The Delhi branch of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India’s National Standards Body, has intensified its crackdown on substandard products sold through e-commerce platforms, conducting extensive raids on major distributors. In a marathon operation lasting over 15 hours, BIS teams targeted the warehouses of Amazon Sellers Pvt Ltd in Delhi’s Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area. The raid, executed on March 19, resulted in the seizure of over 3,500 substandard items, including geysers, food mixers, and electrical appliances, with an estimated value of Rs 70 lakh. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), many of these products either lacked the mandatory ISI mark or bore counterfeit labels.
In a separate operation, BIS officials raided the warehouse of Instakart Services Pvt Limited, a Flipkart subsidiary, located in Trinagar, Delhi. The team confiscated approximately 590 pairs of sports footwear, valued at Rs 6 lakh, which failed to comply with ISI standards and lacked essential manufacturing date details. These actions are part of a nationwide BIS campaign to enforce quality compliance and safeguard consumers, with similar raids conducted over the past month in cities like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Lucknow, and Sriperumbudur.
The BIS also extended its enforcement efforts to Tamil Nadu last week, targeting Amazon and Flipkart warehouses in Tiruvallur district. At Amazon’s Puduvoyal facility, authorities seized 3,376 uncertified items—such as insulated flasks, food containers, water bottles, ceiling fans, and toys—valued at Rs 36 lakh. Meanwhile, a raid on Flipkart’s Koduvalli warehouse uncovered non-compliant baby diapers (286 packs), casseroles (36 boxes), stainless steel water bottles (26 units), and insulated steel bottles (10 units), all lacking BIS certification.
Under BIS regulations, 769 products require compulsory certification, and manufacturing, importing, or selling these items without a valid license or Certificate of Compliance (CoC) is prohibited. These operations underscore BIS’s commitment to upholding quality standards across India’s e-commerce sector.