India's quality control norms could hit Chinese imports: Report

If reports are to be believed, imports of Chinese goods could dwindle in India as the government continues to introduce a raft of Quality Control Orders (QCO). The situation could pose problems for the Indian industry, according to a report published in Mint.

"Inspections by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have become crucial, with India imposing mandatory certification on many products for which QCOs have been issued," the publication noted, adding that customs officials were blocking products that were not compliant with Indian standards.

With several hurdles in the process, the import delays could pose difficulties for myriad industries which are dependent on China for products, the report warned. Frompharmaceutical ingredients to auto parts to machinery, China has been one of the biggest importers to India.

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Notably, the total imports from China increased to$98.51 billion during the financial year that ended in March, compared to $94.57 billion during the same time last year.

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A government official, however, asserted that India was not looking to boot out China, albeit it was stepping in for quality checks as the Chinese officials were yet to resume the practice after the pandemic.

“India is not blocking imports from China. The issue is that because of travel restrictions in China, inspections are not taking place. Chinese officials are yet to indicate the reopening of facilities for inspections," said the official, requesting anonymity.

"We have resumed inspection of all the countries whose embassies have written to us indicating their facilities are open for inspection. BIS can’t give certifications without inspections."

Indian government upping the ante

With an aim to curb the import of sub-standard goods, especially from China and boost the domestic industry, India has seen a surge in QCOs.

Products such as toys, machinery safety equipment, pressure cookers, ACs and chemicals have already been brought under compulsory certification.

Earlier in January this year, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said it was planning to issue more QCOs by thesecond quarter of the next year. So far, India has issued 115 QCOs, and orders on as many as 675 products across 14 ministries are under consideration.

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Even then, there was pushback from the World Trade Organization (WTO) members who said implementing QCOs should be on grounds of health, safety, environment, deceptive trade practice or national security only.

However, according to experts,QCO is the perfect antidote to stop cheap Chinese imports from flooding the Indian market. Once Chinese goods enter India, their ultra-competitive pricing means that domestic traders are pushed to the fringes and punished for trying to maintain a certain level of quality.

(With inputs fromagencies)

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