The Central Government, after consulting the Bureau of Indian Standards, is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so in the public interest that Compulsory use of the Standard Mark. Goods or articles specified shall conform to the corresponding Indian Standard and shall bear the Standard Mark under a licence from the Bureau.
Hereby it has made the order, and the order may be called the Wood-Based Boards (Quality Control) Order, 2023. It shall come into force on expiry of six months from the date of publication of the notification in the Official Gazette. Provided that in relation to micro and small enterprises, it shall come into force on the expiry of twelve months from the date of publication of the notification. Besides, nothing in this Order shall apply to goods or articles manufactured domestically for export
The products that have been considered for certification include Block boards (IS 1659:2004). Prelaminated Particle Boards from wood and other Lignocellulosic materials (IS 12823:2015), Particle boards of wood and other lignocellulosic materials (medium density) for general purposes (IS 3087:2005), Medium Density Fibre Boards for general purposes (IS 12406:2021), and Veneered particle boards (IS 3097:2006).
After BIS takes the initiative to import wood panel products and furniture, the certification will be mandatory. The initiative taken by the Government of India, Ministry Of Commerce And Industry, and Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade has been acknowledged by the WTO as well.
It will have several benefits, such as the fact that the imports will be of quality products and the dumping of cheaper grade products will be discouraged. If it gets regulated, the importers have to follow the norms for the products that are being imported from foreign manufacturers and complete the formalities for the standard.
This regulation will benefit Indian consumers, as they will get quality material from imports as well. The manufacturers should not take it, as this will be challenging for importers only. The domestic players will also have to follow the quality norms according to the BIS standard. When domestic players as well as importers follow the standard, quality product demand will increase in India.
It is to be seen when it comes to the floor and how Indian manufacturers put it before BIS. Every product has its own quality parameters, so the Indian producers and importers need to look at their product standards and quality and put their words before BIS strongly.
Several industry bodies and associations on July 4, 2023 held a meeting to discuss issues concerning the issuance of draft notification for Quality Control Orders (QCO) for Furniture.
The aim of the meeting was to understand the newly published standards, certification and regulatory compliance obligations and the available quality infrastructure in India.
They further delved into the potential restrictions on imports, cost burden on manufacturers and other economic operators and to plan the way forward. Among industry bodies that participated in the consultation were the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Association of Furniture Manufacturers and Traders (AFMT), Retailers Association of India (RAI) and Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME).
Government of India has issued QCOs on a number of products across various sectors over the past 2 to 3 years, which make compliance of the products mandatory to Indian Standards published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and require the manufacturers to obtain certification licence by the BIS.
The obligation is extended to overseas manufacturers whose products are imported into India. DPIIT has issued draft notifications on products pertaining to wood and furniture industry.
While Draft QCOs have been formally notified on the WTO website for Wood based Boards and door fittings, other draft notifications under active consideration are for Plywood, Door shutters and six categories of furniture products of common office and domestic use.
At the consultation, an overview of the draft Furniture Standards was presented by the officials from Bureau of Indian Standards.
This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Anupam Kaul, Strategic Advisor, CII. Among the panellists were Joseph Bernard, Head Sourcing and Quality Assurance, Landmark Group, Hufeza Samplewala, President Association of furniture Manufacturers & Traders, Arun Chellaram, Associate Director Featherlite Ltd., Mohit Bansal, Lead-Public Affairs, IKEA India and Aarati Sharma