Geysers, fans, footwear: BIS raids multiple warehouses in Delhi, seizes thousands of substandard products

The Delhi branch of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India's National Standards Body, carried out a raid at the warehouses of Amazon Sellers Pvt Ltd, located in Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Delhi, on March 19. The operation lasted over 15 hours and more than 3,500 products, both without an ISI mark and marked with fake ISI labels, were seized. The total estimated value of the seized products like geysers, food mixers and other electrical appliances is around Rs 70 lakhs, according to a PIB release.

In another raid conducted at Instakart Services Pvt Limited, a Flipkart subsidiary located in Trinagar, Delhi, unearthed a stock of sports footwear packaged for dispatch without the necessary ISI mark and date of manufacture. Approximately 590 pairs of sports footwear, worth around Rs 6 lakhs, were seized during this operation.

Notably, these raids are part of a broader, nationwide initiative by the BIS to enforce compliance with quality standards and protect consumer interests. Over the past month, BIS teams have conducted similar operations in various locations across India, including Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Lucknow, and Sriperumbudur, seizing a range of substandard products.

The Bureau of Indian Standards mandates compulsory certification for 769 products, as notified by various regulatory bodies and line ministries of the Government. The manufacturing, import, distribution, sale, hire, lease, storage, or exhibition for sale of these products without a valid license or Certificate of Compliance (CoC) from BIS is strictly prohibited.