WPC consultants in India: what ETA help is worth when self-declaration takes minutes, and when you really need one

For most products, no. Since DoT's office memorandum of 9 September 2024, every ETA application for wireless devices made licence-exempt by Gazette notification is granted on self-declaration on the Saral Sanchar portal, and the certificate is downloaded on submission^[2]. The fee is Rs 10,000 per model^[1]. That covers phones, laptops, smartwatches, earphones, speakers, printers and cameras^[1].

A consultant is useful in four places: getting an RF test report that matches the model, deciding whether your product is in a licence-exempt band at all, handling the scrutiny route for the four excluded categories and DGFT-restricted items, and spotting when a Wi-Fi product also needs MTCTE. They are not useful for 'getting the ETA faster'; it already downloads on submission.

This page is a guide, not a directory. It covers the self-declaration and scrutiny routes, the Saral Sanchar steps, documents, MTCTE overlap, what consultants charge, how to vet them and worked examples. See WPC ETA for the full approval guide and WPC ETA vs MTCTE for the comparison.

Self-declaration is the default for licence-exempt products that are 'Free' under DGFT import policy. The scrutiny route applies to the excluded categories and to restricted imports.

Saral Sanchar is DoT's portal for telecom and wireless licences, registrations and clearances, including ETA^[7]; the old address now redirects to DoT's Telecom eServices page^[8]. Login is through Janparichay or MeriPehchaan^[7].

Registration: choose 'Company', fill in company and contact details, verify email and mobile by OTP, and credentials arrive by email^[9]. On first login you set a new password and start the ETA from the WPC tab, choosing Self Declaration^[9]. Saving a draft attaches a provisional application number; you then upload documents, enter RF test report details, download the undertaking and submit^[9]. The fee goes through BharatKosh under 'Equipment Type Approval (ETA)' with the product name in the remark column^[6]. After uploading the signed undertaking with a mobile OTP, you download the certificate from the dashboard^[10].

One trap: a profile can be edited without scrutiny only while no application is in process; after that, changes need a DoT officer's scrutiny^[9]. Get the company profile right before the first application. See the Saral Sanchar portal guide.

Three: an RF test report, an authorisation from the manufacturer if the applicant is an Indian representative, and technical literature^[1]. The self-declaration undertakes that the test report comes from an accredited lab, named with its country, and is genuine^[3]. In the self-declaration format, the importer also confirms the product works only in licence-exempt bands within gazetted parameters, that the goods are exempt from import licensing, and accepts prosecution for a wrong declaration^[3].

If a product has several RF modules, test reports for all of them must be uploaded without alteration^[6]. That is where consultants most often add value: chasing a factory for a complete, unedited report set. See WPC ETA documents.

The applicant is usually the importer or the manufacturer's authorised Indian representative. The documents list includes an authorisation from the manufacturer where the applicant is an Indian representative^[1], and the 2019 self-declaration format is signed by the importer or authorised Indian representative^[3]. That signature carries weight: the declarant confirms the bands, the fee and the DGFT position, agrees to WPC sample checks and audits, and accepts prosecution liability for a wrong declaration^[3].

So even when a consultant fills in the form, the legal declaration is yours. Read every undertaking before your authorised person signs it with the mobile OTP^[10]. If the brand already holds an ETA for the model, you may not need to apply at all^[6].

Anything with a licence-exempt radio needs one; plain wired products do not. Low-power 2.4 GHz equipment such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is reported to be licence-exempt under G.S.R. 45(E) of 2005^[11], and the lower 6 GHz band was reportedly delicensed for low-power Wi-Fi in January 2026^[12].

When it is a telecom product as well as a radio. Wi-Fi access points and CPE, WLAN controllers and point-to-point or point-to-multipoint wireless gear in 2.4 and 5 GHz are notified under MTCTE Phase-3, mandatory from 1 January 2024, so they need both^[5]. Routers are Phase-4, mandatory from 1 August 2024^[5], and IoT gateways and tracking devices are Phase-3^[5].

MTCTE is a different process with a different authority (TEC)^[18] and fee: Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 by product group^[19]. 2.4/5 GHz equipment, IoT gateways and trackers are Group B at Rs 20,000; routers and LAN switches Group C at Rs 30,000^[19]. Certificates under the simplified scheme normally issue within fifteen working days^[19]. MTCTE needs testing at TEC-designated labs, and SGS India's published MTCTE charges include Rs 85,000 for a router, as reported^[20].

Many 'WPC consultants' also do MTCTE, and for routers and IoT gear that combination is the real reason to hire one. See MTCTE products and MTCTE fees.

The government fee is fixed at Rs 10,000 per model^[1], payable per product with one or more RF modules^[6]. Everything else is private.

• Consultant fee: One consultancy lists Rs 7,500 on top of the Rs 10,000 government fee (Rs 17,500 excluding GST), says consultant fees run Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000, and quotes 5-7 working days once RF reports are ready^[21]. Another consultancy's 2026 blog gives Rs 8,000 to Rs 35,000 for service fees^[22].
• RF testing: One consultancy estimates Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000 per model^[23]; another gives Rs 15,000 to Rs 60,000 for RF/SAR testing^[22].

A warning sign: the same 2026 blog gives the government fee as Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per model^[22], while DoT says Rs 10,000^[1]. Check every quote against DoT's fee. Our WPC ETA cost guide and WPC ETA fees go deeper.

Yes. Once an ETA is issued for a product, other persons can use it to import that product without paying again^[6]. A product that already has an ETA is imported with a copy of the ETA and a signed undertaking that it uses only de-licensed bands and is Free under DGFT policy^[6].

This is the single biggest saving most importers miss. Before paying a consultant to file, ask the brand or factory whether the model already has an ETA. A consultant who files a fresh ETA for a model that already has one has charged you for nothing. Products made in India with an already-approved RF module fitted unchanged need no separate ETA; products made abroad need one for each product before import^[6].

Most of the self-declaration ETA is form-filling that a careful importer can do. Pay for judgment, not typing.

A self-declaration from the importer or authorised Indian representative may be treated by Customs as sufficient evidence to clear licence-exempt wireless products^[1]. For self-declaration products you give Customs the undertaking along with the ETA certificate, both from Saral Sanchar^[6]. CBIC reportedly told field formations about the 2024 self-declaration regime in Instruction 24/2024-Customs^[25].

Two exceptions catch people. Samples for testing, prototypes or pre-launch use are exempt from ETA, but you still file an undertaking with Customs^[4]. And ETA is about RF compliance only; DGFT import requirements still apply^[2]. See why shipments get held.

Then ETA alone is not enough. Equipment in licensed bands needs an operating licence, dealers need a possession licence, and imports need a separate WPC import licence^[4]. The legal root is the 1953 notification requiring a Ministry of Communications licence to import wireless equipment, subject to exemptions^[4].

The framework is also moving. DoT has stopped accepting new applications under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; authorisations under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 are applied for on the Authorisation Portal from 25 June 2026, and radio equipment possession authorisation from 6 August 2026^[24]. This is specialist work, and the place where a consultant with recent DoT filings is worth paying for.

Quite a lot, and a consultant should be able to walk you through each change. Use this as a checklist when you interview one.

The ETA itself downloads on submission^[2]. The time goes on the RF test report and on company registration. One consultancy quotes 5-7 working days once RF reports are ready^[21]; that is their handling time, not DoT's. Scrutiny-route ETAs for drones and restricted products take longer and add an import licence^[4].

Five TWS models from one factory, each with a Bluetooth radio.

• Fee: Rs 10,000 each, so Rs 50,000^[1].
• Reuse check: If the factory already holds ETAs for any model, the importer can import under them without paying again^[6].
• RF reports: From any accredited lab^[3]; one consultancy estimates Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000 per model if new tests are needed^[23].
• BIS: Separately needs CRS under IS/IEC 62368-1^[26]; see BIS consultants.

If the factory already has reports, a consultant fee of Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 per model^[21] could cost more than the government fees for this batch. Ask for a per-batch price.

A brand imports three Bluetooth smartwatch models.

• WPC: On Comploa's reading each Bluetooth model needs a self-declaration ETA^[13]; three models cost Rs 30,000 in DoT fees^[1].
• MTCTE: Smart watches are exempt from prior MTCTE under S.O. 2372(E)^[14].
• BIS: Smart watches are a CRS category under IS/IEC 62368 (Part 1):2023^[26].
• Battery EPR: The watch contains a battery^[27].

If a consultant charges Rs 7,500 per model^[21], the WPC bill is Rs 52,500 before GST and before any RF testing. Asking the factory for existing ETAs could remove most of it^[6].

A brand imports a dual-band Wi-Fi router.

• WPC ETA: Yes, Rs 10,000^[1][13].
• MTCTE: Routers are MTCTE-notified^[15]; Group C at Rs 30,000^[19]. Reported SGS router testing: Rs 85,000^[20].
• BIS: Routers are not a CRS category, but their external power adaptors are^[26].
• E-waste: Routers are ITEW22^[28].

Government fees for WPC and MTCTE come to Rs 40,000 before testing. Here a consultant who handles both is worth paying; see importing Wi-Fi routers.

Drones are one of the four categories excluded from self-declaration^[1]. For products not exempt under DGFT policy, such as drones, ETA continues to be issued by WPC Regional Licensing Offices through the routine procedure^[6], and restricted items also need a separate import licence^[4]. Drone components, by contrast, are 'Free' to import under the policy condition^[29]. See importing drones.

For most wireless consumer products, WPC is the cheapest and quickest approval in the stack; BIS is the longest. Plan them together so the shipment is not held for the slowest one.

• Paying for an ETA that already exists^[6].
• Editing RF reports. Reports for every RF module must be uploaded without alteration^[6], and a wrong declaration brings prosecution liability^[3].
• Profile in the consultant's name. Changes after an application is in process need DoT scrutiny^[9].
• Missing MTCTE for Wi-Fi access points and routers^[5].
• Trusting stale fee figures, such as Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per model^[22] instead of Rs 10,000^[1].

1. Ask if the model already has an ETA. A good consultant checks first^[6].
2. Ask for DoT's fee. Rs 10,000 per model^[1].
3. Ask whether the product is excluded or restricted^[1].
4. Ask about MTCTE for any Wi-Fi infrastructure product^[5].
5. Insist on your own Saral Sanchar login in your company's name^[9].
6. Ask which lab issued the RF report and its accreditation^[3].

If they cannot answer 1 and 4, you are paying for data entry. Also see how to get WPC approval.

Comploa is an independent reference site. DoT's WPC Wing and TEC make every decision; we cannot speed them up. We offer a free compliance check through our contact page: tell us the product and its radios and we will tell you whether it needs WPC ETA, MTCTE, BIS or EPR, with sources. If you want hands-on help, we can introduce a partner; their fee is separate. Try the approval checker first, and see our services.

We could not open an official DoT list of WPC Regional Licensing Offices. CBIC Instruction 24/2024 is cited from a reported source^[25]. Consultant fees and RF test ranges come from consultants' own pages^[21]. Tell us through contact if you have better sources.