MNRE Extends Last Date for BIS Testing to June 30, 2021

Responding to pleas by multiple manufacturers and trade bodies, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has extended the last date for self certification for SPV (Solar) inverters has been extended yet again from December 31 2020 to  June 30, 2021 now. This is subject to the condition that relevant manufacturers will have valid IEC certificates corresponding to the relevant items specified in its notice from international test labs.

The order will come as a relief to many manufacturers who had been complaining about  long delays at BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) testing labs, besides the issue of costs and testing facilities for high capacity inverters. We have seen how firms that did manage to get their BIS certifications have seen it as a big achievement in the recent past. The delays have been so problematic, that right now it is probably a competitive advantage to have managed the certification. BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016. The body has its Headquarters at New Delhi and five regional Offices (ROs) at Kolkata (Eastern), Chennai (Southern), Mumbai (Western), Chandigarh (Northern) and Delhi (Central). Multiple branch offices are linked to these regional offices too.

The BIS certification is critical to be considered for most projects involving government entities or funding, and go towards reassuring buyers of your product quality even otherwise in India.

The process is obviously complicated, which explains the proliferation of multiple BIS registration consultants across India, besides accredited labs for testing. The government has steadfastly refused demands from a section of overseas manufacturers to allow globally respected testing standards as a substitute, which has meant that these manufacturers have to go through the whole process all over again in India to sell.