India is planning to make Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mandatory for viscose staple fiber.

The aim is to check imports of low quality viscose staple fiber. A quality control order will be imposed on imports.Viscose staple fiber is a manmade, bio-degradable fiber used for manufacturing various textiles.

The move comes just a year after anti-dumping duties on imports of viscose staple fiber from China and Indonesia were revoked to make the domestic user industry, including manufacturers of garments and yarn, more competitive. Domestic production of viscose staple fiber is mostly done by Grasim Industries, which is the dominant producer of the fiber in the country.

Viscose staple fiber needs to conform to the corresponding Indian standard and should bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). BIS will be the certifying and enforcing authority and, in addition, an officer not below the rank of Assistant Director, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, shall also be the enforcing authority.

The quality control orderwill not apply to viscose staple fiber meant for export, which conforms to the specification required by the foreign buyer.

As of now, more than 450 products are under the ambit of mandatory certification. Consumer products under mandatory certification include toys, cement, electric iron, electric immersion water heater, domestic food mixer, switches, helmets, domestic pressure cookers and automotive tires.Several consumer electronic products are also under the ambit of compulsory certification such as mobile phones, laptops, TV, power adapters, power banks and digital cameras.