India seizes non-compliant products from e-commerce warehouses

Amongst the platforms raided were Amazon and Flipkart.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has launched a series of raids on warehouses of major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart, in cities like Lucknow, Gurugram, and Delhi to tackle the sale of non-compliant products.

On 7 March, BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders lacking BIS certification from an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow. A similar raid in February at an Amazon warehouse in Gurugram resulted in the seizure of 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, seven PVC cables, two food mixers, and one speaker—all non-certified.

At a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, BIS confiscated 534 stainless steel bottles, 134 toys, and 41 speakers without BIS certification. Investigations linked these non-certified products to Techvision International Pvt Ltd. BIS then raided two Techvision facilities in Delhi, uncovering 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters, and 40 gas stoves—all uncertified.

BIS has filed two court cases against Techvision International Pvt Ltd for violations under the BIS Act, 2016, with more cases pending. Violators face fines of up to ten times the value of the goods or imprisonment for up to two years.

BIS has intensified its market surveillance, focusing on consumer goods such as pressure cookers, hand-held blenders, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, helmets, switches, sockets, and aluminium foils. These items, which pose potential hazards due to substandard quality, require mandatory BIS certification, as mandated by the Central Government in the interest of public safety.

Despite these regulations, BIS has identified several non-certified products being sold on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket. These products either do not bear the ISI Mark or feature invalid certification numbers.

BIS has issued warnings to these e-commerce platforms, requiring them to ensure only certified products are listed. Consumers are urged to use the BIS Care app to verify products’ BIS certification and report non-compliant items.