BIS License Requirement

A BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) licence is the formal authorisation granted by BIS to a manufacturer, domestic or foreign, to apply the BIS certification mark (commonly called the ISI mark) on products that conform to a specified Indian Standard. Governed by the BIS Act, 2016, and the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018, the licence is issued after BIS auditors inspect the manufacturing facility, verify the Quality Management System, and confirm that product samples tested at a BIS-recognised laboratory meet the standard's requirements. In government procurement, a valid BIS licence (or ISI mark) is a mandatory eligibility requirement for hundreds of product categories and is verified as a document check in the technical bid.

What is the BIS licence requirement in government procurement?

The BIS licensing system operates through two primary schemes. The Domestic Manufacturer Certification Scheme (DMCS) covers Indian manufacturers. The Foreign Manufacturer Certification Scheme (FMCS) covers overseas factories that want to supply products in the compulsory certification categories in India. Both require a factory audit, product testing, and ongoing surveillance audits typically once or twice per year, during which BIS inspectors visit the factory, draw samples for testing, and verify that the QMS has been maintained.

There are currently over 800 product categories under the Compulsory Registration Order (CRO) or under the BIS (Compulsory Registration) Scheme, and approximately 50 products under Compulsory Certification (Schedule-I of the Hallmarking and other Certification Orders). For all these categories, a BIS licence is not optional, it is a legal prerequisite for manufacture, import, storage, sale, or supply. Government purchase orders for these items will be rejected by the buyer's stores department if the goods do not bear the BIS certification mark from a licensed manufacturer.

Beyond compulsory categories, hundreds of NITs specify BIS certification as a qualifying requirement even when it is not legally mandated, because BIS certification provides evidence of third-party quality verification that gives procurement officers confidence in the product.

The BIS licence number and its validity date are verifiable on the BIS portal (bis.gov.in / bislicensee.bis.gov.in), and government buyers routinely check licence status online during bid evaluation. A licence found to be expired, suspended, or cancelled invalidates the bid.

Why it matters for bidders

For manufacturers, obtaining and maintaining BIS licences is a market access investment. Without BIS certification for applicable product categories, participation in government tenders is impossible. The process of getting a new BIS licence takes 3 to 9 months, factory audit booking, product sample testing, factory correction if any audit finding, and final licence issuance all take time. Bidders who plan to enter a new product segment for government supply must initiate the BIS application well before they need the licence for a tender.

For traders and channel partners who supply but do not manufacture, the BIS licence must be held by the manufacturing source. Traders must obtain a written undertaking from their supplier confirming that the BIS licence covers the specific product and model being supplied in the particular tender, and they must submit a copy of the manufacturer's BIS licence (not the trader's own documents) in the technical bid.

Surveillance audits create ongoing compliance obligations. A factory that fails a BIS surveillance audit risks suspension or cancellation of its licence, which immediately disqualifies it from all government supply contracts using that product. Manufacturers must maintain their QMS, keep testing records, and respond promptly to any BIS surveillance findings.

Example

A central PSU invites bids for supply of 50,000 units of 5-litre ISI-marked ordinary Portland cement bags (IS 269) for use at its construction project. As cement is a compulsory BIS certification category, the NIT mandates that the cement manufacturer must hold a current BIS licence for IS 269 and the bags must bear the BIS certification mark. The winning bidder, a cement manufacturer, submits its BIS licence number (e.g., CM/L-XXXXXXX) in the technical bid. Before award, the PSU's purchase team verifies the licence on the BIS portal. The licence is found valid through the next financial year. The order is placed and the cement is accepted only after the stores officer confirms the BIS mark on each bag matches the IS number on the licence.

Key rules / thresholds

• BIS licence is product- and IS-code-specific, a single company may need multiple licences for different products or different IS codes.
• Compulsory certification products cannot be supplied without a BIS licence; this is a legal prohibition, not just a procurement policy.
• BIS licence applications take 3-9 months; do not bid on a product requiring BIS certification unless the licence is already held.
• Annual surveillance audits are part of licence maintenance; failure to cooperate with BIS inspectors can lead to suspension.
• Foreign manufacturers supplying to India under FMCS must also comply with all domestic BIS licence requirements and may be subject to additional border-check testing.