by a Finance Ministry notification after DGTR findings and usually lasts five years^[41]. China is not among India's FTA partners on the Commerce Ministry's July 2026 list, which does include ASEAN^[42]. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are ASEAN members, and the ASEAN–India agreement has applied with Vietnam since 1 June 2010^[43]. Whether toys get a preferential rate under it depends on India's concession notification, which we have not verified for heading 9503. Ask your broker before you assume any saving.

Legal Metrology registration and plastic EPR for almost every importer; battery EPR if the toy contains a battery; e-waste EPR for listed electric toys; and CRS or WPC for a few electronic items.

• Legal Metrology. Toys imported as pre-packaged retail units are reported to need importer registration under rule 27 and declarations on the package^[44]. The fee is Rs 500^[19], within 90 days of starting^[19], and the certificate stays valid until cancelled^[45]. See LMPC.
• Plastic EPR. Blister packs and poly bags make you an importer of goods with plastic packaging^[20].
• Battery EPR. A remote-control car or talking doll contains batteries, which makes you a battery producer^[22]; register before import^[46].
• E-waste EPR. Schedule I lists electric train and car racing sets, hand-held video game consoles, video games and sports equipment with electronics^[24].
• BIS CRS. Electronic video games are a CRS category under IS 616^[47], so a games console from China follows the CRS route, not FMCS. See BIS CRS.
• WPC. A toy drone or remote-control toy with a radio transmitter may need a WPC ETA. Drones in finished form are prohibited imports^[48]; see drones.

The ISI mark with the CM/L licence number and model number, the BIS website line, and the Legal Metrology declarations naming you as importer and China as country of origin.

Under the BIS toy manual, the Standard Mark goes on the primary packaging and/or the toy itself, legibly and indelibly, and each package shows the model number, the CM/L licence number and the text 'For details of BIS certification please visit www.bis.gov.in'^[49]. The Legal Metrology list adds the importer's name and address, country of origin, generic name, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP, unit sale price and consumer care details^[50]. Plastic packaging carries your plastic EPR name and registration number^[51], and any battery carries the crossed-out wheelie bin^[52].

Since 29 May 2026 the Legal Metrology declarations can be added at an AEO Tier-2 or Tier-3 bonded warehouse^[45]. The ISI mark cannot: it belongs to the factory's licence. See the product label checklist and principal display panel.

A few narrow cases: R&D imports by BIS-certified or applicant manufacturers, goods for export, and toys from registered artisans or GI producers. None helps a normal retail importer.

Possibly, for a narrow set of Indian companies, and the detailed rules were still awaited. The order lets DPIIT permit companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, after assessment by an Implementation Committee, to source goods under ten scheduled QCOs, including toys, through BIS Scheme-II licences^[54].

Applications are accepted for 24 months from commencement, the order lapses after five years unless extended, and DPIIT is to issue detailed guidelines^[54]. The Toys QCO is in its schedule with implementation dated 1 January 2021^[54]. Until the guidelines are out, do not plan a business on it. Track updates on the QCO tracker and new rules for 2026.

On official figures, a Chinese factory's first-year FMCS cost for one non-electric toy standard starts around Rs 1.38 lakh plus a USD 10,000 guarantee and officers' travel; at the port, 70% duty and a bond equal to the goods' value follow on every shipment.

The example assumes a large enterprise rate, a BIS visit of 4 man-days (an assumption for illustration only; BIS decides the actual number) and one consignment of non-electric toys with an assessable value of Rs 10 lakh. FMCS fees equal domestic Scheme-I fees plus per diem, tickets, visa and insurance for BIS officers and a Rs 10,000 contingency payment^[15], paid in US dollars by non-SAARC applicants^[15].

Electric toys under IS 15644 carry a higher minimum, Rs 1,46,000 for a large enterprise, and a unit rate of Rs 80 per 1,000 pieces; non-electric toys under IS 9873 (Part 1) pay Rs 4.5 per 1,000 pieces^[56][8].

The minimum is payable whether or not goods are marked, and at renewal the higher of the actual or minimum marking fee is charged, according to a BIS grant letter we have seen reported^[57]. Worked out: 2,00,000 non-electric toys is 200 units of 1,000, so 200 x Rs 4.5 = Rs 900 in unit-rate fees, far below the Rs 98,000 minimum. Volume rarely moves the bill for toys; the minimum does.

Lower minimums exist for medium, small and micro enterprises: Rs 79,000, Rs 49,000 and Rs 19,600 for IS 9873 (Part 1)^[8]. These categories follow the MSMED Act^[58], so ask BIS which applies to a factory in China before you budget the lower figure. The budget leaves out lab test charges, officers' travel, the port sample test, IGST and freight, which we cannot source. Model your own case with the compliance cost estimator or read what an ISI licence costs and ISI mark fees.

The big one is a supplier with no BIS licence at all. After that come licences for the wrong product or plant, and goods that fail the port test.

Ask the factory to apply under FMCS, switch to a licensed factory in another country, or make or assemble in India; importing finished toys without a licence is not an option.

1. Have the Chinese factory apply. Budget about six months^[7] and the costs above. You would likely act as its AIR, which makes you answerable for compliance^[17] and limits you to one unrelated foreign factory^[17].
2. Source from a licensed factory elsewhere. Vietnam had 28 operative toy records and Thailand 10 on 30 October 2026^[4]. See importing from Vietnam.
3. Make in India with imported parts. Parts of electronic toys for toy manufacture pay 20% BCD plus 7.5% AIDC^[12], and the Indian maker takes its own Scheme-I licence. See ISI mark and talk to a BIS consultant.

If you are unsure which route fits, ask for a free compliance check.

Customs can refuse or destroy the goods, BIS can prosecute, and consumer authorities can order recalls through marketplaces.

Section 17 of the BIS Act bans importing, selling or storing notified goods without a Standard Mark under a valid licence^[14]. A first contravention is punishable with up to two years in prison or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh, extendable to ten times the value of the goods, or both^[14]. Packages without Legal Metrology declarations bring an improvement notice, then penalties up to Rs 5 lakh and fines of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh^[59].

Marketplaces are not a safe channel either. In a QCO case on pressure cookers, the Central Consumer Protection Authority ordered Amazon to recall 2,265 units, refund buyers and pay Rs 1,00,000^[60]. See selling without BIS and compliance for Amazon sellers.