BIS cracks on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart

New Delhi [India]March 16 (ANI): The country’s highest product certification body, the Bureau of Standards, conducted searches and seizures in multiple warehouses on leading e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart.

In a statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that in order to curb the distribution of non-compliant products through e-commerce platforms, the Bureau of Standards of India (BIS) conducted searches and seizures in cities such as Lucknow, Gurugram and Delhi.

The government said that during a raid at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow on March 7, certification body BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand-made mixers, all of which lacked mandatory BIS certification.

Earlier, a similar operation was performed at an Amazon warehouse on Gurugram before February 2025, resulting in seizures of 58 aluminum foil, 34 metal water bottles, 25 toys, 20 manual mixers, 7 manual mixers, 7 PVC cables, 2 food mixers, two speakers and one speaker – all speakers – all speakers were not confirmed, and on Saturday night, none of them were confirmed.

Similarly, in the raid at the Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, BIS seized 534 stainless steel cylinders (vacuum insulation), 134 toys and 41 uncertified speakers.

“BIS’s investigation into multiple violations of Amazon and Flipkart traces uncertified products to Techvision International Pvt Ltd,” the ministry said.

BIS, under this leadership, conducted a raid at two different Techvision international facilities in Delhi, and found about 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters and 40 gas furnaces without BIS certification.

The statement said that the confiscated uncertified products include brands such as Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift and Butterfly.

After seizing the materials, BIS initiated a legal action under the BIS Act of 2016 to hold the responsible entity responsible.

The government said BIS has filed two court cases against M/S TechVision International Pvt Ltd for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act of 2016.

“Other cases are being applied for other epilepsy seizures. Under Article 17 of the BIS Act 2016, a breacher faces a fine of no less than Rs 20 lakh, which may be extended to ten times the value of the goods sold or sold. In addition, depending on the severity of the violation, the offender may face a two-year declaration.

BIS is actively conducting market surveillance to ensure that consumer products available on the market, including on e-commerce platforms, comply with applicable safety and quality standards.

As part of the surveillance, BIS purchased a variety of consumer products and conducted rigorous testing on them to verify compliance with prescribed standards.

Products under market monitoring include commonly used consumer products such as household pressure cookers, hand-held mixers, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, two-wheeler helmets, switches, socks, sockets, sockets, sockets, sockets sockets and sockets sockets and aluminum foil for food packaging.

Considering the potential harms brought by unqualified quality products, the central government has BIS certified for these products for the public interest.

The ministry said that despite mandatory certification of these products, during its surveillance activities, BIS has determined that several uncertified products have been sold on the e-commerce platform.

“Uncertified products include those that do not bear ISI marking or ISI marking (CM/L numbers). These uncertified products have no obvious security risks to consumers because they do not conduct independent third-party testing to ensure they meet minimum safety and performance standards.”

BIS urges consumers to make informed buying decisions by using the BIS Care app. The application provides consumers with critical information about products that require mandatory BIS certification and allows them to verify the authenticity of product BIS certification by checking ISI Mark and manufacturer’s license number (CM/L).

Additionally, consumers can use the BIS Care application to file complaints about products that do not bear ISI trademarks or report quality issues with BIS certified products. (ANI)