Foreign Manufacturer Certification Scheme (FMCS)

Under Foreign Manufacturer Certification Scheme (FMCS), licence is granted to a Foreign Manufacturer for use of Standard Mark on a product that conforms to an Indian Standard. The Scheme is applicable for grant of licence for all products except Electronics & IT Goods notified by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).

• This Standard may be under mandatory or voluntary certification.
• The foreign manufacturer has to nominate an Indian resident as Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) while applying for BIS licence.
• The licence is granted by Foreign Manufacturers Certification Department (FMCD) located at BIS Headquarters, New Delhi.
• Separate application is required to be submitted for each product/Indian Standard and for each factory location manufacturing premise(s).

The manufacturers, who have their factory location outside India can apply under FMCS. They shall:

• Ensure conformity of their product(s) to applicable Indian Standard Specifications (ISS).
• have all manufacturing machineries/facilities at their factory premises.
• have all arrangements/equipments in their factory premises for testing of the product(s) as per applicable ISS.
• have competent testing personnel in their lab to test the product(s) as per applicable ISS.
• accept the Scheme of Testing & Inspection (SIT) and Marking Fee.
• Accept the Terms & Conditions of licence.

• Nominate an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR);
• Preparation and submission of documents;
• Factory visit (abroad) by BIS officials to carryout verification of manufacturing and testing infrastructure and drawal of samples for independent testing;
• The foreign manufacturer is responsible for the safe deposition of samples to India;
• After receipt of a satisfactory inspection report and an independent test report conforming to applicable Indian Standard, it will be processed for issuance of licence;
• Immediately after the licence is granted, an Agreement, an Indemnity Bond and a Performance Bank Guarantee from any bank with a branch in India that has received RBI approval must be provided.

When the licence is granted, a Certification of Manufacturing Licence number (CM/L) is issued and each product or package must bear the ISI Standard Mark along with CM/L number. If the Standard Mark cannot be physically applied to the product or packaging, it must be included in the test certificate.

The licence under FMCS can be granted for all products for which an Indian Standard exists and is amenable to certification except for the Electronics & IT Products notified under Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) of BIS.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)