Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS)

FMCS is a scheme under which a BIS licence is granted to a foreign manufacturer in accordance with the BIS Act, 2016 and Bureau on Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. The licence is granted for the products which conform to relevant Indian Standards. The Standards may be under mandatory or voluntary certification. BIS licence to use or apply Standard Mark is granted for products manufactured in manufacturing premises and conforming to all the requirements of the relevant Indian standard(s).

Basic requirements for the grant of licence under FMCS:

The license can be granted only to the manufacturer for particular manufacturing premises. It means for 2 different manufacturing premises of the same manufacturer must file two separate applications (each for one).

The applicant manufacturer needs to have complete manufacturing facilities, complete testing equipment as per the Indian Standards and the presence of a qualified Quality Control Person. Outsourcing of specific manufacturing processes and testing are also permitted by BIS.

Brief process of grant of a license

• Filing of application with all the supporting documents
• Review of application and documents by BIS
• Resolving queries of BIS regarding application and taking the application in record
• Nomination of BIS officer for audit & inspection of the manufacturing premises
• Payment of fees and charges for factory inspection including assessment, testing & sampling
• Testing of samples in BIS-approved laboratories in India
• Grant of license if test report received from the lab is satisfactory

The license granted initially is valid for one year, which is subject to renewal for another one to five years subject to payment of marking fee, renewal application fee and annual license fee along with necessary documents. 

The registration process under CRS is simpler as compared to the registration process under Scheme – I as no physical inspection of manufacturing premises takes place. However, testing of samples in the laboratory approved by BIS is mandatory under the scheme of registrations.

There is no choice available for the applicant. The product category is the only factor to decide whether registration will fall under Scheme – I or Scheme – II of BIS registration.