BIS Seizes Shoddy Goods In Raids On Amazon, Flipkart Warehouses | Economy News

New Delhi: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has carried out search and seizure operations at multiple warehouse locations of leading e-commerce companies, including Amazon and Flipkart, in cities such as Lucknow, Gurugram and Delhi to curb the distribution of non-compliant products. 

In a recent raid conducted on March 7 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders, all lacking mandatory BIS certification. Earlier, last month, a similar operation at an Amazon warehouse in Gurugram resulted in the seizure of 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, 7 PVC cables, 2 food mixers and 1 speaker – all found to be non-certified, according to an official statement issued on Saturday.

Similarly, in a raid at a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram, operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, BIS seized 534 stainless steel bottles (vacuum insulated), 134 toys and 41 speakers that were not certified.

BIS’s investigations into multiple violations on both Amazon and Flipkart traced non-certified products back to Techvision International Pvt Ltd. Acting on this lead, BIS conducted raids at two different facilities of Techvision International in Delhi, uncovering approximately 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters, and 40 gas stoves, without BIS certification.

Non-certified products seized include brands like Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly, among others, the statement said. Following the seizure of material, BIS initiates legal action against the entities for violation of norms. BIS has already filed two court cases against M/s Techvision International Pvt Ltd for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act, 2016. Additional cases are in the process of being filed for other seizure operations.

Under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016, defaulters face a penalty not less than Rs 2 lakh, which may extend up to ten times the value of the goods sold or offered for sale. Furthermore, depending on the severity of the violation, offenders may also face imprisonment of up to two years.

BIS is actively conducting market surveillance to ensure that consumer products available in the market, including on e-commerce platforms, comply with applicable safety and quality standards. As part of surveillance, BIS purchases various consumer products and subjects them to rigorous testing to verify compliance with the prescribed standards.

The products under market surveillance include commonly used consumer goods such as domestic pressure cookers, hand-held blenders, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, two-wheeler helmets, switches, sockets, and aluminium foils for food packaging. Considering the potential hazards posed by substandard quality products, the Central Government has made BIS certification mandatory for these products in the public interest.

However, during its surveillance activities, BIS has identified several non-certified products being sold on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket even though BIS certification has been made mandatory for these products.

Non-certified products include those that do not bear an ISI Mark or an ISI Mark with an invalid license number (CM/L number). These non-certified products pose significant safety risks to consumers as they have not undergone independent third-party testing to ensure they meet minimum safety and performance standards.

These large-scale seizures highlight the widespread issue of unsafe non-certified products being sold online, underscoring the urgent need for e-commerce platforms to exercise greater due diligence in ensuring that only BIS-certified products are listed for sale, wherever mandated by the Central government, the statement said.

In this regard, BIS has issued notices to all these e-commerce platforms, directing them to ensure that products requiring BIS certification are duly certified before being made available to consumers. BIS has also urged consumers to make informed purchasing decisions by utilising the BIS Care app.

This app provides consumers with crucial information on products that require mandatory BIS certification and allows them to verify the authenticity of a product’s BIS certification by checking the ISI Mark and the manufacturer’s license number (CM/L). Additionally, consumers can use the BIS Care app to lodge complaints about products that do not bear the ISI Mark or report quality concerns regarding BIS-certified products, the statement added.