India's BIS certification requirements must operate within the framework of WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Understanding this relationship helps exporters to India and Indian exporters navigate international trade compliance.
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) is a WTO multilateral agreement that governs how member countries can use technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures. Its core principle: technical regulations must not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
BIS mandatory requirements must apply equally to domestic and imported products — India cannot have stricter requirements for imports than for domestically manufactured products. In practice, BIS QCOs apply to both Indian manufacturers and importers equally.
Under TBT Article 2.4, countries should base their technical regulations on international standards (ISO, IEC) unless those standards are inappropriate for legitimate reasons. India's adoption of IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 directly from IEC 62368-1:2023 is good TBT practice — aligning Indian standards with international ones.
India must notify the WTO of new or changed technical regulations before they take effect (with few exceptions for urgent safety concerns). This allows trading partners to comment. BIS QCOs are notified to the WTO TBT committee.
Several trading partners have raised WTO TBT concerns about Indian mandatory certification requirements:
BIS mandatory certification is WTO-consistent — importers cannot use WTO TBT as an argument to bypass BIS requirements. However, WTO TBT does support the case for India recognizing CB Scheme test reports from accredited international labs to reduce duplicate testing burden.
India actively participates in WTO TBT Committee meetings and has been increasingly vocal in shaping TBT norms for digital products and emerging technologies. Indian standards like IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 align India with global standards — reducing TBT friction for both imports and exports.