India QCO tracker: which Quality Control Orders are in force, deferred, rescinded or coming, with dates

A Quality Control Order (QCO) is a government order under the BIS Act that makes a product's Indian Standard compulsory. Once a QCO applies, the goods cannot be made, imported or sold without the BIS Standard Mark under a valid licence^[8]. QCOs are issued by different ministries (DPIIT, the Ministry of Steel, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, MeitY and others), and each one can be amended, deferred, suspended or rescinded separately. That is why a dated ledger is the only reliable way to follow them.

We use five statuses:

• In force: the implementation date has passed and no rescission or suspension is recorded.
• Upcoming: notified, with an implementation date still ahead.
• Deferred: the implementation date has been pushed back by a later notification.
• Suspended: the order still exists but some or all of it is made inoperative for a period.
• Rescinded / withdrawn: the order has been cancelled.

Every row cites its source. Where we used BIS's list labels rather than the notification text, or where a source is a news report, the explainer says so.

No official source we have found gives a total, and Comploa does not publish one.

The number people quote usually comes from BIS's Scheme-I compulsory certification table, which numbers QCOs serially up to 136 (the Furniture QCO 2025 is no. 136). That is not a count of orders in force: the serial list includes orders later withdrawn, such as the metals QCOs withdrawn in November 2025, and some QCOs appear without serial numbers^[4]. Products under MeitY's electronics registration order are listed separately again, on BIS's Scheme-II page, which shows 66 categories^[9].

BIS's ‘Upcoming QCOs notified and due for implementation’ page, updated 30 October 2026, lists 30 product entries pending enforcement between 6 November 2026 and 1 May 2027. Those rows are products or standards, not distinct QCOs^[3].

The practical answer for an importer is to ask the narrower question: is there a QCO in force for my product, today? The product-level pages linked below answer that for the orders we cover. For the full dataset of orders we have sourced, with status and dates, see QCO orders in India.

This table covers the orders in our sources. It is not a complete list of all QCOs.

The table lists each change in our sources from July 2025 to October 2026. Explainers for the most important ones follow.

These dates are ahead of 30 October 2026, in date order. BIS's upcoming list can change without notice when a deferral is notified, so check it before you ship. Type any product into the QCO deadline checker to see its date, or see every deadline by month on the compliance calendar.

On 12 November 2025 the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals rescinded 14 QCOs with immediate effect, by S.O. 5129(E) to 5142(E). They covered terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol, 100% polyester spun yarn, polyester industrial yarn, polyester staple fibre, polyester fully drawn yarn, polyester partially oriented yarn, polyethylene, ABS, polypropylene, PVC homopolymers, EVA, polyurethanes and polycarbonate. Each order was issued under section 16 of the BIS Act ‘in the public interest’ and saves things done before rescission^[1]. Business Standard reported that the withdrawals followed recommendations of a high-level committee headed by NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba; the gazette orders themselves give only ‘public interest’ as the reason^[47].

More batches followed:

• 13 November 2025. QCOs for aluminium and aluminium alloys (2023), copper (2023), nickel (2023), refined nickel, primary lead, refined zinc and tin ingot (2025) were withdrawn^[4].
• 18 November 2025. The Viscose Staple Fibres QCO was rescinded^[4].
• 20 November 2025. QCOs for pyridine, beta-picoline, sodium tripolyphosphate, H-acid, K-acid and vinyl sulphone were rescinded^[4].
• 1 December 2025. QCOs for p-xylene, toluene, methyl/ethyl acrylate, vinyl acetate monomer, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer were rescinded^[4].
• 12 January 2026. The Flux Cored Solder Wire QCO was rescinded^[4].

These followed earlier withdrawals: acetic acid, methanol and aniline on 23 July 2025^[4], six fatty acid orders on 22 October 2025^[4], and acrylonitrile, maleic anhydride and styrene on 24 October 2025^[4]. A BIS circular title of 15 June 2026 indicates the Cotton Bales QCO, 2023 has also been rescinded; we have not read the rescission order^[22].

What this means: the rescissions hit raw materials and intermediates (chemicals, polymers, fibres, metals). None of the consumer-product orders on this site (toys, footwear, furniture, cookware, electronics) was rescinded.

Issued by DPIIT on 25 June 2026 as S.O. 3417(E), it allows DPIIT to permit companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, after assessment by an Implementation Committee, to source goods under ten scheduled QCOs through BIS Scheme-II licences. The ten are toys, PPE footwear, air conditioners, both 2024 footwear orders, water heaters, washing machines, hinges, furniture and electrical appliances^[2].

Applications are accepted for 24 months from commencement, and the order lapses after five years unless extended. DPIIT is to issue detailed guidelines^[2]; we have not found them. The order is a company-specific permission, not a relaxation of the QCOs themselves. Those QCOs remain in force for everyone else.

On 12 February 2026 DPIIT issued three orders that change several QCOs at once:

• S.O. 775(E) exempts imports shipped (per the Bill of Lading) before implementation, with the Bill of Entry within 180 days of implementation, for 26 already-implemented QCOs. These include both 2024 footwear orders, hinges, aluminium products, plywood, wood boards, electrical accessories and appliances. Documents go to BIS within seven days of clearance^[35].
• S.O. 776(E) gives the same 26 QCOs relief where the purchase order predates implementation and the Bill of Lading and Bill of Entry fall within 180 days of commencement^[36].
• S.O. 777(E) sets a common Udyam exemption threshold (plant and machinery investment up to Rs 1 crore, turnover up to Rs 5 crore) in eight QCOs: flame-producing lighters, potable water bottles, welding rods, insulated flasks, ceiling fans, laboratory glassware, air coolers and furniture^[37].

The furniture QCO received its own 180-day relief separately, in S.O. 1125(E) of 2 March 2026^[31]. Details are on the furniture QCO page.

Steel saw suspensions and time-limited exemptions rather than rescissions.

• Ministry of Steel S.O. 5134(E) of 20 November 2025 made 42 entries of the Steel and Steel Products (QC) Order, 2024 Schedule 1 inoperative for three years and 13 entries for one year^[13]. We have not mapped those serial numbers to products.
• S.O. 3300(E) of 20 June 2026 made entries 23 and 129 inoperative for three years and entries 51, 52 and 53 inoperative up to 31 March 2027^[14].
• An order of 28 October 2026 granted a QCO compliance exemption for 162 grades of semi-finished stainless steel under IS 14650, valid until 31 March 2027^[20].
• A Ministry of Steel order of 27 April 2026 granted a temporary exemption for stainless steel under IS 6911, IS 5522, IS 15997 and IS 14650^[25]. Trade press reports it covered imports shipped on or before 26 October 2026; this has not been confirmed against the official order^[48].
• Earlier B/L-based exemptions for stainless flat products and listed ITC-HS steel codes ran to 31 March 2026^[42][43], then to 30 September 2026 for stainless flats^[27] and 30 June 2026 for the listed codes^[26].

MeitY's compulsory registration order for electronics changed five times in this period in ways that matter to importers:

• S.O. 4997(E) of 29 October 2025 moved products to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 and added extended reality products^[44]. The old standards run concurrently until 1 November 2028^[44].

• S.O. 1246(E) of 10 March 2026 revised the Highly Specialized Equipment exemption, effective 15 June 2026^[30].

• S.O. 4182(E) of 26 July 2026 deferred CRS for TV sets under IS 18112 to 26 January 2027^[6].

• S.O. 5190(E) of 21 September 2026 added smartphone screen protectors as new CRS category no. 66 from 1 April 2027^[5].

• S.O. 2204(E) of 5 May 2026 widened the hard disk drive entry^[24], and S.O. 5689(E) of 16 October 2026 deferred it to 1 May 2027^[7].

• BIS extended the last date for the revised LED lamp standard, IS 16102 (Part 1):2026, to 2 February 2027^[21], after first setting 2 August 2026^[34].

Separately, the 2026 BIS regulations changed the licence itself: a CRS licence is now granted for five years and renewed for five, with fees paid annually in advance^[23]. Use the licence renewal date calculator for the new expiry.

Full detail is on the electronics CRS order page.

Through BIS market surveillance and through customs. BIS's guidelines of 25 February 2026 let its branch offices run surveillance for any violation of the BIS Act or a QCO, with follow-up by its enforcement department^[33].

For licensed ISI-mark products, BIS generally buys two market samples a year per licence, and more for makers with a weak record^[33]. Samples may be taken anywhere in the supply chain, including the port of entry^[33]. After a failure the licence goes on enhanced surveillance every three months^[49].

At the border, CBIC's Circular 06/2026-Customs gives every importer automatic out of charge only where duty is paid and no compliance requirement or alert is outstanding^[50]. A customs officer can still hold a consignment on intelligence^[51]. In practice a QCO-covered shipment without the right licence will not clear on the automatic route.

Read more on the ISI mark, ISI licence renewal and surveillance, selling without BIS, out of charge and why shipments get held at Indian ports.

Legal Metrology and customs rules changed too, and they apply to most QCO-covered consumer goods. From 29 May 2026 an LMPC registration certificate stays valid until cancelled^[52]. The Jan Vishwas amendments of 2026 replaced the fine for a pack without the required declarations with a ladder: an improvement notice, then up to Rs 5 lakh, then Rs 25-50 lakh^[53].

These are not quality control orders, so they are not in the tables above. The full list of 2026 changes across BIS, EPR, Legal Metrology and customs is on new import rules 2026, and the label rules are on LMPC label rules.

Match the product to an order, then check that order's date and status. The steps below take a few minutes; for a second opinion, ask for a free compliance check.

We list these separately because we have not read the official text:

• Cans date. BIS's upcoming list moves aluminium beverage cans to 1 April 2027, against 1 October 2026 in S.O. 219(E). The deferral notification was not found^[3].
• Stainless steel exemption cutoff. The 26 October 2026 B/L cutoff for the 27 April 2026 order comes from trade press^[48].
• Suspensions known only from BIS list labels. The linear alkyl benzene and n-butyl acrylate suspensions are recorded from the labels on BIS's list; the suspension texts were not opened^[3][4]. The same applies to the AC QCO's October 2026 amendment^[4].
• Reason for the November 2025 rescissions. Reported by Business Standard, not stated in the orders^[47].

When we confirm any of these from the official document, we will update this tracker and the date at the top of the page.