Importing tablets into India: the BIS, WPC and EPR approvals you need in 2026

A tablet needs six approvals: BIS CRS registration, a WPC ETA, e-waste EPR, battery EPR, plastic packaging EPR and Legal Metrology registration. It does not need TEC MTCTE or a BEE star label. Trade sources also report a DGFT import authorisation for tablets under HSN 8471.

Tablets and laptops share one CRS category, so most of the BIS process is the same as for laptops. The differences are in the radio (many tablets have 4G or 5G), the e-waste code and the BEE position.

Reported, not confirmed from the official text. Trade summaries report that laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, ultra-small form factor computers and servers under HSN 8471 are "Restricted" and need an Import Management System authorisation. For 2026 this reportedly sits under DGFT Policy Circular 08/2025-26 of 17 December 2025, with authorisations valid to 31 December 2026^[26]. We could not open the official PDF.

Check the current DGFT notification and policy circular before you order, and again before any shipment that lands after 31 December 2026. Your customs broker should be able to confirm the position for your HS line.

The WPC ETA does not cover this. ETA holders must obtain any DGFT clearance themselves^[15]. A 2022 WPC circular said radio devices "Restricted" under DGFT policy need a scrutiny-based ETA and a WPC import licence^[27]; since 2024 all licence-exempt ETAs are self-declaration^[15], and how restricted devices are handled now is not clear from official sources.

More on the 2026 window (reported). A tax-advisory summary of the circular gives an application window of 22 December 2025 to 15 December 2026^[28], allows more than one application a year and online amendments, and says MeitY may run a mid-term review^[28]. Applications go through the DGFT portal's IMS module; see the DGFT portal guide and get your IEC first.

Two dates matter most for tablets: 31 December 2026, when the reported IMS authorisations lapse^[28], and 1 November 2028, when IS 13252 (Part 1) is withdrawn for the 'Laptops/Notebooks/Tablets' category^[29]. We found no IMS circular for 2027 on 1 November 2026. Follow new rules for 2026 for updates.

Tablets are, on our reading, usually classified under ITC(HS) 84713010, portable automatic data processing machines: personal computer. Some importers declare them under 84713090 (Other), and a cellular tablet with a voice function is sometimes argued to fall under heading 8517; we have not verified that^[37]. There is no official ruling we could find, so confirm the code with your customs broker. The HS line also decides whether the reported DGFT restriction on HSN 8471 applies to you.

Borderline products:

For e-waste, Schedule I separates tablets (ITEW19) from phablets, which are ITEW20^[17].

The lines below are the ones most often seen on a tablet shipment. Check any of them in the HS code approval finder.

All tablets share one BIS category with laptops; the radio, battery and screen-size details decide the rest. A tablet that is really a phone is the one case that moves category. Check a single SKU in the approval checker.

Run the BIS and WPC testing together, and register for EPR before the first shipment.

Expect two to three months from sample dispatch to stock, mostly lab time. BIS aims to grant within 20 working days of a clean application^[12], and the ETA is issued on submission. How long BIS registration takes explains the queue.

Category and standard. Tablets are in the CRS category "Laptop/Notebook/Tablet", tested to IS/IEC 62368 (Part 1):2023^[1]. The portal list still also shows IS 13252 (Part 1):2010 for this category^[38]. MeitY replaced IS 13252 (Part 1) with IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 in October 2025^[30], allowing the two to run together until 1 November 2028^[2]. IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 is the audio, video and ICT equipment safety standard, identical to IEC 62368-1:2023^[46].

The factory applies. CRS is granted to the manufacturer, for each factory^[3]. Every brand needs a separate application unless the brand owner is the same^[12]. So does every factory: if your tablet is made in two plants, both need licences.

Series and variants. A Wi-Fi-only and a 4G version of the same tablet may be grouped as a series. Samples are chosen under MeitY's series guidelines, and series models can be added with supplementary reports^[12]. Ask your lab how many reports your range needs before you apply; each additional report is Rs 20,000^[4].

Fees. On the published table: Rs 1,000 application, Rs 50,000 processing including one report, Rs 1,000 annual licence fee, plus GST^[4]. Licences now run five years with fees paid annually^[13]; a consultant reports a Rs 25,000 yearly processing fee under the 2026 amendment^[47], not yet published by BIS. See BIS CRS and CRS fees.

Fees, documents and renewal. See BIS CRS fees, BIS CRS documents, CRS renewal and series guidelines. The standard itself is explained on IS/IEC 62368-1 and the old one on IS 13252 (Part 1).

Yes. Tablets with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular radios need a WPC ETA, on our reading of the 2024 WPC order^[14]. ETA covers wireless devices operating in de-licensed bands^[5], and "electronic notepads" and short-range devices are on WPC's list for the self-declaration route^[5].

How. File a self-declaration on Saral Sanchar: register, enter the equipment and RF test report details, upload documents, pay through BharatKosh, sign the undertaking with an OTP and download the certificate^[48]. The fee is Rs 10,000 per model^[5], and the approval lasts for the model's life^[5].

Samples. Tablets imported for testing, prototypes or pre-launch are exempt from ETA, but you must give Customs an undertaking in the prescribed format^[27].

The 2026 transition. DoT stopped taking new Telegraph Act applications; Telecommunications Act authorisations moved to eservices.dot.gov.in from 25 June 2026, with Radio Equipment Possession Authorisation following on 6 August 2026^[34]. Whether the ETA self-declaration route changes as a result is not yet confirmed^[49]. See WPC ETA.

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

MTCTE: not required, on our reading. Tablets are not on TEC's notified MTCTE list, and cellular tablets would in any case fall under the "mobile user equipment" exemption, according to our product research^[6]. That exemption is S.O. 2372(E) of 24 May 2022, which exempts mobile user equipment and handsets, servers, smart watches, smart cameras and point-of-sale devices from prior testing and certification^[6]. Existing exemptions continue under the 2025 telecom conformity rules until a new notification replaces them^[50].

BEE: not required, on our reading. Our research found tablets on neither of BEE's lists. BEE's voluntary "Computer" schedule covers notebooks and laptops; we have not checked whether its text could cover tablets^[16]. There is nothing to apply for.

The notified MTCTE list is on MTCTE products and the fee groups on MTCTE fees; our WPC ETA vs MTCTE explainer shows why tablets need one and not the other.

ITEW19. Schedule I lists "Tablets, I-PAD" under EEE code ITEW19^[7].

Registration. Importers who sell EEE are producers^[17] and must register with CPCB before doing business^[7]. Registration costs Rs 10,000 if your sales have just started^[19], plus Rs 5,000 a year^[19], and lasts five years^[19]. Micro enterprises under the MSMED Act are excluded from the rules^[7].

Targets. 70% of the weight placed on the market in the reference year for 2026-27^[7]; producers with a short sales history use the Schedule IV target of 20% of sales two years earlier^[7]. You meet it by buying certificates from registered recyclers^[7]. For ITEW products, CPCB's environmental compensation is Rs 112 per kg and the floor certificate price Rs 34 per kg^[51].

Bulk buyers. A school or company that uses 1,000 or more units of Schedule I equipment in a year is a bulk consumer and must hand its e-waste only to registered producers, refurbishers or recyclers^[7]. If you sell tablets into such tenders, you may be asked about take-back. See e-waste EPR.

Yes. Tablets contain lithium-ion batteries, so the importer is a producer under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022^[8]. CPCB has asked Customs to verify battery EPR registration on consignments of equipment containing batteries^[52].

What registration involves. Importers of batteries and of equipment containing batteries must register with CPCB before importing^[41]. 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^[53]. You meet it by buying EPR certificates from registered recyclers, separately for each chemistry^[53]. You file Form 1(C) with quantities imported by 30 June each year^[20] and an annual return in Form 3^[53]. The FY 2025-26 return deadline was extended to 30 November 2026^[36].

Battery EPR is separate from e-waste EPR. Waste batteries are excluded from the E-Waste Rules and handled under the battery rules^[7], so the battery inside your tablet is its own obligation. See battery EPR.

Yes, in almost every case. The importer of tablets sold in plastic packaging counts as an "importer" under the Guidelines on EPR for Plastic Packaging and needs plastic EPR registration^[9]. The 2024 definition covers anyone who imports, for commercial use, any commodity with plastic packaging^[42]. The micro and small enterprise carve-out in the rules is written for producers and brand owners, not importers^[42].

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^[22]. Each sub-category and each state is a separate registration^[22]. KYC is PAN, GST and CIN of the company plus the Aadhaar and PAN of the authorised person^[22].
• 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^[23]. You also pay 25% of the application fee each year when you file returns^[23].
• Target. From 2023-24 the target is 100% of your eligible quantity of packaging^[22]. 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^[22]. Rigid trays and flexible film are different categories^[42].
• Returns. Annual returns are due by 30 June of the next financial year^[42].

See our full guide to plastic packaging EPR.

Yes, if you import tablets 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^[10]. Based on the importer registration form used by states, tablets imported as pre-packaged retail units appear to need this registration and the declarations on the pack^[24]. (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^[10]. The application gives your name, the full address of the premises where you import, and the commodities you import^[10]. Since 29 May 2026 a company must also name the director responsible for compliance^[25].
• When. Within 90 days of starting to import^[10].
• Fee. Rs 500^[10], and Rs 100 for any later change to the certificate^[10].
• Validity. The certificate now stays valid until cancelled^[25], but a 2026 proviso asks companies to update details every year on the online portal, including products, quantities imported and country of origin^[25].

B2B shipments. Packaged goods meant for industrial or institutional consumers are exempt from the retail-package provisions^[54]. Tablets supplied in bulk for a school or government tender may fall under this exemption if they are packed for institutional use. Retail packs sold to consumers, online or offline, are not.

BIS Standard Mark. The IS number and R-number^[55], legible and indelible on the product, package or both^[55], plus www.bis.gov.in^[56]. Because a tablet has a screen, it may also show the mark electronically within four menu steps; the physical label on the packaging is still needed at import, storage and sale^[57]. Do not apply the mark to samples sent for testing before grant^[40].

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^[54]. The consumer care block must have a phone number and an e-mail address (the 2011 rule text says e-mail 'if available')^[10].

Battery. The crossed-out wheelie bin^[53] and your battery EPR number, which for imported batteries may go on the tablet or its box^[58] or in a QR code^[59].

Plastic EPR. Registration details or a QR code on the plastic packaging^[60]; rule 11 conflicts on imported goods^[61], so print them to be safe. More: BIS CRS labelling.

Scenario: a first-time importer, turnover under Rs 5 crore, launches a Wi-Fi and a 4G version of one tablet under its own brand, from one factory. We assume the lab needs two test reports and you file two ETAs. Official fees only; the arithmetic is ours.

Not included, because they are not government fees or are unpublished: lab and RF testing, AIR and consultant charges, EPR certificates, and any cost of the reported DGFT authorisation.

Lab fees roughly triple; government fees grow 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]. A Wi-Fi and a 4G version of the same tablet often fall in one series, where only the lead model is tested^[12]; up to 10 tablets can share a series^[62]. The table takes the worst case.

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^[63]. The old standard, IS 13252 (Part 1), had 68 labs charging Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,00,000, median about Rs 63,750^[64]. A lab's declared charge stays fixed for three years unless the standard changes^[65]. In the Noida cluster alone, eight labs list IS/IEC 62368-1 at Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000^[66]. Compare labs on our BIS test labs page or the BIS labs directory.

Old standard or new? Testing tablets 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^[35], yet the lab must test every lead model again^[67]. For a new range, one IS/IEC 62368-1 report usually costs less than two reports.

1. First-time importer for an education tender. A Pune company imports 5,000 Android tablets for a state school scheme. The tablets still need CRS registration in its brand^[12] and, on our reading, an ETA^[14]. Packs supplied for institutional use may be outside the retail Legal Metrology provisions^[54], but EPR still applies: the importer is a producer for e-waste^[17] and batteries^[20].

2. Marketplace seller of 4G kids' tablets. An online seller imports a cellular tablet. On our reading it needs an ETA^[14] but no MTCTE, since a cellular tablet would fall under the mobile user equipment exemption^[6]. Its listing must show the Legal Metrology declarations; e-commerce entities have reportedly had to display them since a 2017 amendment^[69], and a country-of-origin filter is reportedly due from 1 July 2027^[70].

3. Foreign tablet brand. A Korean brand appoints its Indian subsidiary as AIR. An AIR must be an Indian resident who agrees to be responsible for compliance on the manufacturer's behalf^[71], and may represent only one foreign maker unless they are in the same group^[71].

The factory holds BIS; the importer carries the ETA, EPR, Legal Metrology and DGFT duties. A brand selling tablets made by an ODM is still the e-waste producer. The guides for D2C brands and first-time importers walk through each role.

• Charger without its own Standard Mark. It is a separate CRS product^[38].
• The 4G variant is not on the licence. Each model must be covered; add it by inclusion^[75].
• No battery EPR registration. CPCB has asked Customs to check it^[52].
• Missing DGFT authorisation. Reported for HSN 8471^[26]; check the current notification.
• No plastic EPR registration. CPCB has asked Customs to verify it on importers' consignments^[76].
• Labels missing on arrival. Importers may complete Legal Metrology declarations in AEO Tier-2 or Tier-3 bonded warehouses before the goods leave^[25]; otherwise print them at the factory.

Why BIS returns applications. Model numbers in the test report must match the test request, and the product name and category must match the portal^[77]. Fees are not refunded after a rejection^[78]. See common CRS rejections.

Registered tablets 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^[79].

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^[80]. The lab is a BIS-recognised lab picked by MeitY^[81].

What you pay. The MRP of the samples, packaging and courier at actuals, plus the lab's test charge^[82]. For tablets, STPI's list of maximum surveillance test charges shows Rs 45,500, well below the Rs 78,000 listed for laptops^[83]. The charge levied is the lab's declared BIS charge or the STQC/MeitY figure, whichever is lower^[83].

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.

We found no published BIS case naming tablets in 2025-26. Enforcement against CRS electronics sold in shops and online is active, and the same powers apply to tablets.

• 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 environmental compensation does not cancel the EPR obligation^[7].

Not for the approvals. BIS, WPC, CPCB and DGFT treat a tablet the same whether it is made in China, Vietnam or South Korea. What changes is how samples and documents travel.

• BIS testing is in India. No IS/IEC 62368 lab on BIS LIMS was outside India on 1 November 2026^[97], so the factory couriers samples here within 60 days of the test request^[43].
• The RF report can be foreign. The ETA undertaking only requires an accredited lab, named with its country^[73].
• Where HS 8471 goods come from. India imported HS 8471 computers worth US$ 411.11 million from Vietnam^[39] and US$ 540.58 million from Taiwan^[39] in 2025-26.

Read the country notes for China, Vietnam and South Korea, and the China electronics import guide.

Use the free tools first and bring in specialists for the parts you cannot do in-house.

• Scope: the approval checker and 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 and the first electronics import checklist.
• People: BIS consultants, WPC consultants and BIS-recognised labs, including the Delhi NCR labs. Selling online? Start with before listing on Amazon or before listing on Flipkart.

For a quick view of your own tablet range, ask for a free compliance check.