The government should consider capping testing charges for routine industrial products, as the high cost of compliance with Quality Control Orders (QCOs) risks undermining India’s manufacturing ecosystem and smaller importers, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Tuesday.

While the QCO framework is intended to enhance product quality and ensure consumer safety, its rapid expansion is placing strain on testing infrastructure and creating significant compliance bottlenecks for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the think tank noted.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava stated that India’s expanding quality control regime was imposing testing and certification costs so high that many MSME importers could be pushed out of business, potentially leaving the market increasingly dominated by larger players.

The costs arise primarily under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which mandates that foreign manufacturers obtain BIS certification before exporting products covered by QCOs to India. The process involves appointing an authorised Indian representative, submitting technical documentation, undergoing factory inspections by BIS, providing product samples for testing at approved laboratories, and securing a licence prior to export.

Srivastava further noted that while large importers are able to distribute such costs across higher volumes, smaller firms importing specialised or low-volume products face disproportionate financial pressure. He observed that upfront certification expenses, often ranging between Rs. 15 lakh (US $16,000) and Rs. 20 lakh (US $21,500), could render imports commercially unviable for many MSMEs.

GTRI also warned that elevated certification costs could have unintended consequences for domestic manufacturing. Srivastava pointed out that high compliance expenses risk undermining the ‘Make in India’ initiative, as many Indian manufacturers depend on imported specialised inputs, components and machinery that are not available domestically at the required quality or scale.

The think tank has urged the government to cap testing charges for routine products, recognise reports from accredited foreign laboratories, adopt risk-based testing norms in place of extensive sample requirements, and undertake regulatory impact assessments before introducing new QCOs.