Reply: The procedure to obtain BIS certification mark is in line with the international standards.
c) Is it correct that more than one ministries and departments are involved in standard setting exercise especially for food products? In such case what are compliance requirements and procedures?
Reply: Mandatory standards of food in India were specified under the Prevention of food Adulteration Rules 1955 and not BIS Rules.
The standards of BIS are regulatory. The PFA standards are now adopted under a unified law and regulations, namely The Food Safety and Standards Act and Regulations.
FSSAI constituted under FSS Act 2006 is under the administrative control of Ministry of Health and Family welfare, has been mandated to regulate all matters related to food safety. The FSS Regulations are notified by Government of India on 1 August 2008 came into force with effect from 5 August 2011. All the business related to food including import of food articles, therefore at present is regulated in the country as per FSS Act, Rules and Regulations there under. FSSAI website: fssai.gov.in, can be referred for further details.
Pakistan 6:
Labelling requirements are applied under various statutes. On packaged commodities one of the requirements is to indicate the maximum retail price inclusive of all taxes to be printed on the container. Many exporters may not be aware of all the taxes, which vary from state to state, to indicate correct MRP on the package. Besides, the labels must be in Hindi (devnagri script) and in English. In certain cases they must be written in the language of the locality where the product is ultimately sold. This increases distribution cost, since India has 16 official languages, and food processing companies often do not know which palette of food products will be transported to specific state.
These requirements are protective in nature and the India market is closed for a large number of products. Will India address these issues to open its market?
Reply: The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 provide that "maximum retail price... inclusive of all taxes" will be declared on the packaged commodity. This legal provision is a consumer friendly provision to pre empt over charging by sellers. In case of imported items, the importer is generally aware of admissible taxes and can factor it while indicating MRP. Any dilution of this mandatory provision will adversely affect the interest of the consumers.
Moreover the aforesaid requirement may be fulfilled before the imported goods are cleared for home consumption. This implies that if the goods are otherwise freely importable, requirement of labelling such as declaration of MRP and labelling in different languages as per port of import, can be done before clearance for home consumption from the customs area.
PERU
TECHNICAL REGULATIONS
Peru 1:
1) What are the criteria used by India to determine the need for a technical regulation or standard? Do you follow different procedures at the provincial/local level?
Reply: The need for technical regulations made under the provisions of BIS Act, 1986 is determined by the Central Government keeping in view the Public interest. These technical regulations are implemented uniformly throughout the country. Same procedures are followed at every level.
Peru 2:
2) How India determines the impact of each regulation?
