The rise and rise of Quality Control Orders
Once seen to lower dependence on imports and boost domestic manufacturing, nearly 800 QCOs were now often hampering local production.
- Nov 14, 2025,
- Updated Nov 14, 2025 4:01 PM IST
The government’s decision to roll back quality control orders (QCOs) on nearly two dozen products is set to bring substantial relief to small manufacturers and has led to expectations that there will be more withdrawals amidst a concerted effort to boost local manufacturing and lower the compliance burden.
The November 13 decision to roll back QCOs on key industrial inputs in textiles, plastics and mining is expected to increase availability of intermediate goods used as inputs in manufacturing, lower the cost of production and ease supply chains for a large number of small and medium enterprises. In all, 14 products under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and six under the Ministry of Mines have been exempted from the QCOs under which they have to meet certain Indian standards that are set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
“The decision follows industry complaints that QCOs — originally designed to protect consumer safety — had been extended deep into industrial supply chains where they added costs but little value,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Institute, adding that the withdrawal aligns India with global norms, as major economies do not impose mandatory certification on industrial inputs. Small manufacturers now see the removal of steel QCOs as the most critical and overdue step to restore competition, supply stability, and the survival of MSMEs, he said.
The overall objective of the QCOs was to promote local manufacturing by lowering the dependence on imports and thereby lowering our import bill. It also aimed to ensure that substandard and cheap imports do not come to the country. For instance, India’s local toy manufacturing jumped up sharply as the government took measures to cut down imports, including the implementation of QCOs. Mandatory hallmarking of gold products also helped improve the quality of these products.
However, in recent years, the number of QCOs had risen substantially and had become a major hurdle and compliance burden for MSMEs and exporters. In fact, the issue was also raised by the Gauba Committee that had noted with concern the rising number of QCOs and had suggested that the government should confine these to consumer-facing or safety-critical products rather than upstream manufacturing inputs.
In recent months, two reports had also highlighted the challenges that had come up due to the QCOs.
In September, a working paper by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress titled Decoding India’s Quality Control Orders had pointed out that while QCOs had been introduced to build a robust manufacturing ecosystem and ensure the quality of both domestically manufactured and imported products, their rapid and widespread implementation has created unintended economic consequences, particularly for trade and industrial competitiveness.
“Since 2019, the number of QCOs has surged from 88 to 765 by 2024 — a more than eightfold increase — and the upward trend continues. As of August 2025, an additional 100 QCOs are in the pipeline,” it had said.
Similarly, in October, an RIS discussion paper on Decoding QCOs: Do We Need a Rethink? had also pointed out that India’s expanding use of QCOs under the BIS Act is projected as a consumer safety measure but increasingly functions as a non-tariff trade barrier. “While QCOs aim to raise product quality and consumer safety, the implementation model adopted under the BIS Act-especially Scheme I (Type-4 certification)-has imposed significant compliance burdens on Indian manufacturers, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” it had further said.
Industry and experts have welcomed the roll back of the QCOs and said this will benefit domestic manufacturers.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry welcomed the rescinding of the QCOs on polyester fibre and polyester yarn and said “this pro-growth measure will hugely benefit the country’s textile and apparel sector”.
Srivastava of GTRI also cautioned that even as QCOs are rolled back, India must closely monitor import trends — daily if required — to ensure the absence of quality rules does not trigger a surge of dumped or sub-standard materials. For polymers, fibres, metals and intermediates where QCOs have been withdrawn, global suppliers may attempt to offload excess inventory at predatory prices, he said.
The government’s decision to roll back quality control orders (QCOs) on nearly two dozen products is set to bring substantial relief to small manufacturers and has led to expectations that there will be more withdrawals amidst a concerted effort to boost local manufacturing and lower the compliance burden.
The November 13 decision to roll back QCOs on key industrial inputs in textiles, plastics and mining is expected to increase availability of intermediate goods used as inputs in manufacturing, lower the cost of production and ease supply chains for a large number of small and medium enterprises. In all, 14 products under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and six under the Ministry of Mines have been exempted from the QCOs under which they have to meet certain Indian standards that are set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
“The decision follows industry complaints that QCOs — originally designed to protect consumer safety — had been extended deep into industrial supply chains where they added costs but little value,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Institute, adding that the withdrawal aligns India with global norms, as major economies do not impose mandatory certification on industrial inputs. Small manufacturers now see the removal of steel QCOs as the most critical and overdue step to restore competition, supply stability, and the survival of MSMEs, he said.
The overall objective of the QCOs was to promote local manufacturing by lowering the dependence on imports and thereby lowering our import bill. It also aimed to ensure that substandard and cheap imports do not come to the country. For instance, India’s local toy manufacturing jumped up sharply as the government took measures to cut down imports, including the implementation of QCOs. Mandatory hallmarking of gold products also helped improve the quality of these products.
However, in recent years, the number of QCOs had risen substantially and had become a major hurdle and compliance burden for MSMEs and exporters. In fact, the issue was also raised by the Gauba Committee that had noted with concern the rising number of QCOs and had suggested that the government should confine these to consumer-facing or safety-critical products rather than upstream manufacturing inputs.
In recent months, two reports had also highlighted the challenges that had come up due to the QCOs.
In September, a working paper by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress titled Decoding India’s Quality Control Orders had pointed out that while QCOs had been introduced to build a robust manufacturing ecosystem and ensure the quality of both domestically manufactured and imported products, their rapid and widespread implementation has created unintended economic consequences, particularly for trade and industrial competitiveness.
“Since 2019, the number of QCOs has surged from 88 to 765 by 2024 — a more than eightfold increase — and the upward trend continues. As of August 2025, an additional 100 QCOs are in the pipeline,” it had said.
Similarly, in October, an RIS discussion paper on Decoding QCOs: Do We Need a Rethink? had also pointed out that India’s expanding use of QCOs under the BIS Act is projected as a consumer safety measure but increasingly functions as a non-tariff trade barrier. “While QCOs aim to raise product quality and consumer safety, the implementation model adopted under the BIS Act-especially Scheme I (Type-4 certification)-has imposed significant compliance burdens on Indian manufacturers, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” it had further said.
Industry and experts have welcomed the roll back of the QCOs and said this will benefit domestic manufacturers.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry welcomed the rescinding of the QCOs on polyester fibre and polyester yarn and said “this pro-growth measure will hugely benefit the country’s textile and apparel sector”.
Srivastava of GTRI also cautioned that even as QCOs are rolled back, India must closely monitor import trends — daily if required — to ensure the absence of quality rules does not trigger a surge of dumped or sub-standard materials. For polymers, fibres, metals and intermediates where QCOs have been withdrawn, global suppliers may attempt to offload excess inventory at predatory prices, he said.