Importing e-bike and e-scooter battery chargers into India: the BIS question, EPR and labelling in 2026

An e-bike or e-scooter charger is a portable mains-to-DC power supply for a traction battery. India's rules do not name it directly, which leaves one big open question and several clear answers.

• BIS: unclear. No CRS category for e-bike or EV battery chargers appears on the BIS CRS lists, and no ISI order for EV chargers was found^[1]. The nearest CRS category is Standalone SMPS, and whether it applies is unverified. See the next section.
• BEE: voluntary. BEE has a voluntary EV Charger label^[5], but whether it covers portable e-bike chargers has not been confirmed.
• Plastic EPR: yes^[7]. Legal Metrology: yes for retail packs, on our reading^[10].
• E-waste EPR: depends, because chargers are not named in Schedule I.
• WPC, MTCTE and battery EPR: on our reading, no for a plain wired charger.

We cannot tell you yes or no, and we will not choose for you. Here is what the official lists show and where they run out.

What we checked. The BIS CRS product lists on 30 October 2026 contain no category for e-bike or EV battery chargers, and a search of BIS's Scheme-I (ISI) orders found no QCO for EV chargers^[1].

Candidate 1: CRS as a Standalone SMPS. The nearest CRS category is "Standalone Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS)", which the research behind this page maps to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023^[1]. On BIS's product list the entry reads "Standalone Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) with output voltage 48V (max)", originally under IS 13252 (Part 1):2010, in force since 1 April 2021^[2]. Applying this category to e-bike chargers is unverified^[1]. Note that the category name itself carries an output-voltage limit, so your charger's rated output is part of the question you put to BIS.

Candidate 2: no BIS requirement. If the SMPS category does not reach e-bike chargers, and no other order names them, there would be no BIS requirement at all. We found no ISI order that would fill the gap^[1].

What is missing. No BIS circular, FAQ or ruling that we could find settles whether an e-bike charger is a Standalone SMPS. Whether CRS SMPS is applied to these chargers in practice is one of our open research questions.

What you can do.

1. Ask your factory whether it holds a CRS registration for the charger as a Standalone SMPS, and check the R-number on the BIS portal.
2. Ask a BIS-recognised lab whether it will accept the charger for testing in that category.
3. Ask BIS in writing, describing the charger's input, output and use, and keep the reply.
4. Until you have an answer, budget for the CRS route; it is the more cautious plan.

If CRS does apply, importing without it is an offence under the BIS Act (see penalties). Our BIS CRS guide explains the scheme.

E-bike chargers are usually classified under ITC(HS) 8504 40 30, "Static converters - Rectifier: Battery chargers"^[3]. We have not found an official ruling for this product, so confirm the code with your customs broker before filing.

What is and is not an e-bike charger for this page:

• Portable off-board chargers that plug into a wall socket and charge a removable or fitted e-bike battery. That is the product this page covers.
• EV charging stations and wall-mounted EV supply equipment are a different kind of product, which this page does not cover. Whether BEE's voluntary EV Charger label is aimed at that equipment rather than portable chargers is part of the open BEE question below.
• The traction battery itself is not part of the charger. The CRS battery category is for batteries in portable applications^[1], and under the battery rules a traction battery for an electric road vehicle is an "EV battery"^[20]. If you import batteries, see our lithium-ion battery packs guide.
• Chargers sold with a battery in one kit. The importer of equipment containing batteries is a producer under the battery rules^[21], so a kit brings battery EPR for the battery part.

Chargers usually go under 8504 40 30; the neighbouring lines for other static converters and for the lithium battery itself carry different approvals. Test the code in the HS code approval finder and confirm with your broker.

Output voltage, a radio, a bundled battery and the type of charger all shift the approvals. The matrix below is our reading, not an official ruling; check your model in the approval checker.

Settle the BIS question first, since a CRS registration is held by the factory and needs lab testing. Your own registrations are quick. This order is our suggestion; it does not guarantee approval or timing.

Tools and help. Check your charger in the approval checker, and read does my product need BIS before you write to BIS. The first electronics import checklist covers IEC, broker and documents, and the EPR registration checklist the CPCB side. For help with the BIS question, see our BIS consultants guide; for a free compliance check, contact us.

This section only matters if BIS confirms the charger is a Standalone SMPS. CRS is BIS's Scheme-II, based on the manufacturer's self-declaration backed by a lab report^[27].

• Who applies: the manufacturer, per factory. The importer cannot hold the registration^[27].
• Foreign factories: nominate an AIR in Form IV^[12], who can be the Indian branch, the brand owner or another Indian entity^[28].
• Standard: the SMPS entry on BIS's product list shows IS 13252 (Part 1):2010^[2]. MeitY replaced IS 13252 (Part 1) with IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 in the CRS schedule^[29], with the old standard allowed until 1 November 2028^[30].
• Fees: Rs 1,000 application and Rs 50,000 processing including one test report under BIS's published table, before GST^[11]. A consultant reports a 2026 change to Rs 25,000 a year^[31], which we have not found published in full by BIS.
• Time: BIS aims to grant within 20 working days if everything is in order^[12].
• Validity: five years, renewable for five, with annual fees in advance^[13].
• Marking: the Standard Mark with R-number and IS number^[32], plus www.bis.gov.in^[33].

See CRS fees and the CRS fee calculator.

If BIS treats your charger as a Standalone SMPS, new testing would be to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, where labs declared Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,99,000 with a median of about Rs 1,25,000, excluding taxes^[34]. The old IS 13252 (Part 1), allowed until 1 November 2028^[30], was cheaper at a median of about Rs 63,750^[35].

Noida has eight labs listed for IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, at Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000^[36]. If you also import the battery, IS 16046 testing for portable-application lithium batteries had a median of about Rs 80,000^[37], though e-bike traction packs fall under different rules. Ask the lab first whether it will accept the charger in the SMPS category at all; that answer is your best practical evidence. See the BIS labs directory, the CRS test labs guide and the IS/IEC 62368-1 guide.

No order named e-bike chargers in 2026, but the CRS standard, licence terms and BEE regulations around them changed. Track these dates; see also new rules for 2026 and the electronics CRS order page.

No BEE label is mandatory. BEE's mandatory list does not include chargers^[40].

BEE's voluntary list includes "EV Charger" (Schedule 41)^[5], and the 2026 BEE regulations list EV chargers as voluntary with a label fee of Rs 5 per kW^[6]. What we have not confirmed is whether Schedule 41 covers portable off-board e-bike chargers rather than charging-station equipment. Ask BEE before you plan around it.

If you opt in, no BEE label may be fixed without BEE's prior written permission^[6]. Voluntary appliances are registered under BEE's Operational Manual, and the regulation does not state fees for voluntary registration^[6]. Each brand registers separately, with testing at BEE-recognised labs^[41]. Permission for a model lasts three years^[6].

• WPC ETA: on our reading, no for wired chargers, which have no radio transmitter^[4]. A charger with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi would be a wireless device, and ETA applies to those^[24].
• MTCTE: on our reading, no. Chargers are not in TEC's July 2024 list of notified products; later phases were not checked^[14].
• Battery EPR: on our reading, no for the charger alone, which contains no battery^[8].
• E-waste EPR: depends, and unconfirmed. Schedule I of the E-Waste Rules 2022 does not name chargers or adapters as separate items; coverage depends on generic entries and on the rules covering components, parts and spares, and how CPCB classifies them on its portal is not verified^[15]. We therefore give no EEE code. If CPCB treats your chargers as covered EEE, offering them for sale makes you a producer^[15], with a Rs 10,000 registration fee for producers whose sales have just started^[16]. See our e-waste EPR guide.

Plastic EPR: yes, whenever the chargers come in plastic packaging^[7]. The plastic EPR guidelines, as notified in 2022, treat anyone importing products with plastic packaging as an obligated importer^[7]. Fees are Rs 10,000, 20,000 or 50,000 by tonnage^[18], plus 25% of the fee each year^[18]. The annual return is due by 30 June^[26]. See our plastic EPR guide.

Legal Metrology: yes for retail packs. Importers of commodities for sale register under rule 27^[9]. For chargers imported as retail units, we understand this means registration and full package declarations, though we have confirmed only the registration form, not the full rules text^[10]. Chargers supplied in bulk to e-bike makers may fall under the exemption for industrial or institutional consumers^[42]; check with your adviser. The fee is Rs 500^[9], and the registration lasts until cancelled^[19].

Legal Metrology. Each retail pack must show 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^[42]. For electronic products and accessories, the month and year of manufacture can reportedly go anywhere on the pack^[43]. If the charger is a spare part sold separately, it needs all declarations on its own pack^[9].

Plastic EPR. The producer's or brand owner's name and registration number on plastic packaging, which rule 11 extends to importers despite a conflicting proviso for imported goods^[44], or a QR code since 1 July 2025^[45].

BIS (only if CRS applies). The Standard Mark with R-number and IS number^[32]. Do not put a BIS mark on a product without a registration covering it^[46].

BEE (only if you opt in). The BEE label with brand, model, rated capacity, star level and country of origin^[6], with a QR code^[6].

Tick each line for the charger body and the box. Check the text in the label checker, and see the product label checklist and Legal Metrology label rules.

The importer carries what is certain (plastic EPR and LMPC); the factory would hold CRS if it applies; sellers share BIS liability if it does. The BIS Act's definition of person covers sellers as well as importers^[48]. See foreign manufacturers, D2C brands and Amazon sellers.

Because the BIS position is unclear, here are two scenarios using official fees only. Totals are our arithmetic; neither is a ruling on which applies.

Scenario A: no BIS requirement. Plastic EPR Rs 10,000 + Rs 2,500 + LMPC Rs 500 = Rs 13,000.

Scenario B: CRS as a Standalone SMPS. Add Rs 1,000 + Rs 50,000 + Rs 1,000 = Rs 52,000 before GST, so Rs 65,000 in total.

If CPCB treats chargers as covered EEE, add Rs 10,000 e-waste registration and Rs 5,000 annual maintenance. If you take BEE's voluntary label, the label fee is Rs 5 per kW. Lab testing, AIR fees and consultants are not government fees.

If no BIS requirement applies, one or three charger models cost the same Rs 13,000 in official fees; under CRS as an SMPS, one model costs about Rs 1.9 lakh and three about Rs 4.8 lakh with median lab charges. Assumptions: one brand, a new importer under 1,000 tonnes of plastic, wired chargers, each model its own lead model tested to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 at the LIMS median. Totals are our arithmetic. Try the compliance cost estimator and see the cost of importing electronics.

Without BIS, the official clocks are the plastic EPR and LMPC registrations; under CRS, add lab time and BIS's target of 20 working days. The table lists the official limits; see how long BIS registration takes.

1. First-time importer of replacement chargers for the aftermarket. Register for plastic EPR and LMPC, and get the BIS question answered in writing before ordering in volume. If your factory already has a CRS registration for the model as a Standalone SMPS, check the R-number and brand on the portal^[12].

2. Marketplace seller of chargers. The BIS Act binds sellers as well as importers^[48], so if CRS is later held to apply, unmarked stock is your risk too. Platforms must show the package declarations online, as reported since a 2017 amendment^[49], and a country-of-origin filter for imported goods is reported to be required from 1 July 2027^[39].

3. Foreign e-bike brand importing bikes, batteries and chargers. The charger questions are on this page. The traction batteries are EV batteries under the battery rules^[20], so your importer is a battery producer and must register with CPCB before importing^[50]. If BIS confirms CRS for the charger, your factory registers with an AIR^[12].

• The BIS question raised at the port. If an officer treats the charger as a Standalone SMPS under CRS, goods without the Standard Mark and registration number cannot be imported^[27]. A written BIS reply helps.
• Chargers packed with batteries. A kit with a battery makes the importer a battery producer^[21], and CPCB has asked Customs to verify battery EPR registration^[51].
• Missing plastic EPR proof. CPCB has asked Customs to check plastic EPR registration, according to its own affidavit before the NGT^[52].
• Incomplete retail declarations. Packs must carry the Legal Metrology declarations before sale^[42].

Today the checks that certainly apply are EPR and Legal Metrology; BIS checks apply only if a charger is held to be a CRS product.

At the port. CPCB has asked Customs to verify plastic EPR registration for importers^[52], and battery EPR registration for equipment containing batteries^[51]. If CRS applies, a CBIC instruction reportedly requires a BIS registration check on every consignment under the electronics order^[53]. Keep the customs clearance documents ready.

In the market. Packs without the required declarations draw an improvement notice, then penalties up to Rs 5 lakh, then fines of Rs 25-50 lakh, including for online marketplaces^[54]. Plastic EPR shortfalls attract environmental compensation^[55].

If CRS is confirmed. Unregistered covered goods cannot be imported or sold^[27], and BIS officers can search premises and seize goods^[56]. See selling without BIS and why shipments get held.

BIS (if CRS applies). Breaking section 17 of the BIS Act carries up to two years' prison or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh (Rs 5 lakh for repeat offences), up to ten times the goods' value, or both^[48]. These figures are from the Act as enacted.

Legal Metrology. Improvement notice for a first offence, up to Rs 5 lakh for a second, then Rs 25 to 50 lakh^[54].

Plastic EPR. EC of Rs 2,900 to Rs 7,900 per tonne of shortfall by category, doubled and tripled for repeat defaults^[55]. Missing the annual return draws EC of Rs 5,000 and then Rs 10,000 after notice periods^[55].

BEE (only if you label). An unexplained labelling breach leads to forfeiture of the security deposit and a one-year suspension of the model registration^[6].