The IT hardware body, Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT), on Monday, said if the implementation deadline for Compulsory Registration Order was not extended, the industry might lose over Rs.1,000 crore in 2013-14.
The order makes it mandatory for all manufacturers to get certification that their electronic products are BIS standards compliant. The deadline for the same has been set at April 3, 2013.
“The Indian electronics market is set to suffer a major slump in fiscal 2013-14, and the industry may lose over Rs.1,000 crore if the government fails to extend the April 3 deadline of the Compulsory Registration Order 2012,” MAIT said.
This might lead to higher costs for the consumer and further affect the market demand, it added.
Some products included in the order are video games, laptops, tablets, television, microwave, printers and scanners.
Demanding an extension of deadline by six months, the industry body said companies were ready to comply with these standards, but the delay in certification due to lack of testing labs, frequent changes in guidelines and missing technical details needed to be addressed.
“There are only six labs for these tests, which take time in testing products. After that, BIS takes time in certifying, and following which product labelling is done,” MAIT Executive Director Anwar Shirpurwala said.
“Only after labelling, the products can be manufactured and placed in the market. If the deadline is not extended, the IT hardware supply will get affected resulting in the price hike of these 15 categories of products. Therefore, we request the government to extend the deadline by a minimum six months,” he added.
Around 8,000 products are to be tested from an average five factories, and these labs take around 4 to 6 weeks to test one product.
