Governance

Context: A recent NITI Aayog report has raised significant concerns about the Government of India’s expanding use of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) across numerous sectors. While intended to enhance product quality, consumer safety, and manufacturing standards, the aggressive rollout of QCOs is generating unintended consequences for trade, industry productivity, and particularly MSMEs.

QCOs are issued under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, making BIS certification mandatory for the manufacturing, import, or sale of specified products. Over the past four years, ministries have increasingly relied on QCOs for imports reduction, quality enhancement, and alignment with India’s manufacturing ambitions.

However, NITI Aayog’s analysis shows that without adequate capacity, alignment with global norms, or domestic supply readiness, QCOs may create supply disruption, cost escalation, and loss of export competitiveness.

What Are Quality Control Orders (QCOs)?

QCOs are legally binding directives issued by ministries that require products or components to comply with BIS standards.

Purpose of QCOs

• Protect consumer safety
• Improve product reliability
• Encourage manufacturing formalisation
• Reduce low-quality imports
• Ensure global consistency of Indian products

QCOs have been introduced across sectors like steel, chemicals, electronics, textiles, toys, footwear, and food products.

Key Findings of the NITI Aayog Report

1. Disproportionate Focus on Raw Materials

Most QCOs target raw materials and intermediate goods, not finished products.
This creates vulnerabilities because:

• Many intermediates are not manufactured domestically at required scale or quality
• Domestic firms rely on imported intermediates for global supply chains
• Domestic shortages lead to price spikes

2. Standards Not Aligned With Global Norms

NITI Aayog found that several Indian standards differ significantly from:

• ISO norms
• ASTM international benchmarks
• EU or US industry regulations
  This non-alignment makes compliance costly, reduces interoperability, and limits India’s export competitiveness.

3. Testing Infrastructure is Inadequate

India has limited BIS-accredited labs, causing:

• Long waiting periods
• Higher compliance costs
• Slower production cycles
• Delayed imports and manufacturing bottlenecks

For SMEs dependent on just-in-time supply chains, such delays can be existential.

Impact on Imports and Exports

According to research by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP):

Impact on Imports

• Imports fall by 13% in the first year of a QCO
• Long-term decline reaches ~24%
• The steepest decline is in intermediate goods like steel, yarn, fibres — up to 30% drop

While this may seem beneficial for import substitution, shortages raise domestic prices and reduce industry competitiveness.

Impact on Exports

• Exports initially rise 10.6% due to upgraded quality
• But drop sharply by 12.8% in the second year, due to:
  • Higher input costs
  • Delays in certification
  • Misalignment with global standards
  • Reduced flexibility for exporters

Thus, long-term export gains remain limited.

Impact on Downstream Industries

Sectors experiencing the harshest impact:

• Footwear
• Electronics
• Apparel
• Auto components
• SMEs in textile clusters

Why?

1. Many intermediate components required by these industries are not produced domestically.
2. QCO-induced shortages make raw materials costlier — polyester yarn, fibres, and certain steel grades now cost 15–30% above global prices.
3. Higher input costs reduce:
   • Price competitiveness
   • Design flexibility
   • Market access

In labour-intensive sectors, this undermines employment generation.

Impact on MSMEs

MSMEs are the worst affected due to:

• Certification fees
• Repeated inspections
• Factory audits
• Small production lots
• Limited working capital

QCO compliance typically costs ₹10,000–₹15,000 per consignment, with approval cycles stretching into months.

Large firms can internalise such costs, but MSMEs operate on thin margins.
Moreover, only SEZ exporters are exempt — domestic tariff-area MSMEs cannot bypass QCOs even for export-linked inputs.

This significantly reduces MSMEs’ ability to compete both domestically and internationally.

Governance and Policy Challenges

1. Overlapping Regulations
   QCOs often overlap with:
   • FSSAI norms
   • Environmental safety rules
   • PLI scheme conditions
   • Customs standards
2. Lack of Consultation
   Industry bodies argue that consultation periods for draft QCOs are short, and concerns are not fully incorporated.
3. Non-tariff Barrier Accusations
   Major trading partners have raised concerns that India’s QCOs act as barriers to trade, risking retaliation.

Way Forward

1. Prioritise Finished Goods Over Intermediates

Target QCOs at finished goods where consumer safety matters most, not at intermediate products essential for manufacturing.

2. Expand Accredited Testing Capacity

Establish more BIS-accredited laboratories in tier-2 and tier-3 clusters.
Introduce concessional testing fees for MSMEs.

3. Align Indian Standards With Global Norms

Closer alignment with ISO/IEC standards will:

• Improve exports
• Reduce compliance burdens
• Ease global acceptance

4. Gradual and Sequenced QCO Rollouts

Industries require 12–18 months’ notice to adapt supply chains.

5. MSME Support Mechanisms

• Subsidised certification
• Automatic renewals for low-risk categories
• Exemptions for micro-enterprises

6. Stronger Inter-Ministerial Coordination

A single nodal body within NITI Aayog or BIS can harmonise standards across ministries.

Conclusion

Quality Control Orders are a powerful tool to improve manufacturing quality and consumer safety, but their effectiveness depends on thoughtful design, global alignment, and robust domestic capacity.

The current challenges highlight the need for a balanced approach, where India strengthens its standards while ensuring that competitiveness, innovation, and MSME viability are not compromised.

A calibrated strategy can transform QCOs from compliance burdens into engines of industrial upgrading and export excellence.