Conducting searches and seizures at many warehouse sites including Amazon and Flipkart, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has redoubled its attempts to restrict the distribution of non-certified and unsafe goods on e-commerce sites. To make sure compulsory BIS certification is followed, the government verified the raids happened in cities like Lucknow, Gurugram, and Delhi.
Seizures that are huge from Amazon and Flipkart Warehouses
The March 7 BIS search at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow resulted in the confiscation of 215 toys and 24 hand blenders, all absent the required BIS certification. Goods seized from an Amazon facility in Gurugram raided in February ran
- 58 aluminium foils
- 34 metallic water bottles
- 25 toys
- 20 hand blenders
- 7 PVC cables
- 2 food mixers
- 1 speaker
Organized by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, a different raid at a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram resulted in the confiscation of 534 non-certified stainless steel (vacuum-insulated) bottles, 134 toys, and 41 speakers.
Under investigation: Techvision International Pvt. Ltd.
Officers from the BIS found Techvision International Pvt Ltd to be responsible for the unapproved goods available on Amazon and Flipkart. Acting on this clue, BIS searched two of the Delhi premises of the company, revealed:
- 7,000 electric water heaters
- 4,000 electric food mixers
- 95 electric room heaters
- 40 gas stoves
Brands such as Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly sold these items without BIS certification. More litigation is already in progress, but BIS has already filed two lawsuits under the BIS Act of 2016 against Techvision International.
E-commerce platforms under investigation for compliance.
By way of market survey, BIS has been actively ensuring that goods sold online meet safety and quality criteria. Even though BIS certification is required, the watchdog has noted non-certified goods for sale on websites like Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket.
Frequently tracked elements consist of:
Many of these non-certified products either lack the ISI mark or display an invalid ISI licence number, posing serious safety risks to consumers.
The government is asking e-commerce platforms to guarantee compliance.
The government pointed out that e-commerce sites have to have more rigorous verification in order to stop the selling of unapproved items. These major seizures emphasize the critical need for online businesses to follow BIS criteria so as to secure consumer safety and comply with Indian laws.
