BIS Certification for Aluminium QCO: Products, Standards & Deadlines

What is the aluminium QCO?

The Aluminium and Aluminium Alloy Products (Quality Control) Order makes BIS certification compulsory for specified aluminium products. Covered products must conform to the relevant Indian Standard and carry the ISI Mark under a BIS licence granted under Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.

The order applies to both domestic producers and foreign manufacturers exporting to India. Without a licence, covered products cannot be manufactured, imported, sold, distributed or stored for sale in India.

How we got here: a three-year timeline

The QCO was first notified in September 2023 in response to rising low-quality imports. It was then deferred several times, with repeated revisions to dates, MSME timelines and relief for goods already in transit — first to April 2025, then to October 2025.

In February 2026, relief orders were issued for consignments stuck at customs based on purchase and dispatch dates. Then, on 11 March 2026, DPIIT issued the Aluminium and Aluminium Alloy Products (Quality Control) Order, 2026, which replaced the 2025 order. The product list stayed the same; what changed was a clean split between products that must comply immediately and products that get more time.

Products that must comply now (from 11 March 2026)

These seven categories were mandatory from the date of the 2026 order, for all enterprises regardless of size:

IS 7092 (Part 1):1992 — welded aluminium irrigation tubes; IS 7092 (Part 2):1987 — extruded irrigation tubes; IS 5484:1997 — EC grade aluminium rod produced by continuous casting and rolling; IS 16011:2012 — aluminium and aluminium alloy foil for pharmaceutical packaging; IS 17682:2021 — aluminium composite panels (ACP); IS 1254:2007 — corrugated aluminium sheet; IS 7902:2001 — alloy 24345 forging stock and forgings for aerospace.

Products with a phased deadline (from 1 December 2026)

These ten categories become mandatory on 1 December 2026 for large and medium enterprises, 1 March 2027 for small enterprises, and 1 June 2027 for micro enterprises:

IS 733:1983 — wrought aluminium bars, rods and sections; IS 734:1975 — forging stock and forgings; IS 736:1986 — plate; IS 737:2008 — sheet and strip for general engineering; IS 739:1992 — wire for general engineering; IS 740:1977 — rivet stock; IS 1285:2002 — extruded round tube and hollow sections; IS 2067:1975 — wire for electrical purposes; IS 21:1992 — aluminium alloys for utensils; IS 5082:1998 — bars, rods, tubes, sections, plates and sheets for electrical applications.

In each case, the latest version of the Indian Standard including all amendments applies — not the year in the title alone.

Who is affected

Primary producers and rolling mills making sheet, plate, foil and rod; extruders making sections and tubes; ACP manufacturers; wire and conductor makers; utensil manufacturers using aluminium alloys; and importers and traders bringing any of these into India.

Downstream buyers are affected too. A cookware, electrical or construction company buying covered aluminium inputs will need licensed suppliers — so procurement teams should be checking supplier licences now, not in December.

Exemptions

Goods manufactured in India for export are outside the order.

Manufacturers of aluminium products can import up to 200 kg per year for research and development, provided the material is not sold commercially, is disposed of as scrap, and year-wise records are maintained and furnished to the Central Government.

There is no blanket MSME exemption. Micro and small enterprises only get later compliance dates for the phased products.

The BIS certification process for aluminium products

1. Map each product to its Indian Standard and alloy/temper designation — a mill producing sheet, plate and foil may need several licences.

2. Set up in-house testing for what the standard requires, typically chemical composition, tensile strength, proof stress, elongation, bend tests and dimensional tolerances.

3. Apply online with manufacturing process, equipment, testing facilities and quality control details.

4. BIS factory inspection, sample drawing and testing at a BIS or BIS-recognised laboratory.

5. Licence grant, ISI marking with the licence number, then ongoing surveillance and renewal.

Foreign mills apply under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) through an Authorised Indian Representative, with an overseas factory inspection. FMCS takes longer, which is why foreign suppliers targeting the 1 December 2026 date need to be in the queue already.

Penalties

Selling or importing a notified product without a licence is an offence under Section 29 of the BIS Act, 2016, with imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of at least ₹2 lakh for a first offence and ₹5 lakh for repeat offences, which may extend to ten times the value of the goods. Customs can also hold or reject non-compliant consignments.

How TechbyDR Services helps

We map your aluminium product portfolio against all 17 standards, identify which licences you need and by when, set up in-house testing, and manage applications and inspections through to licence grant. For foreign mills, we handle FMCS end to end and act as or coordinate your Authorised Indian Representative.