Approval checker: see which Indian approvals your product needs before you import it

Needed means our research found that the approval applies to the normal retail version of that product. For example, every laptop, tablet and phone contains a battery, so the importer is a producer under the Battery Waste Management Rules^[12].

Depends means the approval applies to some versions of the product and not others, or the official lists are not clear. The usual reasons are:

• A radio inside or not. Our research reads a wired charger as having no radio and needing no WPC equipment type approval, and a wireless (Qi) charging pad as possibly needing one^[13]. Our research reads ordinary and smart LED bulbs the same way^[13].
• A battery inside or not. Mains-powered CCTV has no battery, but in our reading a battery-powered or backup-battery camera brings battery EPR^[12].
• The product is not named in the e-waste list. Schedule I of the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 does not name earphones, chargers, power banks, smart watches, CCTV cameras, keyboards, mice or Bluetooth speakers as separate items^[6]. Whether they are covered depends on generic entries, so we mark them Depends rather than guess.
• The BIS scheme is unclear. Smart plugs are not on the CRS list, and their plug and socket part may fall under the ISI order for plugs and sockets^[14]. Our research found no CRS category for e-bike chargers in the BIS lists^[14], and none named "wireless charger"^[15]. Dash cams have no CRS category either; the nearest camera entries are CCTV, digital camera and video camera^[16]. The checker shows "BIS (check the scheme)" for these four.
• No BIS line at all. Drones, walkie-talkies and GPS trackers are not CRS categories^[16], and neither are USB cables^[14] or Wi-Fi routers^[14]. For those the result starts with WPC, TEC or EPR instead.

An approval that does not apply at all is simply left out of the result. If a line is missing, our research found it does not apply to that product.

A Depends line is not a "probably not". Settle each one before the goods ship.

The checker looks at nine approvals across all 46 products. The table shows who each one falls on and the main rule behind it. Each name links to its guide.

This table shows exactly what the checker returns for the 20 consumer electronics it started with. The BIS column cites the official list or our mapping. The Needed and Depends columns use the short names from the table above. Where a cell says "our mapping" or "not confirmed", the official list does not settle the point and we have used our best reading.

These 26 products were added to the checker after the first 20. Ten of them carry an ISI-mark result rather than CRS registration, because their Indian Standard is made compulsory by a Quality Control Order under Scheme-I. The Depends column is longer here because many appliances now come in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth versions that bring a WPC check.

Every line comes from our product research, which records one sourced fact per approval per product:

• BIS ISI mark. Where a Quality Control Order makes the product's Indian Standard compulsory under Scheme-I, the checker shows "BIS ISI mark licence" instead of CRS. Room ACs are an example: the AC QCO requires the Standard Mark under Scheme-I^[10]. Foreign factories apply for the same licence through FMCS.
• BIS CRS. We match the product to a category on the BIS CRS portal's standards table, which lists each CRS category against its Indian Standard^[14]. Electronics on that list are regulated by the 2021 MeitY Compulsory Registration Order, S.O. 1248(E)^[39].
• WPC ETA. Needed where the product always has Wi-Fi or Bluetooth; our research reads Bluetooth earphones as needing a self-declaration ETA, for example^[13]. The ETA costs Rs 10,000 per model^[3].
• TEC MTCTE. We mark it only where TEC's notified list names the product. Routers and Wi-Fi access points are notified^[40]. Mobile handsets and smart watches are exempt from prior MTCTE under S.O. 2372(E)^[41].
• BEE. Only mandatory Schedule A appliances count. That list includes refrigerators, room ACs, ceiling fans, storage water heaters, colour and UHD TVs, washing machines, self-ballasted LED lamps and grid-connected solar inverters^[5]. Microwave ovens and induction hobs are only on the voluntary list^[42], so the checker leaves BEE out for them.
• EPR e-waste. Needed where Schedule I names the product, for example routers (ITEW22)^[43] and set-top boxes (CEEW8)^[43]. Depends where it does not.
• EPR batteries. Needed where every unit has a battery. Waste batteries sit under the battery rules, not the e-waste rules, so a power bank carries both a device obligation and a separate battery obligation^[6].
• EPR plastic. Needed for all 46, because retail electronics nearly always ship in plastic packaging and an importer of a commodity with plastic packaging is an obligated "importer"^[8].
• LMPC. Needed for 44 of the 46 as retail packs; solar panels and solar inverters show Depends because they are mostly sold to installers and projects. Our research reads importer registration under rule 27 as applying to pre-packaged retail units; this rests on the Delhi Legal Metrology importer registration form rather than the rule text, so treat it as our reading^[44]. Packs meant for industrial or institutional consumers are exempt from the retail package provisions^[23].

Yes. Type the first digits of an 8-digit ITC(HS) code and the checker shows every product whose usual codes start with those digits. Spaces are ignored.

Two things to know:

• One code can return two products. 85076000 (lithium-ion accumulators) is the code for portable lithium-ion battery packs^[45], and power banks are also mapped to it, based on reported advance rulings rather than an official classification^[45]. The two products need different BIS standards, so pick the right one.
• The HS code does not decide the approvals. BIS, WPC and EPR look at what the product is and does, not at its tariff line. A smart watch, for example, has been held classifiable under 8517 62 90 by CESTAT^[46], the same 8517 line we use for routers^[45], but the two need very different approvals.

If your code returns nothing, the product is not in the checker yet, which does not mean it needs no approvals.

Fourteen: extension boards, ten household appliances (air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, ceiling fans, water heaters, electric irons, mixer grinders, electric kettles, room heaters and RO water purifiers), and toys, pressure cookers and helmets, which have their own QCOs. The ISI mark is a licence under Scheme-I, granted after a factory inspection, not a registration on test reports alone.

The orders behind the main ones:

• Room ACs need the Standard Mark under Scheme-I under the AC QCO, 2019^[10], in force since 1 October 2023 after four deferrals^[47].
• Refrigerators fall under the Refrigerating Appliances QCO, 2020, with IS 17550 (Part 1):2021^[24].
• Washing machines fall under the 2024 domestic clothes washing QCO, with IS 302 (Part 2/Sec 7)^[25].
• Ceiling fans need IS 374:2019 under the 2023 fans QCO^[27].
• Toys must meet the IS 9873 parts^[11]; pressure cookers IS 2347^[37]; two-wheeler helmets IS 4151:2015^[38].

Use the ISI mark guide, ISI licence fees, the cost of an ISI licence and the QCO pages for toys, helmets, pressure cookers and electrical appliances. The difference between the schemes is explained in CRS vs ISI vs FMCS.

Drones, walkie-talkies, GPS trackers and Wi-Fi routers. None is a CRS category^[16][14], so their result is led by radio and telecom approvals.

• WPC ETA is needed for any device using a de-licensed band^[3] and costs Rs 10,000 per model^[3]. See how to get WPC approval.
• TEC MTCTE applies only where TEC's notified list names the product. Routers are notified^[40]; for walkie-talkies the checker shows Depends because our research did not settle whether every model type is on the notified list. See MTCTE products and WPC ETA vs MTCTE.

All four still need EPR plastic and LMPC, and the battery-powered ones need battery EPR.

Five tools pick up where the checker stops. Each answers one follow-up question about the same product.

The checker does not see your model, factory or sales channel. Known gaps:

• Mice. The checker groups keyboards and mice and shows BIS CRS as Needed. In fact keyboards and wireless keyboards are CRS categories but mice are not^[14].
• Voluntary BEE labels. Laptops can carry a BEE label on a voluntary basis^[5], and solid-state inverters are also on the voluntary list^[5]. The checker shows only mandatory labels.
• Import licensing. Laptops and tablets under HSN 8471 are reported by trade sources to be "Restricted" imports needing an Import Management System authorisation^[48]. An ETA also does not replace any DGFT clearance^[49]. The checker does not cover DGFT rules.
• Whose licence. The checker says a CRS licence is needed. It cannot check that your factory holds one for your exact brand and model. A separate CRS application is needed for each brand unless the brand owner is the same^[17].
• Router or access point. TEC lists "Wi-Fi access points and CPE" (mandatory from 1 January 2024)^[4] separately from "routers" (mandatory from 1 August 2024)^[4]. Check which one your model falls under before you apply.
• New and moving categories. Smartphone screen protectors join CRS from 1 April 2027^[50] and standalone hard disk drives from 1 May 2027^[51]. Neither is in the checker yet. Nor are products outside our 46, such as air coolers or footwear; check those with the QCO deadline checker.
• Fees and timelines. The result does not show costs. Use the compliance cost estimator, the BIS CRS fee calculator or our table of India compliance fees for 2026.
• Bulk and B2B supplies. LMPC rules are written for retail packages. If you sell only to businesses, read the LMPC guide before you rely on the result.

The research behind this version is dated 30 October 2026.

Work through the result in this order, because some approvals must exist before the goods leave the factory:

1. BIS first. Ask the factory for its CRS registration number and check it covers your model and brand. If not, the factory tests at a BIS-recognised lab and applies on crsbis.in^[52].
2. EPR before import. Battery importers must register with CPCB before importing^[22], and CPCB has asked Customs to check these registrations^[53].
3. WPC ETA for anything wireless. The certificate downloads when you submit the self-declaration^[49].
4. Labels. The pack needs the BIS Standard Mark with the R-number and IS number^[54] and the Legal Metrology declarations, including the country of origin^[23].