Importing USB and USB Type-C cables into India: what is and is not required in 2026

Much less than for most electronics. A plain USB or USB Type-C cable is not on the BIS compulsory registration list: USB cables, including Type-C cables, do not appear as a category in the BIS CRS portal's standards list or product category list^[1]. They have no radio, so on our reading no WPC ETA applies^[10][11], and they are not on TEC's July 2024 MTCTE list^[12] or the BEE lists^[3].

What you do need, in your own name:

1. Plastic packaging EPR, because cables are imported in plastic packaging^[5].
2. LMPC importer registration^[7] and full package declarations for retail packs^[13].

One question is open: e-waste EPR. The E-Waste Rules reach components, consumables, parts and spares of listed equipment^[14], and we could not confirm how CPCB treats a cable sold on its own. On our reading, battery EPR does not apply, because a cable contains no battery^[15].

The catch is the product next to the cable. If you sell the cable in one pack with a charger, or the "cable" is really a hub, a card reader or a storage device, BIS can apply to that product. That is covered below.

Official government fees only.

USB cables are likely classified under ITC(HS) 85444299, "Other electric conductors, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, fitted with connectors - Other"^[18]. An alternative is 85444292, for plastic-insulated conductors of a kind used in telecommunication^[18]. No official classification ruling was found for either. Confirm the code with your customs broker before you file the Bill of Entry.

When a "cable" is not just a cable:

A cable bundled with a phone or laptop is part of that product's import, and the parent product carries its own registrations.

BIS registration is compulsory only for goods notified by a government order. Section 17 of the BIS Act bans importing or selling goods notified under section 16 without a Standard Mark^[9]. For electronics, the notifying order is MeitY's Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021^[21]. BIS's Scheme-II list shows 66 numbered categories under that order, the latest being screen protectors for smartphones^[4]. USB and USB Type-C cables are not among them^[1].

Can that change? Yes. The list grows by amendment: screen protectors were added in September 2026 with effect from 1 April 2027^[22], and standalone hard disk drives were widened in May 2026^[23]. MeitY has amended the 2021 order fourteen times so far^[24]. We track additions on the QCO tracker and new rules for 2026. Recent additions have come with a lead time between notification and enforcement, as screen protectors did.

Do not print a BIS mark anyway. The Standard Mark may not be applied to products outside a licence's scope^[25], and misusing the BIS name or the words "Indian Standard" is punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh^[9].

The cable is free of BIS, but many products at either end of it are not. If you import a range of USB accessories, check each against the CRS list:

A plain cable needs no product approval, but adding a charger, a battery, a radio or storage to it brings in BIS, WPC or the battery rules for that part.

The test is what the product does, not what the listing calls it. A "charging cable" with a power brick is a charger import; a "USB stick" with 512 GB of flash is a storage import. If in doubt, run the item through the approval checker or the HS code approval finder, and read does my product need BIS?. Related guides: mobile chargers, power banks and keyboards and mice.

In this order:

WPC: no. The ETA covers wireless devices in de-licensed bands or involving RF transmission^[11], and a cable has no transmitter, so on our reading the ETA does not apply^[10]. WPC's own guidance says no WPC import licence or NOC is needed for standalone accessories such as cables, connectors and batteries^[2].

MTCTE: no, on our reading. Cables are not in TEC's list of notified products of 1 July 2024, the latest full list we checked^[12], which covers network equipment such as access points and routers^[12].

BEE: no. Cables appear in neither BEE's mandatory nor voluntary list^[3].

It depends, and there is no official answer yet. The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 apply to equipment listed in Schedule I, including components, consumables, parts and spares^[14], and anyone who offers to sell imported EEE or its parts is a producer^[28].

We could not confirm whether CPCB treats a USB cable sold on its own as covered. The question arises because the rules reach components, consumables, parts and spares that make listed equipment operational^[14], and because selling imported components, consumables, parts or spares makes you a producer^[28]. CPCB has not, in any source we found, said whether a standalone cable is such a part. We do not assign an EEE code to USB cables.

What to do: ask CPCB how to declare your exact product when you use the CPCB e-waste portal, and keep the answer in writing. If you are told to register, the producer fee is Rs 2,500 for an annual recycling target under 50 tonnes, or Rs 10,000 for producers whose sales have just started^[16], plus Rs 5,000 a year in maintenance^[16]. Covered products must also meet the RoHS limits on lead, mercury, cadmium and other substances^[28], so get a RoHS declaration from your factory either way. Do not simply ignore the question: environmental compensation can be levied on unregistered producers^[28].

Yes. An importer of USB cables sold in plastic packaging counts as an importer under the Guidelines on EPR for Plastic Packaging and needs plastic EPR registration^[5]. The micro and small enterprise carve-out in the list of obligated entities applies to producers and brand owners, not to importers^[27].

• Registration. On CPCB's centralised EPR portal^[27]; your State Pollution Control Board handles it if you operate in one or two states, CPCB if more^[17].
• Fee. Rs 10,000 if you generate under 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year^[6], plus 25% of that each year when you file the annual return^[6].
• Validity. One year for a fresh registration and three for a renewal, under CPCB's March 2022 SOP^[6].
• Obligation. Your eligible quantity is based on the average plastic packaging you imported and sold over the last two years, by category^[17], and the target has been 100% of it since 2023-24^[17]. The annual return, with certificate details, is due by 30 June^[27].

See plastic EPR for categories and the portal process.

Yes, if you import USB cables packed for retail sale. 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 register its name and address^[7]. Our reading that this covers USB cables in retail packs rests on the Delhi Legal Metrology importer form; we could not open the full rules text^[29]. Packages for industrial or institutional consumers are exempt from the retail-package provisions^[13].

• Where and how much. Apply to the State Controller or the Director of Legal Metrology^[7] with a Rs 500 fee^[7], within 90 days of starting to import^[7].
• What you state. Name, complete address of the premises and the commodities imported^[7]; since 29 May 2026 a company must also name the director responsible for violations^[8].
• Validity. The certificate stays valid until cancelled^[8], but the 2026 rules require details to be updated every year on the online portal, once that option is live^[8].

LMPC registration does not approve the product. It records you as the importer named on the pack and makes you answerable for the declarations printed there.

There is no BIS mark and no battery symbol on a plain cable. The label work is Legal Metrology and plastic EPR.

Legal Metrology declarations. Every retail pack must declare the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or importer, country of origin, generic name, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP, unit sale price and consumer care details^[13]. Declare the month and year of manufacture, not of import^[7]. For electronics, the date of manufacture can reportedly appear anywhere on the retail package if it is legible^[30]. Stickers may not alter the declarations, except a reduced-MRP sticker that leaves the original visible^[7]. If the factory cannot print Indian declarations, they may be applied in an AEO Tier-2 or Tier-3 bonded warehouse before the goods leave it^[8].

Cable length. Where the size of a commodity matters, the package must declare its dimensions^[7]. For a cable that means its length, in metres or centimetres.

Multipacks. When one commodity is packed in two or more units, the declarations go on the main package with information about the inner packs; parts sold separately as spares carry full declarations on each pack^[7].

Plastic EPR marking. Rule 11 asks for the registration number on plastic packaging and applies this to importers, but a proviso in the same clause exempts packaging used for imported goods, so the text conflicts^[31]. Since 1 July 2025 a QR code or barcode may carry the details^[32]. Printing your number is the safe course.

No BIS-style logo. As explained above, do not add a Standard Mark or any claim of BIS registration to a cable that is not registered^[9].

Check every item below on the product, the retail box and the listing before the factory prints, because a reprint after the goods land costs more than all the fees on this page. Run the artwork through the label checker, and see the product label checklist and LMPC label rules.

A new importer bringing in retail-packed USB-C cables, under 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year. Official fees only. The totals are our arithmetic, not an official figure.

• EPR certificates. Your plastic target is 100% of your eligible quantity^[17]. Certificates trade within a CPCB price band set at 30% to 100% of environmental compensation^[27], so their cost is set by the market.
• Consultants and labelling services are not government fees.
• Products in the same pack. If a charger is included, add the CRS costs on the mobile chargers page.

See EPR registration cost.

Plain USB cables cost Rs 10,500 in official fees whether you import one model or three, because only plastic EPR and Legal Metrology apply and neither is charged per model. Registration fees for EPR and Legal Metrology do not rise with the number of models; BIS fees, ETAs and testing do. Plug your own numbers into the compliance cost estimator, and compare with the cost of importing electronics.

Plain cables need no product approval, so the only clocks are plastic EPR, processed within 15 days under the SOP^[6], and Legal Metrology registration, due within 90 days of starting to import^[7]. The table lists every official clock we could source. The steps that no rule times, such as lab queues, sample shipping and your own artwork changes, usually decide the real date, so ask for those in writing. See how long BIS registration takes and put renewal dates into the licence renewal date tool.

For plain cables there is no factory registration at all: the importer holds plastic EPR and Legal Metrology, and the seller shows the declarations online. A common mistake is to assume that whoever holds the paperwork carries the risk alone: in practice every business in the chain can be asked for it. If you are new to this, start with first-time importers; brands should read D2C brands and foreign manufacturers; marketplace sellers should read Amazon sellers and Flipkart sellers. You also need an IEC before you import anything.

1. First-time importer of cables only. Register with Legal Metrology^[7] and on the plastic EPR portal^[27], ask CPCB about e-waste, and print full declarations. No BIS registration, AIR or BIS lab test applies to cables^[1], though you may still want a test report for your own quality checks.

2. Marketplace seller adding cables to a charger range. Cables and chargers are different products. Sell a cable on its own with LMPC declarations; sell a charger-and-cable kit only if the charger holds a CRS registration^[36]. Marketplaces must reportedly display the Legal Metrology declarations on the listing^[35], and plastic EPR applies to brand owners including online marketplaces^[27].

3. Foreign brand selling into India. No BIS AIR is needed for cables alone, because there is no CRS registration to hold. Your Indian importer of record holds the LMPC and plastic EPR registrations and its name goes on the pack^[13]. If you plan to add chargers or power banks, appoint an AIR for those^[37].

For plain cables, problems usually come from paperwork and packs rather than product rules.

Cables are not a BIS product, so most enforcement comes from Legal Metrology, CPCB and Customs, though BIS searches can sweep up cables stored beside products that do need registration.

• In April 2025 the BIS Bangalore Branch Office reportedly seized about 17,500 units worth about Rs 2.5 crore at a Flipkart warehouse, including wireless earbuds, Bluetooth earphones, speakers and cables^[39].
• A ministry reply in Parliament reportedly said that in FY 2024-25 BIS bought 344 samples of certified-only products from e-commerce platforms, found 142 without valid certification, and searched 22 e-commerce warehouses^[40].
• At the port, goods imported against a prohibition can be confiscated, and the penalty can reach the value of the goods or Rs 5,000, whichever is greater^[41].

The pattern is the same each time: officers check whether the model in the warehouse matches a live registration, not whether the box looks right. Read what happens if you sell without BIS and why shipments get held at Indian ports.

Plain cables carry no BIS penalty, because they are not notified, but Legal Metrology and EPR penalties apply.

Legal Metrology. Since the 2026 Jan Vishwas amendment, a pre-packaged commodity without the required declarations draws an improvement notice first, then a penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh, then a fine of Rs 25–50 lakh; online marketplaces are covered too^[42]. Contravening the Packaged Commodities Rules themselves carries a penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh plus suspension or revocation^[42].

Plastic EPR. Shortfalls attract environmental compensation of Rs 2,900 to Rs 7,900 a tonne by category, multiplied for repeat defaults^[43]. Failing to file the annual return draws a notice and then compensation of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 in stages^[43]. Since 2025 any breach of the plastic rules is liable to a penalty under section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act^[32].

BIS misuse. Putting a BIS mark or "Indian Standard" claim on an unregistered cable risks a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh^[9].

Nothing on the CRS list covers USB cables as of 30 October 2026^[1], so the changes to watch are Legal Metrology, plastic EPR and the neighbouring USB storage and accessory categories.

• Customs checks on plastic EPR. CPCB asked CBIC on 13 June 2025 to verify plastic EPR registration when clearing importers' consignments^[38].
• QR codes. Since 1 July 2025 the plastic packaging details can go in a QR code^[32].
• Legal Metrology. Since 29 May 2026 a company must name a responsible director and registrations stay valid until cancelled^[8], and a country-of-origin filter on marketplaces is reportedly due from 1 July 2027^[44].
• Neighbouring products. MeitY changed the hard disk entry to standalone hard disk drives^[23] and deferred it to 1 May 2027^[26], and added smartphone screen protectors from 1 April 2027^[22]. Accessory sellers often stock both.
• New orders. BIS's upcoming list showed 30 product entries pending enforcement up to 1 May 2027, none of them USB cables^[45].

Watch the QCO tracker, new rules for 2026, the compliance calendar and the electronics CRS order.

Four Comploa tools cover the main checks for USB cables, and they are free.

• Approval checker: answer a few questions about radio, battery and packaging and get the approval list for your model.
• HS code approval finder: start from the tariff line your broker proposes and see which approvals usually follow it.
• Compliance cost estimator: official fees for your model count, with your own lab quotes added.
• Label checker: tick the box and product markings before the factory prints.

Before the first shipment, work through the first electronics import checklist, the EPR registration checklist and customs clearance documents. Before you list, use before listing on Amazon or before listing on Flipkart.

Country guides. See importing from China, Vietnam and Hong Kong, and the EPR guide for small importers.

If your model does not fit neatly, ask us for a free compliance check with the spec sheet and the box artwork.