Importing washing machines into India: the BIS QCO, BEE star label from 2024, and EPR

Washing machines picked up two big rules in quick succession: the BEE label went mandatory in January 2024, and the BIS order took effect in April 2025. To sell one in India you need:

1. A BIS ISI licence for the factory, to IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7):2010, under the Electrical appliances for domestic clothes washing (Quality Control) Order, 2024. It applies from 1 April 2025 for most makers^[1].
2. A BEE star label. Washing machines moved to the mandatory regime on 1 January 2024^[2], and the label fee is Rs 30 per machine^[3].
3. E-waste EPR under Schedule I code CEEW3^[6].
4. Plastic EPR^[7] and LMPC registration^[8].

Smart machines with Wi-Fi need a WPC ETA^[9]. We found no DGFT import restriction for washing machines.

Household washing machines are in heading 8450. Tariff listings split them into 84501100 (fully automatic, up to 10 kg dry linen), 84501200 (other machines with a built-in centrifugal drier), 84501900 (others) and 84502000 (above 10 kg)^[5]. We did not confirm these lines on DGFT's official lookup, so check with your broker. Capacity matters twice: it decides the tariff line, and machines over 11 kg had a temporary one-year BIS exemption when the 2024 order began^[1].

A machine that washes clothes falls under the washing machine QCO and IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7)^[1], even if it also dries; a dryer that only dries does not. The tariff already treats machines with a built-in centrifugal drier as a separate line, 84501200^[5], but that line does not change the BIS standard.

Stand-alone tumble dryers have their own Part 2 standard, IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 11), with a BIS minimum marking fee of Rs 1,67,000 for a large enterprise^[19]. Because no separate dryer QCO is on our list, a dryer would fall to the umbrella household appliances order, which covers appliances not under any other QCO^[20]. That order has been compulsory since 1 October 2026 for enterprises other than micro and small ones^[20]. Under BIS's guidelines, where a Part 2 standard exists, the licence is granted only after both Part 1 and the Part 2 clauses are met^[21]. Read the electrical appliances QCO and IS 302 Part 1 pages before ordering dryers.

Tumble dryers are on neither BEE list^[4], so they carry no star label.

Plan on six to eight months for a first foreign-factory licence, because the BIS FMCS step decides the date and everything else runs alongside it. Do not book a commercial shipment until the licence is granted: goods that arrive first cannot be cleared for sale. Use the QCO deadline checker to see which dates apply to your enterprise size.

The first order, the Electrical appliance for domestic clothes washing (Quality Control) Order, 2023 (S.O. 1126(E)), was replaced before it bit. The 2024 order, S.O. 4815(E) of 1 November 2024, requires IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7):2010 and the ISI mark under Scheme-I^[1].

Dates. The order applies from 1 April 2025 for most manufacturers, 1 July 2025 for small enterprises and 1 October 2025 for micro enterprises^[1]. DPIIT's Transition Facilitation Order records the same 1 April 2025 implementation date^[28].

Reliefs written into the order^[1]:

• Certified (or applicant) manufacturers could sell declared stock made or imported before commencement until 1 October 2025.
• Up to 200 machines a year imported for R&D were exempt until 1 April 2026, provided they were not sold.
• Machines above 11 kg were exempt for one year from commencement for certified or applicant manufacturers.

All three have now expired. A trader importing finished machines in late 2026 needs a licensed factory, full stop.

Import-date relief. DPIIT's February 2026 orders exempt goods under 26 already-implemented QCOs where the Bill of Lading predates implementation and the Bill of Entry is filed within 180 days^[29], or where the purchase order predates implementation^[30]. With the washing machine QCO in force since April 2025, this window has closed for new orders.

Transition route. Indian companies assessed by DPIIT's Implementation Committee may source washing machines under BIS Scheme-II licences^[28].

The minimum marking fee for IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7) is Rs 3,31,000 a year for a large enterprise, with a unit rate of Rs 2 per machine^[19]. The unit rate only becomes the bigger figure above 1,65,500 machines a year; a BIS grant letter reportedly says the higher of the two is payable^[31]. For most importers the minimum is the real fee.

Indian micro and small enterprises pay 80% and 50% less on the minimum until 31 May 2029^[32]. A foreign factory should plan at the large rate. The marking fee is paid in advance before grant along with the licence fee^[11], so budget it before the factory visit, not after. Every fee rule is on BIS ISI fees and the ISI licence cost guide.

BEE published the washing machine notifications S.O. 4674(E) and S.O. 4675(E) on 26 October 2023, with IS 302-2-7 as the reference standard^[33]. The label became mandatory on 1 January 2024. The revised energy standard runs from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026^[2]. Models that missed the continuation process stayed valid only until 29 February 2024^[34].

What happens after 31 December 2026? We found no BEE advisory on the 2027 washing machine table on the portal as of 1 November 2026. Under the 2026 Regulations, when standards are revised you must stop producing under the expired standard^[3] and submit a self-declaration within 60 days^[3]. Watch the BEE portal advisories in November and December.

Fees. Company registration Rs 5,000^[4]; security deposit Rs 3 lakh per appliance category, or Rs 50,000 for small-scale industry^[4]; Rs 5,000 per model^[4]; label fee Rs 30 per machine^[3].

Label. The label goes on the front of the machine and may also go on the box^[3]. It carries a QR code^[4] and the standard particulars, including label series and country of origin^[4].

Online sales. BEE checks e-commerce listings and can direct platforms to de-register non-compliant models^[4]. The label must be visible at online points of sale^[4].

The current washing machine star table runs from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026^[2], so every approved model needs a decision before the end of 2026. On 1 November 2026 we found no published successor table, so treat the steps below as the process the 2026 Regulations set, not a forecast of the new numbers.

When standards are revised, the permittee must file a self-declaration within 60 days of the notification, or before the label series ends, confirming compliance^[3]. Production under the old label must stop as the regulation sets out^[3]. Renewal is free when the star-rating plan is revised or continued^[4], but a model becomes eligible for renewal only six months before expiry, and an expired model cannot be renewed and needs a fresh application^[35].

Precedent from 2025 helps with budgeting: for refrigerators, fans and ACs BEE charged Rs 1,000 per model to continue under a revised table at a lower star level and Rs 2,000 for a new model registration^[36]. Follow the BEE star label portal guide and the BEE products list for the notice when it appears.

Yes. "Washing Machine" is CEEW3 in Schedule I^[6]. Importers who sell EEE are producers^[6] and must register with CPCB before doing business^[6].

• Registration fee depends on target size; Rs 10,000 for a producer whose sales have just started^[13].
• Quarterly and annual returns are due by the end of the following month^[6].
• Environmental compensation for CEEW shortfalls is Rs 74 per kg^[37].
• RoHS limits apply to the machine and its components^[6].

Plastic EPR. Importers of products in plastic packaging are obligated^[7]. Register on CPCB's portal^[24]; if you operate in more than two states you register with CPCB, otherwise with your SPCB^[38].

LMPC. Register as an importer^[8] for Rs 500^[8]. The carton must carry the mandatory declarations, including the month and year of manufacture^[39]. If one machine ships in several boxes, the declarations go on the main package^[8].

Only for machines with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (app-controlled models). Wireless devices in de-licensed bands need an ETA from DoT's WPC Wing^[9], granted on self-declaration via Saral Sanchar^[16] for Rs 10,000 per model^[9]. Keep the RF test report and technical literature ready^[9]. Machines without a radio need no ETA.

• BIS Standard Mark under the licence^[40].
• BEE label on the front with QR code^[3]; revised design from 1 July 2026^[41].
• LMPC declarations and consumer-care contact on the carton^[39][8].
• Producer name and plastic EPR registration number on plastic packaging, or via a QR code since July 2025^[42][43].

Check the unit and the carton against this list before the factory prints them, because relabelling at an Indian port or warehouse costs more than reprinting at source. The detail behind each line is on LMPC label rules, the product label checklist and BEE star label. Paste your draft into the label checker for a quick first pass.

Example: two front-load models from one foreign factory, 4,000 machines in year one. Government fees only; BIS marking fees for IS 302-2-7 are not shown^[45].

One model costs about Rs 4.5 lakh in government fees in year one and three models about Rs 5.8 lakh, because the BIS minimum marking fee is paid once per licence while BEE charges per model and per unit. The example assumes a large foreign factory, three fully automatic models (say a 7 kg top load, an 8 kg front load and a 10 kg front load) under one IS 302-2-7 licence, 2,000 units of each, a two-day factory visit by one officer, and all models in the first application. Testing, consultants, travel and GST are extra.

BEE label fees are the line that grows with volume: at Rs 30 a machine^[3], 6,000 machines cost Rs 1,80,000 a year, more than half the BIS minimum. Models added after grant cost Rs 5,000 per variety^[46]. Use the compliance cost estimator for your own volumes, and check the fee rules on BEE fees and FMCS fees.

1. First-time importer with an unlicensed factory. Since 1 April 2025 a washing machine without the ISI mark cannot be imported for sale^[1]. Start FMCS early; BIS's average is about six months^[11]. In the meantime the BEE label cannot help, because BEE permission and BIS are separate approvals.

2. Marketplace seller of compact machines. The listing must show the BEE label^[4], and BEE monitors e-commerce platforms^[4]. The seller who imports is also the e-waste producer^[22].

3. Brand importing large commercial-style machines (over 11 kg). The one-year exemption for these ended a year after the order began^[1]. They now need the same ISI licence.

Each approval sits with a different party, and the importer of record carries more than most people expect. For washing machines the BEE side is new, mandatory only since January 2024, so many importers still assume the factory handles it. It does not: BEE registration sits with the brand. Use the table to split the work before the first order, and write it into your supply contract. If one company plays several roles, it carries every row it plays. For the documents each party signs, see BIS ISI documents and the customs clearance checklist.

The usual failures are a model outside the licence schedule, a label from the expiring star table, and EPR held by the wrong company. Each has a simple fix if caught before shipment. The label checker catches most carton errors in a minute.

Washing machines went from no mandatory approvals to two in about 15 months. Newest first:

• The 2027 star table: BEE had not published it on the portal as of 1 November 2026, and the current table ends on 31 December 2026^[2].
• The 8-digit HS lines come from tariff listings, not DGFT's official lookup^[5].
• BIS marking fees for IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7) change with BIS's marking fee notification^[51].

BIS: up to two years' imprisonment or fines from Rs 2 lakh, up to ten times the goods' value^[40]. BEE: deposit forfeiture and a one-year suspension after an unanswered show-cause notice^[4], plus Energy Conservation Act penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh and Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per appliance^[52]. LMPC: improvement notice, then penalties^[49].

Enforcement now runs through warehouse searches, online test purchases and public lists of failed licences, not only port checks. For washing machines, the label is the first thing an inspector or a marketplace checks, because both the ISI mark and the BEE label must be visible on the unit. We found no published case that names washing machines specifically other than those in the table; most reported actions are about appliances in general. For what a search or seizure means for a seller, read what happens if you sell without BIS, and use how to verify a BIS licence before you buy stock from a distributor.

Start with the free tools, then bring in a consultant or lab only for the steps you cannot run yourself.

• Approval checker: confirms which of BIS, BEE, EPR, LMPC and WPC apply to your exact washing machine.
• Compliance cost estimator: rebuilds the worked example above with your model count and volumes.
• QCO deadline checker: shows the date that applies to your enterprise size.
• Label checker: checks the carton text against LMPC and BIS marking rules.
• Licence renewal date tool: works out when to renew each licence.
• BIS consultants and BIS-recognised labs: directories by city.
• Importing from China: factory-side issues for the most common source country.
• Importing from South Korea: a long-standing source of household washing machines for India.

If you want a second opinion on your file, ask for a free compliance check. We do not promise approval or speed; we tell you what is missing.