Importing mobile phones into India: BIS, Indian language support, WPC and EPR in 2026

Six approvals apply to a phone imported for sale: BIS CRS registration (covering safety and Indian language support), a WPC ETA, e-waste EPR, battery EPR, plastic packaging EPR and Legal Metrology registration. Phones are exempt from TEC MTCTE and are not covered by the BEE star label.

BIS is the gate. Nobody may import, sell or distribute a CRS-listed product unless it conforms to the Indian Standard and bears the Standard Mark with a BIS registration number^[12]. Phones also have device-registration rules (such as IMEI) that are outside this guide; check them separately.

The DGFT ITC(HS) schedule has two lines for phones:

• 85171300 - Telephone sets for cellular networks or for other wireless networks: smartphones^[3].
• 85171400 - Other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks, such as feature phones^[3].

Which line your phone goes under is a classification decision, so confirm it with your customs broker. Both lines are phones for BIS purposes: the CRS category is "Mobile Phones" whatever the HS code.

Products that look like phone imports but follow different rules:

Check any line in the HS code approval finder.

Every handset needs BIS and an ETA; the accessories in the box usually need their own BIS registrations, held by their own factories. Sort a mixed order with the table, or check one SKU in the approval checker.

BIS testing takes longest, so start it first and run the ETA and EPR work alongside.

Plan on two to three months from sample dispatch to stock, most of it lab time. BIS aims to grant within 20 working days of a clean application^[13]; the ETA is issued on submission. See how long BIS registration takes.

Two standards, one category. Mobile phones are a CRS category tested to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 together with IS 16333 (Part 3):2022, the Indian language support standard^[1]. Indian language support for handsets was added to the CRS order on 24 October 2016^[12]. The CRS list shows it as its own entry, under IS 16333 (Part 3):2022^[28], but the licence for it is granted under the "Mobile Phone" category^[2]. In practice that means one registration for the phone, with test evidence for both standards. Ask your lab what Indian language support testing involves for your software build.

Safety standard migration. The portal list still shows IS 13252 (Part 1):2010 against mobile phones, which have been on the list since 13 September 2015^[28]. MeitY replaced that standard with IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 in October 2025^[37], with both allowed until 1 November 2028^[38].

The factory applies. CRS is granted to the manufacturer for each factory^[12], and each brand needs its own application unless the brand owner is the same^[13].

Battery and charger. Both are CRS categories in their own right, each with its own standard^[28].

New models. Add them by inclusion: a new test request, a lab report and Form VIII A^[39], at Rs 30,000 including one report^[4]. Phone ranges change fast, so budget for inclusions.

Fees and validity. On the published table, Rs 1,000 application, Rs 50,000 processing with one report and Rs 1,000 annual licence fee, plus GST^[4]. Five-year licences with annual fees since February 2026^[14]; a Rs 25,000 yearly processing fee is reported by a consultant but not yet published by BIS^[40]. See BIS CRS.

Fees, documents and renewal. See BIS CRS fees, BIS CRS documents, CRS renewal, series guidelines and the BIS CRS portal guide. The order behind it is explained on the electronics CRS order.

It checks that the phone can display and input Indian languages to IS 16333 (Part 3):2022. BIS lists 'Indian Language Support for Mobile Phone Handsets' as its own CRS entry, in force since 1 May 2018^[28], but the licence is granted under the 'Mobile Phone' category^[2]. Since MeitY's 2025 order, phones are tested to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 together with IS 16333 (Part 3)^[1].

Cost. BIS LIMS does not give a single figure for the language test in our data. The best public anchor is STPI's surveillance schedule, which lists Rs 15,000 for the Indian language support test on top of Rs 45,500 for the phone^[41]. Ask your lab to quote both parts.

What goes wrong. A phone that ships with a different software build than the tested sample can fail the language check in market surveillance. Keep the tested firmware version on file, and add new variants by inclusion^[39]. The standard itself is covered on IS/IEC 62368-1.

From 1 April 2027, glass screen protectors do. MeitY's S.O. 5190(E) of 21 September 2026 added screen protectors for smartphones, under IS 19348:2025, as entry 66 of the CRS schedule, effective 1 April 2027^[10]. BIS issued guidelines for granting these licences on 15 October 2026, including a 40-piece sample for complete testing^[42].

If you sell phones with a screen protector fitted or in the box, check with your supplier that the protector's maker is planning its registration before April 2027.

Other accessories already on the CRS list: chargers^[28], lithium batteries and power banks^[28] and wireless earphones^[28]. We did not find phone cases or cables among the categories on the current CRS list.

For phones the dated changes are the standard, the new screen-protector entry and the DoT portal move. Phones migrate to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 with IS 16333 (Part 3) by 1 November 2028^[43], and glass screen protectors come under CRS from 1 April 2027^[10]. Track both on new rules for 2026.

Yes. Phones contain Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios in licence-exempt bands, and on our reading of WPC's 2024 order they need an ETA^[15]. Mobile handsets and smartphones are named on WPC's list of products for the self-declaration route^[5].

How. Since 9 September 2024 every licence-exempt ETA is a self-declaration on Saral Sanchar, and the certificate is downloaded on submission^[16]. Documents: RF test report, the maker's authorisation and technical literature^[5]. Fee: Rs 10,000 per model^[5]. Validity: the life of the model^[5]. Customs may treat the importer's self-declaration as sufficient evidence to clear licence-exempt wireless products^[5].

The 2026 transition. DoT stopped accepting new applications under the Indian Telegraph Act; Telecommunications Act authorisations moved to eservices.dot.gov.in from 25 June 2026 and Radio Equipment Possession Authorisation from 6 August 2026^[47]. Whether that changes the ETA self-declaration route has not been confirmed^[50]. See WPC ETA.

More detail: WPC ETA fees, WPC ETA documents, the Saral Sanchar guide and how to get WPC approval.

MTCTE: exempt. S.O. 2372(E) of 24 May 2022 exempts mobile user equipment and mobile handsets from prior mandatory testing and certification^[6]. The current MTCTE list does not include handsets or smartphones as a product category^[51]. MTCTE now runs under the 2025 telecom conformity rules, which keep existing exemptions until a new notification supersedes them^[52]. We have not seen a notification rescinding the handset exemption. Watch for one: TEC can bring products in by notification.

BEE: not listed. Mobile phones do not appear on BEE's mandatory or voluntary appliance lists^[7].

The notified list is on MTCTE products and the fee groups on MTCTE fees; see WPC ETA vs MTCTE for the difference.

ITEW15. Schedule I lists "Cellular telephones" under code ITEW15^[8]. Feature phones and smartphones both fit.

You are the producer. Anyone offering to sell imported EEE, including through e-retailers, is a producer^[8], and must register with CPCB before trading^[8]. The fee is Rs 10,000 if your sales have just started^[19], with Rs 5,000 a year in maintenance^[19].

Targets and certificates. For 2026-27 the target is 70% of the weight placed on the market in the reference year^[8]. You fulfil it only by buying certificates from registered recyclers; liability stays with you even if you use a PRO^[8]. CPCB's environmental compensation for ITEW products is Rs 112 per kg, with a floor certificate price of Rs 34 per kg^[53]. Quarterly and annual returns are due by the end of the following month^[8].

Used phones. Importers of used EEE carry a 100% EPR obligation if the goods are not re-exported^[8]. See e-waste EPR.

Yes. Mobile phones contain batteries, so the importer is a producer under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022^[9]. CPCB has asked Customs to verify battery EPR registration on consignments of equipment containing batteries^[54].

What registration involves. Importers of batteries and of equipment containing batteries must register with CPCB before importing^[32]. Registration is on Form 1(A) through the online portal and, since 2023, stays valid until cancelled^[20]. The fee depends on turnover: Rs 10,000 under Rs 5 crore, Rs 20,000 between Rs 5 and 50 crore, and Rs 40,000 above^[21]. CPCB must register you within two weeks of a complete application^[20].

Your yearly obligation. For rechargeable portable batteries in consumer electronics, the collection target from 2024-25 is 70% of the batteries you placed on the market five years earlier, with 100% of what is collected recycled or refurbished^[55]. You meet it by buying EPR certificates from registered recyclers, separately for each chemistry^[55]. You file Form 1(C) with quantities imported by 30 June each year^[20] and an annual return in Form 3^[55]. The FY 2025-26 return deadline was extended to 30 November 2026^[49].

Battery EPR is separate from e-waste EPR. Waste batteries are excluded from the E-Waste Rules and handled under the battery rules^[8], so the battery inside your phone is its own obligation. See battery EPR.

Targets and returns are explained on battery EPR targets and EPR annual returns.

Yes, in almost every case. The importer of mobile phones sold in plastic packaging counts as an "importer" under the Guidelines on EPR for Plastic Packaging and needs plastic EPR registration^[22]. The 2024 definition covers anyone who imports, for commercial use, any commodity with plastic packaging^[33]. The micro and small enterprise carve-out in the rules is written for producers and brand owners, not importers^[33].

What it involves:

• Registration. Register on CPCB's centralised EPR portal. If you operate in more than two states, CPCB registers you; in one or two states, the State Pollution Control Board does^[23]. Each sub-category and each state is a separate registration^[23]. KYC is PAN, GST and CIN of the company plus the Aadhaar and PAN of the authorised person^[23].
• Fee. Rs 10,000 if you generate under 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year, Rs 20,000 up to 10,000 TPA and Rs 50,000 above that^[24]. You also pay 25% of the application fee each year when you file returns^[24].
• Target. From 2023-24 the target is 100% of your eligible quantity of packaging^[23]. For an importer, the eligible quantity is based on the average packaging imported and sold over the last two years, plus pre-consumer waste, minus what you supplied to brand owners^[23]. Rigid trays and flexible film are different categories^[33].
• Returns. Annual returns are due by 30 June of the next financial year^[33].

See our full guide to plastic packaging EPR.

Yes, if you import mobile phones in retail packs. Rule 27 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 requires every person who pre-packs or imports any commodity for sale, distribution or delivery to apply for registration^[26]. Based on the importer registration form used by states, mobile phones imported as pre-packaged retail units appear to need this registration and the declarations on the pack^[25]. (We could not read the current consolidated rules text.)

How it works:

• Where. Apply to the State Controller of Legal Metrology or the Director of Legal Metrology^[26]. The application gives your name, the full address of the premises where you import, and the commodities you import^[26]. Since 29 May 2026 a company must also name the director responsible for compliance^[27].
• When. Within 90 days of starting to import^[26].
• Fee. Rs 500^[26], and Rs 100 for any later change to the certificate^[26].
• Validity. The certificate now stays valid until cancelled^[27], but a 2026 proviso asks companies to update details every year on the online portal, including products, quantities imported and country of origin^[27].

B2B shipments. Packaged goods meant for industrial or institutional consumers are exempt from the retail-package provisions^[56]. Retail packs sold to consumers, online or offline, are not.

How to register: LMPC importer registration and label rules.

BIS Standard Mark. IS number and R-number^[57], legible and indelible^[57], at least Arial size 6^[57], plus www.bis.gov.in^[58]. Phones may show the mark electronically, reachable within four menu steps without special codes, but a physical label on the packaging is still needed at import, storage and sale^[34]. Even with an e-label, www.bis.gov.in must be marked on the product or package^[58].

Legal Metrology. Importer name and address, country of origin, common name, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP, unit sale price and consumer care details^[56]. A 2023 amendment reportedly lets electronics show the month and year of manufacture anywhere on the pack^[59].

Battery. The crossed-out wheelie bin on the battery^[55]; your EPR registration number on the phone or its packaging^[60], or via QR code after telling CPCB^[61].

Plastic EPR. Registration details or a QR code on plastic packaging^[62]; rule 11 is inconsistent on imported goods^[63], so print them. See BIS CRS labelling.

Scenario: a first-time importer, turnover under Rs 5 crore, brings in one smartphone model from one factory under its own brand. We assume one CRS application with one test report; your lab will tell you if Indian language support or your range needs more reports, at Rs 20,000 each^[4]. The charger and battery already have their makers' registrations. Official fees only; the arithmetic is ours.

Not included, because they are not government fees: lab and RF testing, AIR and consultant charges, and EPR certificates.

Lab fees roughly triple; government fees rise more slowly. The CRS application and annual fees are paid once per licence, extra test reports cost Rs 20,000 each^[4], and each model needs its own Rs 10,000 ETA^[5]. Phones can share a series only if they have the same battery capacity, charging voltage and current, battery-side PCB, adaptor and a similar enclosure^[30]; up to 10 phones fit one series^[64]. The table assumes three different series and leaves out the language test.

What the BIS lab charges. Labs publish their CRS test charges on BIS LIMS. On 1 November 2026, LIMS listed 47 entries (46 labs) for IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, with declared charges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,99,000 before tax and a median of about Rs 1,25,000^[65]. The old standard, IS 13252 (Part 1), had 68 labs charging Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,00,000, median about Rs 63,750^[66]. A lab's declared charge stays fixed for three years unless the standard changes^[67]. In the Noida cluster alone, eight labs list IS/IEC 62368-1 at Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000^[68]. Compare labs on our BIS test labs page or the BIS labs directory.

Old standard or new? Testing mobile phones to IS 13252 (Part 1) is cheaper today, but that standard is withdrawn for CRS on 1 November 2028^[38]. BIS charges no fee to migrate registered models^[48], yet the lab must test every lead model again^[69]. For a new range, one IS/IEC 62368-1 report usually costs less than two reports.

1. First-time importer of feature phones. A Kolkata trader imports basic phones under ITC(HS) 85171400^[3] in its own brand. The factory's CRS registration must be in the trader's brand^[13] and cover Indian language support^[2]. If the phone has Bluetooth, it needs an ETA too. The trader registers for e-waste (ITEW15), battery and plastic EPR and Legal Metrology.

2. Marketplace seller bundling accessories. An online seller imports phones with a charger, a case and a glass screen protector in the box. The charger needs its own Standard Mark now^[28]; the screen protector will from 1 April 2027^[10]. Listings must show the Legal Metrology declarations, a duty on e-commerce sites reported since 2017^[71].

3. Foreign phone brand. A Chinese brand with factories in China and India needs a CRS licence for each factory^[12]. Its Indian subsidiary acts as AIR for the Chinese factory; an AIR may represent only one foreign manufacturer unless they are in the same group^[72]. As AIR, the subsidiary takes responsibility for BIS compliance on the maker's behalf^[72].

The factory holds BIS; the importer carries the ETA, EPR and Legal Metrology. A phone brand using a contract maker is still the e-waste producer, and every brand needs its own CRS application. The guide for foreign manufacturers and the guide for Flipkart sellers cover each role.

• R-number does not cover the model. Each new model needs to be on the licence through a test report or inclusion^[39].
• Charger or battery without its own registration. Both are separate CRS products^[28].
• No physical mark on the box. The e-label alone is not enough at import^[34].
• No battery EPR registration. CPCB has asked Customs to verify it^[54].
• Samples marked too early. The Standard Mark must not go on samples sent for testing before the grant^[76]. Samples imported for testing or pre-launch are exempt from ETA if you give Customs the prescribed undertaking^[77].

Why BIS returns applications. Model numbers in the test report must match the test request, and the category and product name must match the portal^[78]. BIS grants one registration number per manufacturer for a product and brand, so duplicate applications are rejected^[79]. See common CRS rejections.

Registered mobile phones can be bought off the shelf and retested at your cost. MeitY runs CRS surveillance with STPI's help, and the cost is borne by the manufacturer or licensee^[80].

How a sample is picked. After MeitY issues a surveillance order, STPI buys the sample from the open market or an e-commerce platform (the SOP names Amazon and Flipkart as examples), seals it and logs the model and serial number^[81]. The lab is a BIS-recognised lab picked by MeitY^[82].

What you pay. The MRP of the samples, packaging and courier at actuals, plus the lab's test charge^[83]. For mobile phones, STPI's list shows a maximum surveillance test charge of Rs 45,500, plus Rs 15,000 for the Indian language support test^[41]. The charge levied is the lab's declared BIS charge or the STQC/MeitY figure, whichever is lower^[41].

Your deadlines. Register every R-number and its models on crsbis.stpi.in^[84], send technical documents within 10 working days of a lab request^[85], and pay within 15 working days of the invoice^[86]. If you miss them, MeitY may ask BIS not to renew your registration.

End-of-life models. File an end-of-life declaration with STPI for models you no longer sell, so they are not picked^[87]. The full process is in our CRS surveillance guide.

Phone accessories are where enforcement shows up most often. We found no published 2025-26 case naming a handset, but the reported cases below involve chargers, batteries and earbuds sold in phone shops.

• E-commerce sampling. A ministry reply to Parliament reportedly said BIS bought 344 samples of QCO products from e-commerce platforms in 2024-25, found 142 without valid certification, and searched 22 e-commerce warehouses^[88]. One of those searches, at an Amazon Sellers warehouse in Delhi on 19 March 2025, reportedly seized over 3,500 products^[89].
• CRS electronics in Surat, June 2026. A BIS team reportedly seized 112 earbuds, earphones, power banks and speakers from a Surat firm for being stored and sold without a valid CRS registration number^[90].
• Fake marks on batteries, Chennai, October 2026. BIS's Chennai branch reportedly seized about 300 lithium batteries bearing Standard Marks with invalid registration numbers from a mobile hardware shop^[91].
• Fake marks on chargers, Hyderabad, July 2025. BIS Hyderabad reportedly seized mobile chargers with fake registration marks and started proceedings against the shop owner^[92].

BIS officers can enter and search premises where they believe goods breaching section 17 are kept^[93]. What happens next is covered in selling without BIS: what happens.

Paying EPR compensation does not cancel the EPR obligation^[8].

Not for the approvals: BIS, WPC and CPCB rules are the same for every origin. The logistics differ.

• BIS testing is in India. No IS/IEC 62368 lab on BIS LIMS was outside India on 1 November 2026^[97], so samples travel here within 60 days of the test request^[31].
• RF reports can be foreign. The ETA undertaking needs an accredited lab, named with its country^[74].
• Who ships HS 8517 goods to India. In 2025-26 India imported HS 8517 telephone sets and similar apparatus worth US$ 1,378.63 million from Hong Kong^[29], US$ 1,263.40 million from Vietnam^[29] and US$ 1,037.49 million from the USA^[29].

Read importing mobile phones from Vietnam, importing from China and from Hong Kong.

Use the free tools first, then specialists where you need them.

• Scope: the approval checker and the HS code approval finder.
• Budget: the compliance cost estimator, the BIS CRS fee calculator, BIS CRS registration cost and WPC ETA cost.
• Labels: the label checker and the product label checklist.
• Paperwork: BIS CRS documents, WPC ETA documents, WPC ETA fees, the BIS CRS application checklist and customs clearance documents.
• People: BIS consultants, WPC consultants and BIS-recognised labs such as the Delhi NCR labs. Read how to choose a BIS consultant before you sign.

To check a phone range quickly, ask for a free compliance check.