Chemical, petrochemical and polymer Quality Control Orders in India: what was withdrawn in 2025, what still applies and how to import in 2026

From 2018 onwards the government notified a long run of single-product Quality Control Orders for industrial chemicals, petrochemicals and polymers. Each one made a named chemical conform to its Indian Standard and carry the Standard Mark under a BIS licence. The oldest still on BIS's list are the Caustic Soda Order, 2018 (S.O. 1468(E), 3 April 2018), the Boric Acid Order, 2019 and the Poly Aluminium Chloride QCO, 2019, followed by a batch of fourteen chemical QCOs on 16 June 2020^[4].

For importers these orders were a real barrier. A foreign plant had to hold a BIS licence for the exact product, which meant an FMCS application and a factory audit before a single tonne could clear customs. That is why the 2025 rescissions mattered so much.

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals is the ministry named for the chemical and woven-sack orders still pending on BIS's upcoming list^[1].

Between July and December 2025 the government withdrew chemical QCOs in batches. The orders give only "public interest" as the reason^[3]. Business Standard reported that the November polymer and fibre withdrawals followed a high-level committee headed by NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba^[7].

No. The polymer QCOs were among the 14 orders rescinded with immediate effect on 12 November 2025: polyethylene, ABS, polypropylene, PVC homopolymers, EVA, polyurethanes and polycarbonate^[3]. The two 2024 polymer orders, PVC homopolymers (S.O. 920(E)) and polypropylene for moulding and extrusion (S.O. 921(E)), were rescinded by S.O. 5139(E) and S.O. 5138(E)^[4].

The rescission orders save things done before the rescission^[3]. In plain terms: a licence or a past contravention does not vanish retroactively, but new imports after the date no longer need the mark.

The feedstocks for those polymers went too. Terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol were in the same 12 November batch, and styrene, acrylonitrile and maleic anhydride were rescinded on 24 October^[2]. Vinyl chloride monomer and ethylene dichloride followed on 1 December^[2].

BIS's Scheme-I list, checked on 1 November 2026, still shows 23 chemical orders with no rescission or withdrawal against them^[4]. We read that list label by label; we did not re-check every order's text, so confirm your product before you rely on it.

Two orders sit in between: notified, but switched off for now.

• Linear alkyl benzene (LAB). A fresh LAB QCO, S.O. 1655(E), was issued on 30 March 2026, then temporarily suspended twice, on 25 June and 29 September 2026. BIS's upcoming list shows enforcement on 31 December 2026^[5].
• n-Butyl acrylate. A fresh order, S.O. 1854(E), came on 10 April 2026 and was temporarily suspended by S.O. 3729(E) on 9 July 2026^[2].

Morpholine also has a 2026 instrument on BIS's list, S.O. 1722(E) of 2 April 2026; we have not reviewed what it changes^[4].

If you import LAB, the 31 December 2026 date is the one to plan around, but it has already moved twice in 2026.

Chemical QCOs are defined by product and Indian Standard, not by HS code. If a chemical has its own order, the order names the standard, and the product must meet that standard and carry the mark.

Use three checks:

1. Is the chemical named in a QCO on BIS's Scheme-I list? Use the table above for the ones still listed^[4].
2. Has that QCO been rescinded or suspended? Check the rescission table and the suspended list^[3][5].
3. Is the grade within the standard's scope? Some standards cover specific grades only. If your grade is outside, ask BIS in writing before shipping.

Remember that chemicals often carry other import rules unrelated to BIS, such as hazardous-goods and labelling rules. This page covers only the BIS QCO question.

The foreign producer needs a BIS licence for the product and the plant, granted under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. You as importer cannot hold it for them. Use the HS code approval finder as a first screen, then confirm against BIS's list.

For a foreign plant, BIS charges the same fees as an Indian Scheme-I licensee, plus per-diem, travel, visa and insurance for BIS officers and a Rs 10,000 contingency payment^[11]. The application fee is Rs 1,000 and inspection is Rs 7,000 per man-day^[11]. After grant come an annual licence fee and the product's minimum marking fee, which BIS sets per Indian Standard^[12], and a USD 10,000 Performance Bank Guarantee^[9]. See FMCS fees for the full list. Our ISI licence cost guide and the ISI mark fee table cover the same charges for Indian plants.

A compounder importing PP and PVC resin. Both polymer QCOs were rescinded on 12 November 2025^[4]. New shipments no longer need a BIS licence from the resin maker.

A detergent maker importing LAB. The LAB QCO is suspended, with enforcement shown for 31 December 2026^[5]. If your supplier has no BIS licence, line up an alternative or confirm the suspension is extended before cargo arriving in 2027.

A pharma intermediate buyer importing acetone. The acetone QCO is still listed with no rescission^[4]. Buy only from a BIS-licensed plant and keep the licence on file.

A textile mill importing polyester yarn or VSF. The polyester yarn and fibre QCOs went on 12 November 2025^[3] and VSF on 18 November 2025^[2]. See the textiles QCO page for the orders that remain.

Rescission removes the compulsion; it does not cancel the Indian Standard or BIS certification as such. A producer that already holds a licence may keep it and keep marking voluntarily, but buyers can no longer insist on it on legal grounds, and customs no longer needs to see it for that product.

Two practical points:

• Past breaches stay past breaches. Each rescission order saves things done or omitted before it^[3]. A consignment that was imported unmarked while the order was live is not cured by the later rescission.
• Licence fees run on their own terms. A Scheme-I licence is granted for a fixed term, up to two years at first, and then has to be renewed^[6]. If you no longer need the mark, the producer can simply let the licence lapse at the end of its term rather than renew it.

If you have contracts that require BIS-marked material, update them. Many supply contracts written in 2022 to 2024 quote the QCO as the reason for the clause.

Certification itself stays available. BIS's September 2026 marking fee list still carries IS 17658, the PVC homopolymers standard, at Rs 1,64,000 a year for a large plant, even though the PVC QCO went in November 2025^[13]. A resin maker can therefore keep or seek an ISI licence voluntarily, for instance to meet a buyer's tender clause.

Use BIS's own lists rather than consultant summaries, which often lag behind.

1. BIS Scheme-I list. Each order row shows every instrument issued under it, including rescission and suspension orders, with S.O. numbers and dates. This is where we read the status of the 23 orders still listed^[4].
2. BIS upcoming-QCO list. It shows notified orders not yet enforced, with the ministry and the enforcement date. On 30 October 2026 it listed 30 product rows pending between 6 November 2026 and 1 May 2027^[5], including LAB^[1].
3. The gazette text. For anything you will rely on, open the order PDF itself. The list labels are short and occasionally lag the gazette by a few days.

Our QCO tracker collects the changes across all sectors, newest first.

Each chemical has its own annual minimum marking fee, from about Rs 53,000 to Rs 84,000 for a large plant in the cases below, plus a small charge per tonne marked. BIS publishes the figures standard by standard^[13].

The list gives four columns. The small-scale fee is half the large-scale fee and the micro fee is one fifth of it^[13]. On top of that, from 17 March 2026 to 31 May 2029 BIS gives concessions on the minimum marking fee of 80% for micro enterprises, 50% for small ones and 80% for start-ups, with an extra 10% for women-led enterprises^[14]. These concessions use the MSMED Act definitions^[15], so most foreign chemical plants pay the large or medium rate.

For a large overseas acetone plant, the fixed BIS charges in year one come to roughly Rs 1.1 lakh before testing, officer travel and per-diem, plus a USD 10,000 bank guarantee. Here is how that adds up from BIS's own figures.

• Application fee: Rs 1,000^[11].
• Factory inspection: Rs 7,000 per man-day^[11]. A visit to a foreign plant normally lasts two days^[16], so one officer for two days is Rs 14,000.
• Contingency payment: Rs 10,000, plus the officers' per-diem, tickets, visa and insurance^[11].
• Annual licence fee: Rs 1,000^[11].
• Minimum marking fee for IS 170: Rs 84,000 at the large-scale rate^[13].
• Testing: the plant pays the actual charges of the BIS or BIS-recognised lab in India that tests the samples^[17].
• Bank guarantee: a USD 10,000 Performance Bank Guarantee after grant^[9]. It is security, not a fee.

That is Rs 1,10,000 in fixed charges by our arithmetic. The unit rate matters for big exporters: at Rs 6 per MT^[13], a plant marking 20,000 MT a year would owe Rs 1,20,000 on volume, which is above the minimum. A BIS grant letter seen by consultants says the higher of the actual and the minimum fee is payable at renewal^[18]. Payment is in US dollars for non-SAARC applicants, net of bank charges^[11]. Run your own figures through the compliance cost estimator.

The producer files online on Manakonline with an Authorised Indian Representative, a process flow chart, the quality system, test equipment and calibration lists, raw-material details, QC staff papers, test reports and plant layout^[19].

A separate application is needed for each product standard, signed by the CEO or an authorised person and countersigned by the AIR^[20]. The AIR must be an Indian resident, at least a graduate, with no conflict of interest with testing labs^[21], and may normally represent only one foreign manufacturer^[21]. One consultancy's 2026 guide puts an AIR's fee at Rs 46,000 per licence per year^[22]; treat that as one market quote, not a rate.

Foreign plants cannot use the faster option-2 route with their own test report. Every foreign application goes through option-1, with a factory visit and samples drawn for testing^[23]. The full list is on our ISI documents page, and the portal steps are on the Manakonline guide. The Authorised Indian Representative entry explains the role.

Ask for the CM/L licence number and look it up. Every ISI licence number takes the form CM/L- followed by digits^[24], and it must appear on the product with the Standard Mark^[25].

BIS's free BIS Care app fetches the licensee's details from a CM/L number^[26]. Check three things against your purchase order:

1. The standard. The licence must name the Indian Standard in your QCO, for example IS 252 for caustic soda.
2. The plant. A licence covers one product standard at one factory^[6], so a group's other plant does not count.
3. The grade. A licence covers only the varieties and grades in its scope^[27].

Our guide on how to verify a BIS licence shows each screen.

Not necessarily, but most foreign plants use a consultant to manage the AIR role, the file and the officers' visit. Labs are chosen from BIS's recognised list; you do not need your own.

BIS has 36 branch offices and 10 of its own laboratories^[28]. Its list of recognised outside labs had 444 entries on 30 October 2026, all in India^[29]. Since December 2025 a manufacturer no longer needs an in-house laboratory; shared, cluster or sub-contracted testing at BIS-recognised or ISO/IEC 17025 labs is allowed^[30].

Consultant pricing varies widely. One consultancy advertises ISI work with a professional fee from Rs 40,000, with testing and marking fees extra^[31]. Compare what each quote includes. See the BIS consultants directory, with city pages for Mumbai and Ahmedabad, where much of the chemical trade sits, and the BIS labs directory, including Mumbai and Pune labs. Our guide to choosing a consultant lists the red flags.

Annual fees, production reports, market sampling and renewal on time. Missing any of these can suspend the licence, and cargo marked under a suspended licence is treated as unmarked.

• Surveillance. BIS generally buys two market samples a year per licence for third-party testing^[32], and may draw them anywhere in the supply chain, including the port of entry^[32].
• Consignee details. Licensees report month-wise production and consignees every quarter^[32].
• Renewal. An FMCS renewal needs Form XII, production details with consignee addresses, a bank guarantee extended six months beyond validity and the marking fees; late renewal costs Rs 5,000 extra^[33].
• Automatic expiry. Licences more than 90 days past validity expire automatically on the portal^[34].

Set a reminder with the licence renewal date tool and read ISI renewal for the forms.

Customs, the IEC and, for packed goods, plastic EPR and Legal Metrology apply whether or not a QCO exists. A chemical whose QCO was rescinded still needs these.

• IEC. No import may be made without an Importer-Exporter Code unless specifically exempted^[35]. See IEC code.
• Bill of Entry timing. The Bill of Entry must be filed by the end of the day before arrival and can go in up to 30 days early^[36]. Late filing costs Rs 5,000 a day for the first three days and Rs 10,000 a day after that^[37]. Filing runs on ICEGATE.
• Plastic packaging EPR. An importer of any commodity in plastic packaging counts as an importer under the plastic EPR rules^[38] and must register on CPCB's portal^[38]. Bulk chemicals in HDPE drums or bags are a common case. See plastic EPR.
• Legal Metrology. Anyone importing a commodity for sale in pre-packed form must register under rule 27^[39]. This matters for retail packs, not bulk tankers. See LMPC.

Hazardous-chemical rules also apply to many of these products. They are outside this page.

Most holds come from a licence that does not match the cargo: wrong plant, wrong standard, wrong grade or a lapsed licence. The table pairs each problem with its fix.

Importing, selling or storing notified goods without a Standard Mark under a valid licence breaches section 17 of the BIS Act^[10]. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for a first offence and Rs 5 lakh for later ones, extendable to ten times the value of the goods^[10]. Importers are directly bound because the Act's definition of "person" includes them^[10].

For rescinded orders this risk is gone for new imports, but the rescission notices preserve action for things done before the rescission^[3].

BIS officers may also search premises and seize goods they believe breach section 17^[40], and a first offence not punishable with imprisonment alone may be compounded^[10]. Where a company offends, its responsible directors and officers can be held guilty too^[10]. Our guide to selling without BIS walks through real cases.

Use the QCO deadline checker to see whether a chemical's order is in force, suspended or rescinded on a given date, and the QCO data table for every order in one sortable list. The QCO tracker logs each change newest first; BIS's upcoming list showed 30 product entries pending to 1 May 2027 when we last checked^[5]. For the year's changes in plain English, read QCO changes in 2026, and see the QCO hub for other sectors such as steel. If you are unsure whether your grade is caught, ask us for a free compliance check.