BIS FMCS in 2026: Is Your Business Ready for India’s New Certification Rules?

Created By : Biyash Chakraborty | Senior Manager (Marketing)

Picture this: a container of your product sits at an Indian port, customs won’t release it, demurrage is piling up by the day, and the reason traces back to a single missing certificate. For hundreds of foreign manufacturers and their Indian partners, that certificate is the BIS Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) license – and in 2026, the rules around it have changed enough that even businesses who’ve been compliant for years need to pay attention.

What Exactly Is FMCS?

FMCS is a scheme operating under BIS Act, 2016 for granting a BIS license to a foreign manufacturer in accordance with the Act and Bureau on Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. In plain terms: if you manufacture outside India and your product needs a BIS “ISI Mark” to be sold in India, you require a BIS license to use or apply the “ISI Mark” for products manufactured in foreign manufacturing premises, conforming to all the requirements of the relevant Indian standard(s).

This mark will be granted to you by the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Department (FMCD), which means there will be a BIS audit of your overseas factory, product testing in a BIS-recognised lab, and an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) who represents you on the ground in India.

Quick check: Does this even apply to you? The certification becomes mandatory if your product is made outside India but falls under a Quality Control Order (QCO), and voluntary if not covered by a QCO but an Indian Standard exists for the product. Determination of the applicable certification route is crucial here.

Where Things Stand in 2026

Three big shifts define FMCS this year:

• Everything has gone digital: BIS launched the Manakonline portal for FMCS applications, and as of 1st June 2026, offline or hard-copy filings are no longer accepted. If you’re still mailing paperwork to Delhi, that ship has sailed.
• The product list keeps growing: Over 400 product categories now require FMCS-linked certification – electrical appliances, machinery, hand tools, cookware, steel, chemicals like caustic soda and PVC, industrial textiles, and, as of February 2026, furniture (yes – beds, chairs, tables, storage units all need the ISI Mark now).
• Enforcement has teeth: BIS may carry out surveillance of licensed foreign manufacturing facilities during operation of the license, including factory surveillance and product sampling. Customs, meanwhile, now cross-checks shipments automatically at the Bill of Entry stage through ICEGATE.

Why Should Indian Businesses Care?

Here’s the part that catches people out: application under FMCS is filed by the foreign manufacturer, but the pain usually lands on the Indian side of the relationship. If you’re any of the following, this is your problem too:

• An importer or distributor bringing in a QCO-covered product
• An e-commerce seller listing a foreign-made item in a regulated category
• An Indian subsidiary importing components or finished goods from your own overseas parent or group factory

And that last one surprises a lot of multinational groups – the BIS requirement applies even to intercompany imports. And even if you're importing under a concessional scheme like advance authorisation, you're not automatically off the hook; the exemption only holds if those goods are strictly for export, not for sale in India.

What Actually Happens If You Skip It?

Nothing dramatic happens – until it does, all at once, at the port. Here’s the typical sequence:

1. Detention or seizure of the shipment at customs
2. No provisional release – notified products don’t get an exception
3. Demurrage, detention and warehousing charges piling up daily
4. Monetary penalties and legal action under the BIS Act
5. Orders to re-export or destroy the cargo, at your cost
6. Blacklisting, which brings extra scrutiny to every future shipment

And even in cases when something slips through, retailers and marketplaces generally won’t list an uncertified product anyway. So, the real cost of skipping a license under FMCS usually isn’t the fine – it’s the lost sales and the relationship damage with your Indian buyer.

The Cross-Border Wrinkle Most People Miss

FMCS isn’t just an India compliance task; it reaches back into how your global operations are structured:

• Your factory is now on India’s radar. BIS audits happen at your overseas site, and surveillance is ongoing, not one-and-done.
• Someone in India is legally on the hook for you. Your AIR deals with BIS directly, and BIS is watching AIR accountability more closely than before.
• Your existing certifications may not carry over. CE or UL certification doesn’t substitute for BIS testing; it has to happen in a BIS-recognised lab.

Key Dates to Put in Your Calendar

How AKM Global Can Help

Between factory visits, product-QCO mapping, Manakonline filings, AIR representation, and renewal tracking, FMCS is a lot to run in-house alongside everything else on a finance or compliance team’s plate. This is where we come in. AKM Global helps foreign manufacturers and their Indian entities:

• Assess whether your specific products fall under a current or upcoming QCO
• Prepare and file FMCS/ISI applications and renewals through Manakonline
• Work alongside your Authorised Indian Representative
• Build a compliance calendar so license renewals and new deadlines never sneak up on you
• Align FMCS-related AIR fees and cross-charges with your transfer pricing and India entity structure

If you manufacture abroad and sell into India or import from your own overseas group factory – the question worth asking isn’t “do we need to worry about this?”. It’s “where exactly are we exposed, and since when?” We’re happy to help you find out before customs does it for you. Reach out to us at info@akmglobal.com to identify your exposure, assess the risks, and stay ahead of customs scrutiny.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does one BIS/FMCS license cover every factory of the same manufacturer?
No. A foreign enterprise with distinct production facilities must have each facility independently obtain its own BIS license, even where the product, brand, and specifications are identical across all locations.

Can samples be tested in any internationally accredited laboratory?
No. Samples drawn during BIS inspection must be tested in BIS laboratories or laboratories recognised by BIS.

What happens if renewal is filed after expiry?
BIS currently prescribes an INR 5,000 late fee where the renewal application is made after expiry of the license.

Is an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) mandatory?
Yes. A foreign manufacturer must nominate an AIR in India in accordance with BIS requirements.