On June 25, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) announced the Transition Facilitation (Quality Control) Order, 2026.
According to the orders, the department has established an alternative compliance pathway for ten selected Quality Control Orders (QCOs), which include toys, personal protective equipment, air conditioners and compressors, footwear, furniture, hinges, domestic electrical appliances, and household electrical safety products.
The applications will be reviewed by an Implementation Committee led by DPIIT, including representatives from BIS, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, and other relevant ministries.
This reform aims to tackle the long-standing critique that India’s quality-control framework has become increasingly challenging to navigate due to delays in acquiring mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certifications.
However, GTRI indicated that only companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013 are eligible to participate in this new mechanism.
This means that only foreign manufacturers with an all-India representative firm registered under India’s Companies Act can apply, a stipulation that may deter many foreign companies from engaging with the scheme, as noted by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
“This reform is anticipated to mitigate one of the major operational challenges confronting India’s QCO system by reducing reliance on BIS factory inspections. Nevertheless, critics may argue that this simply substitutes one regulatory barrier for another,” remarked GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava.
Instead of waiting for BIS factory inspections, manufacturers will now need to secure approval from an inter-ministerial government committee that wields extensive discretionary authority, he explained.
Furthermore, as the committee’s evaluation encompasses not only conformity assessment but also factors like localization, supply chain development, and broader industrial policy considerations, the new framework essentially redefines India’s quality-control system into a “QCO Plus” model.
Srivastava emphasized that the efficacy of the new framework will hinge on the operational efficiency and transparency of the Implementation Committee.
“DPIIT should issue detailed operational guidelines that clarify the eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, evaluation methods, and timelines for application processing,” he stated, insisting that decisions should rely on transparent and measurable criteria to maintain consistency and reduce ambiguity for the industry.
He also recommended that the committee implement a fully digital application and tracking system with clearly defined service-level timelines, ideally resolving applications within 60 to 90 days.
“Introducing a mechanism for appealing or reviewing rejected applications would further enhance confidence in the system,” he added.
The GTRI further proposed that the department regularly publish anonymized data related to applications received, approvals granted, average processing times, and reasons for rejections.
They argued that while the Transition Facilitation Order is portrayed as a deregulatory reform, failing to implement these recommendations may result in simply shifting one bottleneck for another.
Another expert pointed out that whether this Order ultimately streamlines India’s quality compliance framework or merely replaces mandatory factory inspections with a similarly rigorous administrative screening process will largely depend on how DPIIT frames the forthcoming implementation guidelines and the efficiency of the inter-ministerial committee in processing applications.
“The introduction of a committee-based approval process linked to localization and investment commitments implies that under the new regime, market access may continue to be as much about industrial policy as it is about technical conformity,” said Shaunak Rungta, Director at the Vardhan Group in Jaipur.
