Importing set-top boxes into India: BIS CRS, WPC, MTCTE and EPR in 2026

Set-top boxes are a BIS CRS category, "Set Top Box", now mapped to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023^[1]. The category has been on the CRS list since 3 July 2013, originally under IS 13252 (Part 1):2010^[3]. MeitY replaced IS 13252 (Part 1) with IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 in the CRS schedule in late 2025^[10], and the old standard can still be used until 1 November 2028^[2].

The importer has e-waste EPR, since Schedule I names set top boxes as CEEW8^[5], plus plastic EPR and Legal Metrology. Three items depend on the model: WPC for radios, MTCTE for hybrid boxes, and battery EPR for boxes shipped with remote batteries.

Two ITC(HS) lines name set-top boxes or describe them:

• 8528 71 00, "Reception apparatus for television not designed to incorporate a video display or screen"^[4]. On our reading, this description fits cable, satellite and DTH boxes.
• 8517 69 60, "Set top boxes for gaining access to internet for Wireline Telephony"^[4]. This line is for boxes whose job is internet access over a wireline connection.

Which one fits depends on what your box mainly does. Agree the line with your customs broker before filing; we have not found an official classification ruling for hybrid boxes that do both.

Borderline products:

• Streaming sticks and Android TV boxes. We have not found an official BIS statement placing them in the "Set Top Box" CRS category. Confirm the category with your lab before testing.
• Televisions with built-in satellite tuners. The IS 18112 digital satellite receiver requirement applies to television sets under CRS, not to set-top boxes; its date for TVs was pushed to 26 January 2027^[29].
• Boxes that are really routers. If the box is mainly a Wi-Fi access point or router, MTCTE applies to those categories^[7]. See our Wi-Fi routers guide.

Check either line in the HS code approval finder.

Every set-top box needs BIS CRS; radios, remotes and internet functions decide the rest. Streaming sticks and hybrid boxes are the grey areas. Check a single model in the approval checker.

Start the CRS registration first: it is held by the factory and needs lab testing. Then settle the WPC and MTCTE questions for your model while your own registrations run in parallel. This order is our suggestion; it does not guarantee approval or timing.

Plan on two to three months from sample dispatch to stock. 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.

CRS is BIS's Scheme-II, based on the manufacturer's self-declaration supported by a lab report^[37]. Our BIS CRS guide covers the full scheme.

Who applies. The manufacturer, per factory, never the importer or trader^[37]. A foreign factory nominates an AIR in Form IV^[13].

Which standard. Set-top boxes were one of the IT categories tested to IS 13252 (Part 1):2010, which BIS now lists under IS/IEC 62368-1:2023^[38]. IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 is the safety standard for audio, video, information and communication technology equipment^[39]. BIS issued migration guidelines on 9 March 2026 and FAQs on 22 July 2026, according to circular titles on the CRS portal^[40]. If your existing registration is to IS 13252 (Part 1), plan the move before the old standard is withdrawn for CRS after 1 November 2028^[2]. Read more on our IS 13252 (Part 1) page.

Fees. BIS's published table lists a Rs 1,000 application fee and Rs 50,000 processing fee including one test report, plus Rs 20,000 per extra report, before GST^[12]. A consultant reports a 2026 move to Rs 25,000 a year paid in advance^[41]; BIS has not yet published that in full.

Time and validity. BIS's target is 20 working days when everything is in order first time^[13]. A licence now runs five years and renews for five more, with annual advance fees, though a later corrigendum reads 'upto five years' for certain schemes^[9].

Marking. The Standard Mark carries the R-number and IS number^[42]. Boxes with an on-screen menu may show the mark electronically as well, but a physical label is still required on the packaging at import and sale^[43].

Fees and paperwork. See BIS CRS fees, BIS CRS documents, CRS renewal, series guidelines and the BIS CRS portal guide.

Yes, before 1 November 2028. Set top boxes are on BIS's list of 38 categories moving to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023^[44], and IS 13252 (Part 1) is withdrawn for CRS after that date^[2].

How existing licensees migrate. Submit complete IS/IEC 62368-1 test reports for every lead model through the 'Standard Revision' option in the CRS login^[44]. One sample per licence is not enough^[35].

What stays the same. The R-number does not change^[45], BIS charges no migration fee^[45], and you may still renew under the old standard until 1 November 2028^[45].

Components. Critical components certified only to IS 13252 will not be accepted after migration^[45]; check the power supply and tuner board suppliers. New applicants are encouraged to test to the new standard now^[45]. More on IS/IEC 62368-1 and IS 13252 (Part 1).

The standard change is the main one: set top boxes move to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, with the old standard withdrawn on 1 November 2028^[44]. Boxes are not televisions, but TV makers face the IS 18112 satellite-receiver requirement from 26 January 2027^[29]. Track updates on new rules for 2026 and the QCO tracker.

This is unclear, and we cannot give you a firm answer. Here is what the official sources show.

• TEC's re-categorisation of 27 December 2023 lists "Hybrid Set Top Box" among MTCTE products in the Simplified Certification Scheme (SCS)^[16][51].
• But "Hybrid Set Top Box" does not appear in TEC's July 2024 list of products with mandatory certification dates^[16]. TEC's current notified list does not include set-top boxes as a product category^[7].

We found no mandatory date for hybrid set-top boxes. Plain broadcast boxes with no internet function are not named in either list^[7]. Before you import a hybrid box, check the MTCTE portal's product list or ask TEC.

If MTCTE does apply, the rule is strict: no notified telecom equipment may be sold or used in India without a valid certificate^[52]. SCS certificates are normally issued within 15 working days, without TEC evaluating the reports^[17]. Fees are an administrative fee by product group, from Rs 10,000 for Group A to Rs 50,000 for Group D^[17]; we have not found which group a hybrid set-top box falls in. A regular certificate is normally valid for ten years^[17]. For safety parameters, TEC accepts a valid BIS certificate or a BIS-recognised lab report, so your CRS evidence can be reused^[17].

If equipment is found uncertified where certification is required, the holder gets a notice to stop sale within seven days and can certify within 180 days at ten times the normal fee^[52].

For the notified list and fees, see MTCTE products, MTCTE fees and the MTCTE portal guide. Our WPC ETA vs MTCTE explains the difference.

On our reading, only if they have a radio. Boxes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or RF remotes need a WPC Equipment Type Approval; boxes controlled only by infrared do not^[14].

ETAs for licence-exempt wireless devices are granted on self-declaration through the Saral Sanchar portal, and the certificate is downloaded on submission^[15]. The fee is Rs 10,000 per model^[6]. You need an RF test report, the manufacturer's authorisation if you apply as its Indian representative, and technical literature^[6]. The test report can come from an accredited lab in any country^[53]. An ETA lasts for the life of the model^[6].

DoT has moved Telecommunications Act authorisations to a new portal from 2026; whether the ETA self-declaration route has changed was not clear on the date we checked^[49].

More detail: WPC ETA fees, WPC ETA documents and the Saral Sanchar guide.

E-waste: yes. Set top boxes are named in Schedule I as CEEW8^[54]. Anyone offering imported EEE for sale is a producer^[54] and must register before doing business^[54]. New producers pay Rs 10,000 to register^[19] and Rs 5,000 a year in maintenance charges^[19]. The recycling target for 2026-27 is 70% for producers with a full sales history^[54], and 20% of sales two years earlier for newer ones^[54]. Returns are quarterly and annual^[54]. See our e-waste EPR guide.

Battery: on our reading, only if you supply remote batteries. If the box ships with batteries for the remote, the importer is a producer under the battery rules for those batteries^[20][21]. CPCB says such importers must register before importing^[34]. Remote batteries are typically portable batteries: sealed and under 5 kg^[55]. Shipping boxes without batteries avoids this obligation. See our battery EPR guide.

Plastic: yes, whenever the box comes in plastic packaging^[23]. Fees start at Rs 10,000 plus 25% a year^[25]. See our plastic EPR guide.

Portal steps and targets: e-waste EPR, e-waste targets, battery EPR, plastic EPR and EPR annual returns.

Legal Metrology registration. Importers of commodities for sale register under rule 27^[26] with a Rs 500 fee^[26], within 90 days of starting imports^[26]. For boxes imported as retail units, we understand this applies in full, though we have confirmed only the registration form, not the full rules text^[27]. Packages meant for industrial or institutional consumers are exempt from the retail-package provisions^[56]. If you supply only to cable or DTH operators, ask your Legal Metrology adviser whether that exemption covers you; we have not seen a ruling on it.

On each retail pack: 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^[56]. If you supply the box with a remote and adapter in one carton, the declarations go on the main package^[26].

BIS. The Standard Mark with R-number and IS number^[42], www.bis.gov.in^[57], and product details such as model and manufacturer's address^[42].

EPR marks. If batteries are supplied, the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol^[55] and your battery EPR number on the equipment or packaging^[58]. For plastic, the registration number or a QR code^[59].

MTCTE (if it applies). Certified equipment must display the certificate details in the manner TEC specifies^[52].

More: LMPC importer registration, label rules and CRS labelling.

This worked example assumes a factory with no CRS registration, one test report, and a new importer with turnover under Rs 5 crore and less than 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year. Official fees only; totals are our arithmetic.

Our arithmetic: CRS Rs 1,000 + Rs 50,000 + Rs 1,000 = Rs 52,000 before GST. Importer: Rs 10,000 + Rs 5,000 + Rs 10,000 + Rs 2,500 + Rs 500 = Rs 28,000. Total: Rs 80,000, plus GST on BIS fees, for an IR-only box shipped without remote batteries. Add Rs 10,000 per model for a WPC ETA on wireless boxes, Rs 10,000 for battery EPR if remote batteries are included, and the MTCTE administrative fee if your hybrid box turns out to need it (Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on group^[17]).

Lab testing, AIR fees, consultants and EPR certificates are not government fees (labs, firms or the market set them). CPCB's August 2024 guidelines set a floor price of Rs 22 per kg for CEEW e-waste certificates, which industry has reportedly challenged in court^[60].

Lab fees roughly triple; BIS's own fees rise by Rs 20,000 per extra test report^[12]. The application and annual fees are paid once per licence, and boxes built on one platform can often share a series^[13]. The table assumes three models in three series, one of them wireless. If a hybrid box turns out to need MTCTE, add the administrative fee for its group, Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000^[17].

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^[61]. The old standard, IS 13252 (Part 1), had 68 labs charging Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,00,000, median about Rs 63,750^[62]. A lab's declared charge stays fixed for three years unless the standard changes^[63]. In the Noida cluster alone, eight labs list IS/IEC 62368-1 at Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000^[64]. Compare labs on our BIS test labs page or the BIS labs directory.

Old standard or new? Testing set-top boxes to IS 13252 (Part 1) is cheaper today, but that standard is withdrawn for CRS on 1 November 2028^[2]. BIS charges no fee to migrate registered models^[45], yet the lab must test every lead model again^[65]. For a new range, one IS/IEC 62368-1 report usually costs less than two reports.

1. First-time importer of DTH boxes for a distributor. The factory needs CRS for your model and brand^[13]. You register for e-waste EPR under CEEW8^[5], plastic EPR and LMPC. If the remote is IR-only and you ship without batteries, WPC and battery EPR drop away, on our reading^[14][20].

2. Marketplace seller of Android hybrid boxes. Check the R-number on the box: the BIS Act's ban on unmarked goods applies to sellers too^[67]. A box with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth likely needs a WPC ETA^[14]. Ask your supplier what it has done about MTCTE, since hybrid boxes are in TEC's SCS list^[16]. Platforms must display the package declarations online, as reported since a 2017 amendment^[68].

3. Foreign set-top box maker supplying an Indian operator. The factory registers under CRS with an AIR^[13]. If MTCTE applies, it uses an Indian AIR on the MTCTE portal^[32], and MTCTE allows foreign labs only if ILAC-accredited and not in a country sharing a land border with India^[52]. The Indian importer of record holds the EPR and LMPC registrations.

The factory holds BIS; the importer carries EPR, Legal Metrology and any ETA. Boxes supplied to cable or DTH operators still need BIS, even if retail labelling may not apply. See the guide for distributors and the guide for foreign manufacturers.

• No CRS registration, or the model is not on it. Covered goods cannot be imported without the Standard Mark and registration number^[37].
• Wireless boxes without an ETA. Customs may accept the importer's ETA self-declaration as evidence for clearing licence-exempt wireless products^[6]; without one, a Wi-Fi box has nothing to show.
• Remote batteries without battery EPR. CPCB has asked Customs to verify registration for equipment containing batteries^[72].
• Missing plastic EPR proof. CPCB has asked Customs to check plastic EPR registration, according to its court affidavit^[73].
• Test standard mismatch. A report to the old IS 13252 (Part 1) is accepted only during the concurrent period ending 1 November 2028^[2].

Why BIS returns applications. Model numbers in the test report must match the test request, and category and product name must match the portal^[74]. Fees are not refunded after a rejection^[75]. See common CRS rejections.

Registered set-top boxes 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^[76].

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^[77]. The lab is a BIS-recognised lab picked by MeitY^[78].

What you pay. The MRP of the samples, packaging and courier at actuals, plus the lab's test charge^[79]. STPI's published list of maximum surveillance test charges that we have seen does not name set-top boxes; the charge is then the lab's declared BIS test charge. The charge levied is the lab's declared BIS charge or the STQC/MeitY figure, whichever is lower^[80].

Your deadlines. Register every R-number and its models on crsbis.stpi.in^[81], send technical documents within 10 working days of a lab request^[82], and pay within 15 working days of the invoice^[83]. 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^[84]. The full process is in our CRS surveillance guide.

We found no published BIS case naming set-top boxes in 2025-26. The cases below involve other CRS electronics, under the same powers.

• 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^[85]. One of those searches, at an Amazon Sellers warehouse in Delhi on 19 March 2025, reportedly seized over 3,500 products^[86].
• 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^[87].
• 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^[88].
• Fake marks on chargers, Hyderabad, July 2025. BIS Hyderabad reportedly seized mobile chargers with fake registration marks and started proceedings against the shop owner^[89].

BIS officers can enter and search premises where they believe goods breaching section 17 are kept^[90]. What happens next is covered in selling without BIS: what happens.

BIS. Importing or selling without a Standard Mark under a valid licence breaks section 17^[67], punishable with 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^[67]. These figures are from the Act as enacted.

MTCTE (where it applies). Stop-sale notice within seven days, certification within 180 days at ten times the fee, and possible seizure^[52].

E-waste. EC for CEEW shortfalls is Rs 74 per kg^[60]; other breaches cost Rs 20,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000 for the first three defaults^[60].

Legal Metrology. Improvement notice, then up to Rs 5 lakh, then Rs 25 to 50 lakh^[91].

Not for the approvals: BIS, WPC and CPCB rules are the same for every origin. What changes is how samples and papers travel.

• BIS testing is in India. No IS/IEC 62368 lab on BIS LIMS was outside India on 1 November 2026^[92], so the factory sends samples here within 60 days of the test request^[11].
• RF reports can be foreign. The ETA undertaking needs an accredited lab, named with its country^[53].
• One licence per factory. The same box from two plants needs two registrations^[37].
• Trade in HS 8528. India imported monitors, projectors and TV reception apparatus worth US$ 183.79 million from Vietnam in 2025-26^[31].

Country notes: China, Vietnam and the China electronics import guide.

Use the free tools first, then specialists.

• Scope: the approval checker and the HS code approval finder.
• Budget: the compliance cost estimator, the BIS CRS fee calculator, BIS CRS registration cost, WPC ETA cost and MTCTE certification cost.
• Labels: the label checker and the product label checklist.
• Paperwork: BIS CRS documents, BIS CRS fees, WPC ETA documents, WPC ETA fees, the BIS CRS application checklist and customs clearance documents.
• People: BIS consultants, WPC consultants and BIS-recognised labs, including the Delhi NCR labs.

For a quick view of your set-top box range, ask for a free compliance check.