Detailed Process of FMCS Certification

FMCS is an abbreviation for Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. This certification is given to foreign or international manufacturers who are willing to begin or expand their trade within India. FMCS certifications are acquired by those manufacturers who conform to the standards of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). BIS is responsible for the standardization, marking, and quality of products. BIS consists of many certifications - HallMark Registration, Eco-mark registration, Simplified procedure, FMCS etc.

FMCS license is not granted to manufacturers who deal with Electronics and Information Technology commodities. All products except electronic products are granted a license by FMCS.

A process to gain FMCS certification must be followed by any foreign or international manufacturer who wishes to sell or import their products into India. The manufacturer has to apply for registration as well as pay the registration fee to begin the process.

Table Of Content

Step-by-step process for BIS FMCS Registration

The BIS FMCS registration procedure details are as follows:

Preparation: FMCS ensures that the product is compliant with the standards of BIS. So, any Foreign manufacturer who wishes to trade within India has to first make sure that their product is in accordance with the BIS standards. All the terms and conditions of BIS must be met to obtain an ISI mark on the product. Also, the manufacturer must make sure that all the requirements such as documents required, testing facilities, machinery, etc are present at the site.
Application Form: After collecting all the documents, the organization must make sure to register the manufacturing company by filling up the application form. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to see all the details mentioned in the application form are complete and correct. Applicants will have to submit a hard copy of the documents to the FMCD department. Submitted hard copies must be signed by the concerned authorities. Other than the offline submission of documents, the manufacturer can apply for registration online.
Issue raised (if any): In some cases, the manufacturer fills in incomplete information in the form. When the FMCS authority finds any missing information in the submitted details, they send an Email to the applicant informing them about the issue faced. If the FMCS authority doesn’t find any issue, the application is recorded and accordingly, an application number is allotted to the manufacturer to use in the future.
Registration Fee: The manufacturer has to pay the registration fees to move forward in the registration process.
Appointment of AIR: Any foreign or international manufacturer willing to begin or expand their company within India has to make sure that they obtain FMCS certification. As the manufacturing company is located outside the country, the manufacturer has to nominate a representative that presents itself to the BIS authority. The representative is known as AIR ( Authorized Indian Representative). AIR assists with all the communication, issues faced, and arrangements that are required on behalf of the manufacturing company. Along with effective communication skills, the manufacturing company must ensure that the nominated AIR is an Indian Resident as well as knowledge of the BIS Act 2016. To be noted, only one AIR should be appointed for a manufacturing company at a time.
Factory Inspection: Subsequently, the FMCS authority decides on a mutually-agreed day with the manufacturing company for the audit of the factory premises. FMCS authority visits the location to scrutinize the framework, quality control procedures, machinery used for the manufacturing process, efficiency and productivity of the organization, etc The manufacturer is required to pay the audit remittance for the audit to occur in the first place.
Sample Testing: When the FMCS authority visits the location, they assess various factors that contribute to the manufacturing process to be granted a license. One of the most important tasks that the FMCS authority assesses is to understand the efficiency of the product. For this, they collect a sample of the product to examine the safety, dependability, and effectiveness of the product. The authority sends the sample to the built-in laboratory at the factory for the results. Along with that, the concerned authority sends the sample to different BIS-approved Independent laboratories to test the sample.
Assessing the Laboratory Report: FMCS assesses the results of the laboratory

testing of the sample. If the product results do not match the standards, the manufacturing company will be notified, and they are prohibited to trade within India till the time it matches the mentioned standards. If the report matches the standards of BIS FMCS, the process progresses further.

License Fee Payment: The manufacturer assures that he/she pays for the amount required for granting the FMCS license. Also, they have to pay an advance minimum marking fee.
Issuance Of license: BIS issues FMCS license to the eligible organization to move freely in Indian Markets. The validity of the initial certification is for a year and after the renewal it is valid for a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 5 years. If the renewal certification is registered after the expiry of the initial one, a late fee of rupees 5000 is fined.
Indemnity Bond and PBG: An indemnity bond is signed between the organization and FMCS authority. A bank guarantee in the amount of USD 10,000 must be provided to BIS by the manufacturing company.

Documents Required for BIS FMCS Registration

Business license
Trademark proof
Business Proof
Authorization letter
List of testing facilities and testing equipment list
Third-party laboratory test report as per Indian Standards if applicable
Layout and location plan of the factory
Flow chart of the manufacturing process
Manufacturing machinery details
In the case of a foreign manufacturer, the nomination details of an Indian agent and the nomination form

Conclusion

FMCS refers to Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. It is a scheme that allows foreign manufacturers to sell their products in India without having to set up a manufacturing facility in India. It ensures product compliance with BIS standards, assuring customers' safety and reliability.

Manufacturing Owner must acquire all the documents and submit all the necessary details to register the products for FMCS certification. Subsequently, the manufacturer appoints an AIR i.e. Authorized Indian Representatives who handle all the communication, inspection, testing facilities, sample product arrangements, etc. After a positive report by the laboratory, the issuance of the license process begins. After the completion of all the payments, the license is issued to the organization.