BIS Raids Amazon, Flipkart Warehouses in Delhi, Seizes Rs 76 Lakh Worth of Substandard Goods

The ISI mark is a certification symbol issued by the BIS, indicating that a product conforms to the Indian Standards set for safety, performance, and quality.

In a major crackdown on the sale of substandard and non-certified products, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has conducted intensive search and seizure operations at the warehouses of two major e-commerce entities—Amazon and Flipkart—in the national capital. These raids, part of an ongoing nationwide drive, are aimed at ensuring strict compliance with India’s mandatory quality norms to safeguard consumer interests.

On March 19, officials from the Delhi Branch of BIS conducted a 15-hour-long raid at the warehouse of Amazon Sellers Pvt Ltd, situated in the Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Delhi. During the operation, BIS authorities seized over 3,500 electrical products—including geysers, food mixers, and other appliances—either lacking the mandatory ISI mark or bearing counterfeit ISI labels. The total estimated market value of the seized goods is approximately ₹70 lakh.

The ISI mark is a certification symbol issued by the BIS, indicating that a product conforms to the Indian Standards set for safety, performance, and quality. Selling products without this certification is a violation of Indian regulatory norms.

In a separate operation around the same period, BIS officials raided the premises of Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Flipkart, located in Trinagar, Delhi. The raid revealed 590 pairs of sports footwear that were found to be packaged for dispatch without the required ISI mark and missing crucial labeling such as the date of manufacture. These items were valued at ₹6 lakh.

Both operations are part of a broader campaign launched by BIS in recent weeks. In the past month alone, the standards body has conducted similar raids across key cities including Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Lucknow, and Sriperumbudur. A variety of substandard and non-compliant products were seized during these enforcement actions, underlining the widespread issue of unauthorized and counterfeit goods in the Indian market.

Currently, 769 products have been notified for mandatory BIS certification by various line ministries and regulatory bodies of the Government of India. These include critical consumer products such as electrical appliances, helmets, pressure cookers, toys, footwear, and electronic goods. According to BIS regulations, it is illegal to manufacture, import, distribute, sell, store, lease, hire, or even exhibit for sale any of these notified items without a valid BIS license or Certificate of Conformity (CoC).

Violation of these provisions is a punishable offence under Section 29(3) of the BIS Act, 2016, which can attract imprisonment, monetary penalties, or both, depending on the severity of the non-compliance.

The BIS has reiterated that it will continue to conduct regular surveillance and enforcement actions to curb the circulation of uncertified and substandard goods in the Indian market. The public is also being encouraged to report suspicious products or vendors to the BIS through its official portal or helpline.

This string of raids underscores the importance of product certification in protecting consumers from potential safety hazards posed by non-compliant products and highlights the government’s firm stance on enforcing quality standards across all sectors.