BIS Certification Application Delayed or Product Listing Rejected? Action Plan

Who this guide is for

This guide is for manufacturers, importers, and small businesses in India who have applied to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for certification and are now facing a delay, a query, or a rejection. It applies whether you are seeking an ISI mark licence under a product certification scheme, a registration under the Compulsory Registration Scheme (commonly called CRS, used for many electronics and IT products), or another BIS scheme. It is also useful for:

• Sellers whose product cannot be listed on an online marketplace because the marketplace asks for a valid BIS licence or registration number that you do not yet have.
• Importers who find their consignment held because the product falls under a mandatory BIS scheme and the certificate is still pending.
• Businesses that received a query letter on the portal asking for a fresh test report, more documents, or clarification on the product category.
• Applicants whose factory inspection has not been scheduled, or whose inspection raised deficiencies they need to close.

This guide does not give you a guaranteed grant date or a substitute for a recognised laboratory's test report. Certification turns on whether your product actually meets the relevant Indian Standard. What this guide does is help you keep your file moving, respond correctly, and get the official records when the process stalls. Where stakes are high, work with a competent technical consultant or testing laboratory rather than guessing.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Log in to the BIS online portal (manakonline.in) using the credentials you used to apply. Open the dashboard and find your application number. Note the current status word for word, for example "query raised", "test report awaited", "inspection scheduled", or "under process". Download every letter or document attached to the file and save it in a folder named after the application number.

Read any query or rejection letter line by line. Write down each separate point the officer has raised. A query is not a refusal; it is a request for something specific, and your reply must answer each point. If the letter mentions a response deadline, mark it on your calendar immediately so the file is not closed for non-response.

Confirm which product category and which Indian Standard your application is filed under. A surprising number of delays come from applying under the wrong standard for the product variant. If you are unsure, check the standard number shown on the portal against the official product list for your scheme.

Saturday

Pull out your test report from the recognised laboratory and read it against the requirements of the Indian Standard for your product. Check that the sample tested matches the exact model or variant you want certified. If the report shows a parameter that did not meet the standard, or the sample was the wrong variant, that is very likely the root of your problem. You may need a fresh sample drawn and re-tested.

Gather your factory inspection records. If an inspection happened, find the inspection report and the list of any deficiencies the officer recorded. Close each deficiency with documentary proof, for example calibration certificates, corrected process records, or photographs of the rectified equipment. If the inspection has not been scheduled at all, note that as the bottleneck so you can chase it specifically.

Verify your supporting documents are current and consistent. The factory address on the application, the manufacturing licence, the test report, and the inspection report should all show the same legal name and address. A mismatch between them is a common ground for a query and is easy to fix once spotted.

Sunday

Draft your reply to the query, or your representation if the file is simply stuck with no query. Use the template later in this guide as a starting point. Answer each point in the same order the officer raised it, and attach the evidence as numbered annexures so nothing is missed.

Prepare your escalation note as well, in case the query reply does not move the file. Keep a short, dated log of every action: when you applied, when the query came, when you replied, and what the portal status said on each date. This timeline is the backbone of any later grievance, CPGRAMS complaint, or RTI application.

If the technical issue is genuinely beyond you, line up a call with your testing laboratory or a BIS-experienced consultant for Monday. Getting the test report and category right early saves weeks of back-and-forth later.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Locate your application number and read the exact status

Everything starts with your application number. Log in to the BIS portal, open the application, and note the precise status text and the date it last changed. Quote this number in every email, query reply, and grievance. Without it, an officer cannot find your file, and your follow-ups go nowhere. Save a screenshot of the dashboard showing the status and date.

Step 2 — Read the query or rejection letter point by point

Open the letter attached to your file and break it into separate points. A BIS query commonly asks for one or more of: a corrected or fresh test report, clarification on the product category or model, additional documents, or closure of factory inspection deficiencies. Treat each point as a separate task. A reply that answers four of five points still leaves the file pending, so address every point in one complete submission.

Step 3 — Confirm the product category and standard are correct

Check that the Indian Standard and product category on your application actually match the product you make. Many rejections happen because the variant tested or the category claimed does not align with the standard. If you applied under the wrong category, you may need to correct the application or, in some schemes, file afresh under the right one. Confirm the correct standard from the official product list for your scheme before you respond.

Step 4 — Fix the test report and sample issues

Read your test report against the requirements of the relevant Indian Standard. Verify three things: the sample tested was the exact model you want certified, every required parameter was tested, and every result passed. If a parameter failed or the wrong variant was sampled, arrange a fresh sample and re-test at a recognised laboratory. A clean, complete test report on the correct sample is usually the single most important document in your file.

Step 5 — Close every factory inspection deficiency

If an inspection has been done, take the deficiency list and close each item with proof. Calibration certificates, corrected quality records, and dated photographs of rectified equipment all help. If the inspection has not been scheduled, your bottleneck is scheduling, not deficiencies; chase the inspection slot specifically through the portal and your jurisdictional BIS office.

Step 6 — Submit a complete, point-by-point response

Upload your reply on the portal within any stated deadline. Answer each query point in order, attach evidence as numbered annexures, and keep your covering note short and factual. Save the upload acknowledgement. If the portal allows, also email a copy to the officer handling your scheme, quoting the application number in the subject line.

Step 7 — Escalate a stuck file through the portal grievance route

If you have responded and the file still does not move beyond the indicative timeline for your scheme, raise a grievance through the BIS portal. State the application number, the dates, what you submitted, and what status the portal shows. Note the grievance reference number. If that does not resolve it, escalate to CPGRAMS, selecting the relevant ministry and the Bureau of Indian Standards as the authority. Our guide on CPGRAMS and RTI together explains how to frame that complaint.

Step 8 — Use RTI to get the recorded reasons and file notings

If you still cannot understand why your file is stuck, file an RTI with the BIS Central Public Information Officer. Ask for the current status, the test-report and inspection-report findings on your file, the file notings, and the reasons recorded for any delay or rejection. See the RTI section below for exactly what to ask and how to file.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste representation template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities, and the Bureau of Indian Standards is a public authority. That makes RTI a practical tool when your file is stuck and you cannot get a clear answer through the portal. RTI is especially useful in these situations:

• Getting the recorded reasons for delay or rejection: File an RTI with the BIS Central Public Information Officer asking for "the current status of application number [Your Application Number], the reasons recorded for the delay or rejection, and copies of the relevant file notings."
• Obtaining the test-report and inspection findings on your file: Ask for "copies of the test-report findings and the factory inspection report relied upon in processing application number [Your Application Number], to the extent they relate to my own application."
• Tracking what happened internally: If your query reply has gone unanswered, ask for "the date on which my response dated [DD/MM/YYYY] was received and the action taken on it, with copies of any noting or order thereon."

To file, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. The CPIO must normally respond within 30 days. If the reply is missing or incomplete, our guide on filing a first appeal under RTI Section 19 walks you through the next stage, and the first and second appeal guide covers what follows. For richer strategy on using RTI in regulatory disputes, The RTI Playbook is a useful companion. The same RTI approach works for other regulators too, as our guide on an RTI for a stuck trademark application shows.

When RTI will not help

RTI has clear limits in a BIS dispute, so use it for the right purpose:

• RTI cannot grant or speed up the certificate: It is a tool to access records, not to compel a technical decision. Only the certification process can grant your licence. RTI supports your representation and any appeal; it does not replace them.
• It cannot fix a failed test report: If your product did not meet the Indian Standard, no amount of information requests will change that. You need a fresh sample and a clean re-test from a recognised laboratory.
• It does not reach private parties: A private testing laboratory's internal records or a marketplace's private listing rules are generally outside RTI. For a marketplace listing problem, use the marketplace's seller-support and appeal channels and, where relevant, consumer remedies.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating a query as a rejection: A query is a chance to fix the file, not the end of it. Answer it fully and on time, and the file usually moves forward.
• Replying to only some query points: If the officer raised five points, a reply that covers four keeps the file pending. Answer every point in one complete submission.
• Applying under the wrong product category or standard: Confirm the correct Indian Standard for your exact product variant before you apply or respond. The wrong category is a frequent and avoidable cause of rejection.
• Testing the wrong sample: A test report on a different model or variant will not support your application. Make sure the sample drawn and tested is the exact product you want certified.
• Not quoting the application number: Every email, grievance, and follow-up should lead with the application number. Without it, your follow-up cannot be matched to your file.
• Selling a mandatory-scheme product before the licence is granted: For products under mandatory certification, do not manufacture, import, or sell under the Standard Mark until the licence is actually granted. Escalate the delay instead of proceeding at risk.
• Ignoring inspection deficiencies: If the factory inspection recorded deficiencies, close each one with documentary proof. An open deficiency keeps the file stuck no matter how good the test report is.
• Keeping no timeline: Without a dated log of what happened when, your grievance, CPGRAMS complaint, and RTI lose their force. Maintain the timeline from day one.

For related government-portal and compliance problems, our guide on a stuck digital signature certificate is useful if a DSC is blocking your portal work, and the guide on a GeM seller account suspended or product delisted covers a parallel listing dispute.