How to Apply for BIS FMCS?

BIS stands for Bureau Of Indian Standards. BIS is a national standard body that provides certifications to applicants who conform to BIS standards. BIS registration ensures standardization, marking, and quality assurance of various commodities. It ensures that the product available in the Indian Market is compliant with Indian Standards. 

BIS certifications are provided according to the eligibility of the manufacturer. It consists of various certifications such as ISI Mark, BIS FMCS, Hallmark Registration, Eco Mark Registration, BIS FMCS Registration etc.

FMCS  is an acronym for Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. This type of Registration deals with Foreign Manufacturers who want to import their goods and services within India. 

BIS FMCS grants licenses to those foreign manufacturers whose standards comply with Indian standards ensuring top quality, safety, and reliability of products, the well-being of human beings and animals, and environment-friendly products. 

Note: FMCS excludes Electronic and Information Technology Commodities. In other words, products that are listed under BIS CRS are not included in the list of products that require FMCS registration. 

Table Of Content

Importance of BIS FMCS Registration:

As mentioned earlier, FMCS registration is applied by the Foreign Manufacturers importing their products within the country. International Manufacturers need to comply with the BIS FMCS Standards to begin trading their products within India.

• FMCS is a guarantee by the manufacturers assuring their customers about the quality, efficiency, efficacy, safety, and genuineness of products. FMCS benefits both customers and international manufacturers in addition to the former.
• FMCS certificate provides manufacturers with the trust of the customers in their products. With the earned trust, the manufacturer fulfills the first step to becoming a profitable organization. Confidence of customers leads to the exercise of buying products, thus increasing sales. As sales increase the organization becomes a profitable organization.
• Other than Sales, FMCS permits organizations to build a positive image in the market leading to building the reputation of the organization in the market. FMCS supports organizations to distinguish themselves from the competition existing in the market. 

Any Foreign Manufacturer trading within the country without FMCS registration is considered illegal, resulting in legal complications for the organization. FMCS allows such organizations to move freely without dealing with any legal issues. 
 

Process of FMCS Registration?

• Application Form: The first and essential task of the manufacturer after assembling all the documents, is to fill up the application form for FMCS Registration to register the manufacturing company. The manufacturer has to assemble all the required documents to submit them for further processing. All the details should be filled in to prevent any corrections in the future. The documents can be submitted online or the Hard Copy can be submitted to the FMCD Department. All the details will be thoroughly verified by the BIS authority.
• Issue raised( if any): If BIS Authority finds any incomplete or missing information in the submitted documents or details, an Email from the BIS will be sent to the manufacturing company for the same. 
• Registration Fee: Subsequently, the manufacturer has to make sure to pay the required Registration fee to progress further in the process. 
• Appointment of AIR: AIR stands for Authorized Indian Representative. Foreign Manufacturer appoints an Indian Representative to present the manufacturing company to BIS. AIR is responsible for the communications with BIS, and arrangements required for inspection and testing of products. Along with these, it deals with product recalls if any. 
• Factory Inspection: After providing all the details, FMCS authority visits the location on the mutually agreed-upon day with the manufacturer to examine the infrastructure, quality control, equipment used for manufacturing products, the efficiency of the manufacturing organization, manufacturing process 
• Testing Product:  BIS FMCS Authority collects the sample of the product manufactured in the factory premise to assess the quality, efficiency, safety, and reliability of the product to ensure that the manufacturing company complies with the standards of BIS. The product sample is first sent to the In-House laboratory of the manufacturing company, and later it is sent to the independent laboratory for which the applicant has to pay the required amount. 
• Assessing the Laboratory Report:  After sending the product sample to the laboratory, a laboratory report of the testing is obtained by the BIS officers and the manufacturers. Laboratory reports determine whether the product conforms to BIS FMCS Standards. After a positive report, the process of granting license moves forward. 
• License fee payment: The manufacturer has to pay the required fee for the FMCS certification as well as the advance minimum marking fee to obtain the FMCS license.
• Grant of License: After the successful completion of the above-mentioned procedures, the manufacturing company is issued FMCS license to trade freely in Indian Markets 
• Indemnity Bond: The manufacturing company signs an indemnity bond with BIS FMCS
• Performance bank Guarantee: The manufacturing company has to submit a bank guarantee of 10,000 USD to BIS . It is refundable when the manufacturer surrenders the license. 

Prerequisite for FMCS Documents:

• Factory Registration proof
• Flow Chart of Manufacturing Process
• Laboratory Testing Report 
• List of Testing Facilities at the factory premise 
• List of manufacturing equipment/machinery
• List of quality control parameters at the factory

Conclusion

FMCS is a certification scheme established by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). It is a license provided to manufacturers whose manufacturing units are located outside the country for trading in India freely. FMCS stands for Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. FMCS works as a proof of quality assurance, safety, and reliability of certain products.

As stated above, FMCS applicants have to submit all the details and pay the required fee after which a factory inspection and product testing will be conducted to examine the quality, efficiency, and manufacturing process of the product. After it is concluded that the manufacturing company is per BIS standards, the process progresses further. License remittance, advance minimum marking fee, and other outstanding payments are paid leading to the issuance of FMCS license