How to Import Electronics into India: Every Approval You Need (2026 Guide)

Why India requires product approvals

India is the world’s second-largest consumer electronics market, and since 2012 the government has steadily expanded mandatory certification to protect buyers from unsafe, energy-wasteful and unrecyclable products. The rules are enforced at two points: at customs, where a shipment without valid registration is held or returned, and in the market, where uncertified stock can be seized from retailers.

For a manufacturer or importer, that turns compliance from a formality into a gate. No approval, no entry. The good news is that the system is predictable once you know which authorities apply to your product - and that is what this guide lays out.

The five regulators, at a glance

Each authority has its own portal, its own documentation and its own reviewers. They do not talk to each other. That is why a product can be fully BIS-registered and still be stopped at customs for a missing WPC approval.

Which approvals does your product need?

The honest answer is “it depends on the product” - but the patterns are consistent. Here is how the most common imported electronics map to the regulators:

Two points stand out. First, EPR applies to nearly everything - it is the approval importers most often forget. Second, wireless is the multiplier: the moment a product has a radio, WPC joins the list, and if it connects to a telecom network, so does TEC.

If your product is not in the table, the fastest way to find out is our free Compliance Navigator, which maps 24 product categories to their approvals in one click - and a consultant confirms the exact scope for your model at no charge.

The right order to apply

Because several approvals depend on the same evidence, sequence matters. This order avoids repeating work:

1. 01

   Confirm scope first

   Identify every applicable regulator and the exact Indian Standard or Essential Requirement for your model. Errors here cascade through everything that follows.

2. 02

   Test once, use everywhere

   Product safety testing at a BIS-recognised laboratory produces the reports that BIS registration stands on. EMC/EMI testing and RF test reports serve both WPC and TEC. Plan the test matrix so one round of samples covers every regulator.

3. 03

   File BIS

   CRS registration for electronics and IT (a registration number, marked with the Standard Mark), or the ISI licence route - via FMCS for foreign factories - where the product is under a Quality Control Order rather than CRS.

4. 04

   File WPC and TEC in parallel

   WPC ETA for the radio (many unlicensed-band devices now qualify for the faster ETA self-declaration route), and TEC MTCTE for telecom equipment against its Essential Requirements.

5. 05

   Register EPR

   EPR registration with CPCB under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, so your import volumes carry their recycling obligation.

6. 06

   Label correctly

   BEE star labelling where applicable, plus the BIS Standard Mark, WPC and EPR markings on product and packaging.

Skipping step one is where most expensive mistakes begin: a product tested against the wrong standard has to be tested again.

Foreign manufacturers: the AIR requirement

This is the rule that surprises overseas companies most. BIS, WPC and TEC approvals are granted to the manufacturer, not to the importer or trader. A foreign factory cannot hold an Indian registration directly - it must appoint an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR): an Indian legal entity that files the application, holds the registration, and remains answerable to the regulator for compliance in India.

• You do not need to open an Indian office or subsidiary to get certified.
• Your AIR signs the application, receives regulator queries, and carries legal responsibility - choose one that answers those queries the same day.
• One AIR can hold registrations for multiple products and brands from the same factory.
• If you change AIR later, registrations must be transferred, so the choice matters.

Shasta Solution acts as AIR for more than 100 foreign manufacturers. The full picture of how remote representation works is on our page for global manufacturers.

The documents you will need

Requirements differ by regulator, but the core set is consistent enough to prepare in advance:

• Manufacturer registration and factory address proof (with an AIR agreement for foreign factories)
• Product specification, user manual and circuit or block diagrams
• Bill of materials with critical components and their certifications
• Test reports from recognised laboratories, in the format each regulator expects
• Brand and trademark ownership or authorisation
• For ISI routes: factory quality-control records and in-house test equipment lists
• For WPC: RF test report and technical datasheet showing frequency bands and power
• For EPR: import volume projections and details of your recycling arrangements

Each regulator reads these differently. A test report that satisfies BIS may be rejected by TEC for missing a clause, which is why preparing the file “the way each regulator reads it” is most of the skill in this work.

Costs and timelines - the honest version

Costs have four components: government fees per application and model, laboratory testing fees per standard, AIR or consultancy fees, and - for ISI licences - ongoing marking fees. Testing is usually the largest line. Because it depends on the number of models, variants and applicable standards, any figure quoted before scoping is a guess. A written assessment with a real breakdown is free from us, within one business day.

Timelines are controlled by the regulators. Application queues, query cycles and lab schedules all sit outside any consultant’s control, and a consultant who promises a fixed number of days is either guessing or hiding a caveat. What genuinely shortens the journey is what you can control: complete documentation the first time, a test plan without gaps, and every regulator query answered the day it arrives. Done well, that removes weeks of avoidable back-and-forth.

Five mistakes that cost importers the most

1. 01

   Assuming BIS is the whole story. It is one of up to five approvals. Check WPC, TEC, BEE and EPR before the first sample ships.

2. 02

   Testing before scoping. Reports against the wrong standard, or missing a variant, mean paying for the lab twice.

3. 03

   Ignoring EPR until customs asks. EPR registration is required for import; retrofitting it delays clearance.

4. 04

   Choosing an AIR on price alone. Your AIR is your legal face to the regulator; slow query responses stall every application they hold.

5. 05

   Letting registrations lapse. CRS registrations and ISI licences have validity periods and renewal windows. A lapsed registration stops shipments as surely as a missing one.

Shasta Solution LLP has guided products through Indian market approvals since 2010 - 4,500+ certifications, 2,300+ clients, one accountable partner across BIS, WPC, TEC, BEE and EPR.