Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order: what it required, how it was deferred, and why it no longer applies

No. The Ministry of Heavy Industries rescinded the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024 with immediate effect. The rescission order is S.O. 239(E), dated 14 January 2026 and published in the Gazette on 16 January 2026^[4].

The OTR never took effect. Its start date had already been pushed from August 2025 to 1 September 2026^[2], and then to an open "date to be notified"^[3], before it was withdrawn.

What this does not change: a machine or part that is covered by some other QCO still needs that certification. The OTR itself excluded products covered by any other section 16 order^[1], and those other orders were not touched by the rescission. Motors, transformers, cables and household appliances, for example, have their own orders.

In plain terms, "rescinded with immediate effect" means the order stopped being law on the day the rescission was published. Nothing replaces it automatically, and nothing that would have applied from a future start date ever applied. If a customer, tender or customs officer still asks for an OTR certificate, point them to S.O. 239(E). To check a specific machine against the orders that do apply, use the approval checker or the HS code approval finder.

It was a single order meant to bring a large slice of industrial machinery and electrical equipment under mandatory safety certification. The Ministry of Heavy Industries issued it as S.O. 3649(E) on 28 August 2024 under sections 16 and 17 of the BIS Act, to come into force one year after publication^[1].

Unlike a normal QCO, which ties one product to one Indian Standard, the OTR used a layered approach borrowed from machinery directives elsewhere:

• Type A. Every listed machine had to meet IS 16819:2018 / ISO 12100:2010, the general standard on risk assessment and risk reduction^[1].
• Type B. Generic safety standards (guards, safety distances, electrical equipment of machines and so on) listed in the Second Schedule^[1].
• Type C. Machine-specific standards in the Third Schedule, which prevailed where they differed from Type A or B^[1].

Certification was to be under Scheme X of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations: the Standard Mark under a BIS licence, or a certificate of conformity for machines not made on a continuous basis, plus a technical file and prior registration of the manufacturer with BIS^[1]. The general idea of a QCO is explained on Quality Control Order; the standard ISI-mark route it would have replaced is on BIS ISI mark.

Very big for a single order. The Ministry of Heavy Industries described it in December 2024 as covering over 444 products with 90 safety standards, due to take effect on 28 August 2025, with BIS as the enforcer and an online registration process for equipment makers^[5]. The First Schedule grouped those products into 20 categories with HS codes, each including assemblies, sub-assemblies and components^[1].

Take-up before the rescission was modest. The government reported 494 domestic manufacturers pre-registered by 31 July 2025^[6], and Manakonline's counter showed 736 OTR registrations on 1 November 2026^[7]. Compare that with the 54,556 total licences on the same counter^[7], all products together.

The First Schedule listed 20 categories with HS codes, each including assemblies, sub-assemblies and components^[1].

Yes. Weaving machines and embroidery machinery were two of its 20 categories^[1]. The Ministry of Textiles recorded in its 2025 year-end review that the order restricting imports of machines including looms and embroidery machines, due from 27 August 2025, had been pushed to 1 September 2026 after industry representations^[8]. The January 2026 rescission then removed it altogether^[4].

So a weaving mill importing looms in 2026 needs no BIS certificate for the loom under the OTR. The textiles themselves are a different matter: technical textiles have their own orders, listed on the textile QCO page.

Three exclusions were written into the order^[1]:

• goods made in India for export;
• construction equipment covered under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989;
• machinery and equipment already covered by any other order under section 16 of the BIS Act.

The government's Lok Sabha answer of August 2025 repeated these three exemptions^[6]. There was no import-specific or small-business exemption in the order text. With the order rescinded, these exclusions no longer matter for the OTR itself. They still tell you something useful: if your product was excluded because another order covers it, that other order is the one to comply with now.

The rescission order itself gives only the standard reason: the central government considered it necessary in the public interest^[4]. It does not explain further.

The record does show how hard implementation was. Twenty broad categories, each including assemblies, sub-assemblies and components, would have pulled in a very large number of manufacturers and importers^[1]. By 31 July 2025, ten months after the pre-registration portal opened, 494 domestic manufacturers had pre-registered^[6]. The government first separated components from finished machines, giving components a later date^[2], then removed the fixed date entirely^[3].

The withdrawal came in the same period as the wider review that removed many chemical, polymer and metal QCOs in late 2025^[10]. We have not seen an official statement linking the two.

Textile industry pressure is on the record too. The Ministry of Textiles noted that the date for looms and embroidery machines had been extended after industry representations^[8]. And the size of the task was clear from the ministry's own description: over 444 products and 90 standards in a single order^[5], against a few hundred registrations^[6].

The OTR is gone. There is no Scheme X obligation under it for any machine or component^[4].

But "no OTR" is not the same as "no BIS". Check whether your product has its own order. Examples elsewhere on Comploa:

• Household and commercial electrical appliances have their own omnibus safety order, with implementation on 1 October 2026^[11]. See electrical appliances QCO.
• Switches, MCBs, RCCBs and many cables are covered by the electrical accessory and cable orders^[12][13]. See electrical accessories QCO.
• Hand tools such as wrenches and pliers are due under a separate order from 1 April 2027^[14].

Watch for a replacement. Nothing we have found announces a successor regulation, but the BIS Scheme X machinery guidelines remain published^[9]. For the bigger picture of what changed across all orders, see new rules for 2026 and QCO changes in 2026.

Many components and appliances, through their own orders. The OTR excluded anything under another section 16 order^[1], so those orders were never affected by the rescission. The table lists ones we have sourced; check your full bill of materials with the QCO deadline checker or our QCO orders dataset.

Most QCOs use Scheme-I: one Indian Standard per product, a licence per factory and product, and the ISI mark on every unit^[18]. The OTR was built differently, and the differences explain why it was so hard to roll out.

'It starts on 1 September 2026.' That date was set in June 2025^[2], removed in November 2025^[3], and the order itself was rescinded in January 2026^[4]. Older consultant notes and supplier emails still quote it.

'Only finished machines were dropped; components still need Scheme X.' The rescission removed the whole order, components included^[4]. Components were in fact given a later, unnotified date even before that^[2].

'Pre-registration means we are still on the hook.' Pre-registration was only a step towards Scheme X certification^[1]. It carries no obligation now.

'No OTR means no BIS for anything in the machine.' The OTR never covered products under other section 16 orders^[1], and those orders still bite: cables, switchgear accessories and compressors among them^[12][15].

'A successor order is already notified.' We found none. BIS's upcoming list of 30 October 2026 had no machinery omnibus entry^[19], though a separate Hand Tools QCO is due from 1 April 2027^[14].

BIS opened a pre-registration portal for domestic manufacturers on 23 October 2024, and 494 had registered by 31 July 2025^[6]. Manakonline still shows OTR registration and OTR certification lists on its conformity assessment page^[20], and BIS's Scheme X guidance and machine-category guidelines are still published^[9].

These are leftovers from the implementation effort, not live obligations. A registration or Scheme X certificate obtained before January 2026 can still be useful as evidence of safety design for customers, but no Indian law currently requires it under the OTR^[4].

If you are a foreign manufacturer that started a Scheme X application, ask BIS in writing how it will treat the file and any fees paid. We have not found a public BIS notice on refunds or closure of pending OTR applications.

No India-specific machine certification is required under the OTR, so a foreign maker does not need an FMCS licence or Scheme X certificate to ship a pump, compressor or machine tool^[4]. The same maker still needs BIS FMCS for any component that has its own QCO, for example a hermetic compressor^[15] or household cable^[12].

Three practical consequences:

• Pending applications. We found no public BIS notice on closing pending Scheme X files or refunding fees. Ask BIS in writing, through your representative, and keep the reply.
• Customer specifications. Indian buyers may still write IS 16819 risk assessment into contracts as a quality requirement. That is contractual, not statutory^[1].
• Energy labels. Motors, air compressors and pump sets can carry BEE's voluntary star label^[17]; see BEE star label products.

Foreign makers new to India can start with the guide for foreign manufacturers. If a component does need BIS, a BIS consultant can run the file and BIS-recognised labs, such as those on BIS labs in Bengaluru, do the testing.

The normal import paperwork, plus certificates for any QCO-covered parts. Every importer needs an Importer Exporter Code, which DGFT makes compulsory for imports^[21]. Classification still matters: the HS codes the OTR used, such as 8413 for pumps and 8414 for compressors, remain ordinary tariff lines^[1], and a compressor for an AC line may fall under the AC parts QCO^[15]. Prepare the documents on the customs clearance checklist, and if you are unsure whether any part of a machine is caught, ask for a free compliance check.

An importer of CNC machining centres. Metal-cutting machine tools were category 10 of the OTR^[1]. With the order rescinded^[4], no BIS certificate is needed for the machine itself.

A pump distributor. Pumps were the first OTR category^[1]. That requirement has gone. But if the pump set includes an electric motor, check whether the motor falls under a separate motor order before you ship.

A foreign generator maker that pre-registered with BIS. Pre-registration was a step towards Scheme X certification^[1]. Following the rescission it creates no ongoing obligation under the OTR.

A switchgear panel importer. Switchgear and controlgear were OTR categories 19 and 20^[1]. The panel is free of the OTR, but household MCBs and RCCBs inside still need the ISI mark under the 2003 order^[12].

An AC plant importing compressors. Hermetic compressors were never an OTR matter; they sit under the AC parts QCO^[15]. See import air conditioners.

A transformer importer. Transformers were OTR category 17^[1], and that requirement has gone. The cores inside are a Schedule 2 item under the steel QCO and need BIS-marked electrical steel^[16].

Not for the period after rescission, and the order never came into force before it, so there was no period in which it could be breached. Its penalty clause pointed to the relevant provisions of the BIS Act^[1], which for other live QCOs still means section 17 and the section 29 penalties^[22].

The risk today runs the other way: paying for certification you do not need. If a freight forwarder, customs broker or buyer insists on an OTR certificate, ask which order requires it. If the answer is the 2024 OTR, the rescission notice S.O. 239(E) settles it^[4]. If the answer is another order, that order is the one to check, using the QCO tracker.