India Regulatory News

India’s Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC) has delayed the implementation of the Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for six chemicals. The notification came on October 21, 2022, and accordin...

India’s Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC) has delayed the implementation of the Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for six chemicals. The notification came on October 21, 2022, and according to the amended QCOs these orders will be in place in 24 April next year.

These six chemicals are mainly used in soup and other personal care. The chemicals are:  

1. Lauric Acid

2. Acid Oil

3. Palm fatty Acids

4. Rice Bran Fatty Acids

5. Coconut Fatty Acids

6. Hydrogenated Rice Bran Fatty Acids 

The delays are mainly due to revisions to some Indian standards and travel bans of factory auditing due to Covid pandemic. This is in particular the cases for foreign manufacturers.  

On 14 September 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India published Notification No.32/2015-2020. This notification permits the import of PET Flakes. However, there are certain conditions. ...

On 14 September 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India published Notification No.32/2015-2020. This notification permits the import of PET Flakes. However, there are certain conditions.

The import of PET flakes has been permitted subject to NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and authorization from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

This was in connection with the ban on all plastic imports as notified in the ‘Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Amendment Rules, 2019’ by the MOEFCC.

In March 2019 the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change imposed a ban on the importation of PET bottles to India, along with other electronic items. The ban aimed to strengthen the waste management infrastructure and prevent the country from turning into a global dump yard. Additionally, the ministry’s Hazardous Substance Management (HSM) Division banned the import citing that India has enough waste which can be processed by recyclers.

Once upon a time, India was one of the largest importers of PET bottle scrap, after China. India imported large volumes of PET scrap from the USA, Europe, and the Gulf countries. The booming recycling industry heavily relied on PET imports, i.e. nearly 70-80% of the demand was fulfilled by imports. However, this led to the waste generated locally being left unaddressed.

In the wake of the National Green Tribunal directions, the MoEFCC took an action to effectively ban the import of all types of plastics, household waste, and electronic waste into India. The three-year ban was, however, partially lifted in March 2022, allowing only PET flakes to be imported. Since the import was opposed by many stakeholders, including Recycle India Foundation and Mumbai-based Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smiriti Manch (PDUSM), the issue was referred by the environment ministry to a technical review committee which has now recommended the import with certain specific conditions. The ministry accepted the recommendations, allowing the import of 95,105 tonnes of PET flakes, on August 24, 2022.

From 1 October 2022, Rechargeable Electric Energy Storage Systems (REESS) and electric vehicle makers would need to comply with new amendments to specific technical requirements for REESS or batteries...

From 1 October 2022, Rechargeable Electric Energy Storage Systems (REESS) and electric vehicle makers would need to comply with new amendments to specific technical requirements for REESS or batteries for electric vehicles of categories ‘M’ and ‘N”.  ‘M’ denotes electric four-wheel motor vehicles used for carrying a passenger and ‘N’ denotes electric four-wheel motor vehicles used for carrying both goods and passengers. These amendments were announced on 1 September 2022, by India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Earlier the ministry through a draft notification issued on 25 August 2022, had announced the amendments to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989.

These amendments provide for additional safety requirements related to battery management systems (BMS), onboard chargers, battery pack design, and thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuits leading to fires, based on the report by an expert committee constituted by the Road Transport Ministry.

Amendment 2 to Automotive Industry Standard AIS 156 comprises specific requirements for motor vehicles of the L category- motor vehicles with less than four wheels and an electric power train.

Amendment 2 to AIS 038 Rev.2 lists specific requirements for electric power trains of M category vehicles and N category motor vehicles.

The ministry also issued draft notification GSR 659 (E) to amend Sub-rule 4 of Rule 124 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) 1989 for mandating Conformity of production for traction batteries used in electric power train vehicles.

On 31 August 2022 a regulation entitled “Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Second Amendment Regulations, 2022.” was published and enforced by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (...

On 31 August 2022 a regulation entitled “Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Second Amendment Regulations, 2022.” was published and enforced by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

This regulation sets migration limits for antimony and Phthalic acid, bis (2- ethylhexyl) ester (DEHP) in food contact materials. As a result of this amendment, the list of specified substances with migration values from plastic materials intended for contact with food now contains nine substances. The migration limit value for antimony is 0.04 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg for DEHP.

The seven substances for which migration limit values were previously established in the “Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018” are as follows:

On 24th, 2022, the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers published an order, replacing the Hydrogen Peroxide (Quality Control) Order 2020. The updated order applies to the chemical compound of ...

On 24^th, 2022, the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers published an order, replacing the Hydrogen Peroxide (Quality Control) Order 2020. The updated order applies to the chemical compound of Hydrogen Peroxide, however, this excludes the compound meant for export. The updated order will come into force in November 2022.

According to the new order, the chemical compound of hydrogen peroxide should also conform with the Indian standard IS 2080: 2021 (Specification for Stabilized Hydrogen Peroxide) and shall bear the Standard Mark under a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), a National Standards body in India. Currently, there are 60 chemicals under the mandatory certification Schedule One of BIS.

Non-conformity with the order will be punishable under the provisions of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.

In July 2022, the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in order to adapt the International Chemical Safety...

In July 2022, the Indian Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in order to adapt the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) used for information dissemination to Chemical Industry. 

The ICSC is developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization in cooperation with the European Commission to promote occupational safety and health on sites and among workers. The ICSC consist of special data sheets intended to provide concise information on chemicals regarding their safety and health impacts. The benefits of the ICSC are that they can be easily used to distribute information on hazardous properties of chemicals in an understandable and precise way. Furthermore, the information on chemicals in the cards is frequently updated to always provide the latest information. The ICSC includes the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling (GHS). Currently, on the website of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals,  

1784 ICSC cards are available,  https://chemicals.nic.in/international-chemical-safety-cards-database   

The Industry of the Association of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in India has been requested, to start the use of the ICSC at working sites. 

On July 27, 2022, the Central Government of India announced the deadline for four chemical substances regulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act (2016) will be posted. The chemicals and the...

On July 27, 2022, the Central Government of India announced the deadline for four chemical substances regulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act (2016) will be posted. The chemicals and their new deadlines are:

1. Morpholine: February 1, 2023
2. Acetic Acid: February 3, 2023
3. Methanol: February 3, 2023
4. Aniline: February 3, 2023.

After the deadlines, manufacturers would need to apply for BIS certificates before importing activities.

To learn more about your obligations on chemicals under the BIS certification, read more here  

To know the chemicals that are under BIS scheme, click here