Centre adds aluminium cookware, beverage cans to quality control import list

New Delhi: Even as the government has begun pruning its quality control orders to improve compliance costs, it has notified a fresh one—this time covering aluminium cookware and beverage cans.

Wrought aluminium utensils and aluminium cans for beverages will now require compulsory certification and use of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark for the specified products, according to the Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Order, 2026, notified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade on Friday, replacing the 2025 order. The phased rollout extends up to April 2027 for micro enterprises.

The QCOs apply to goods imported into India for the domestic market to ensure they meet quality standards. However, the government withdrew around 50 QCOs over the past two months, following recommendations from a NITI Aayog committee chaired by former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba. The Centre withdraws QCOs notified over the past few years, responding to industry concerns around overlapping regulations, compliance readiness and implementation costs. India now has 712 quality control orders (QCOs), compared with a peak of 761.

Under the latest order covering aluminium cookware, general manufacturers other than micro and small enterprises will be required to comply from 1 October 2026, while small enterprises will get time until 1 January 2027, and micro enterprises until 1 April 2027. Both domestic manufacturers and importers will be covered, though goods manufactured in India exclusively for export have been exempted from the requirements.

The notification also provides a six-month sell-through window for existing stock manufactured or imported before the respective implementation dates, subject to a declaration certified by a chartered accountant and submitted to the Bureau of Indian Standards. Products imported already filled with solid, liquid or gaseous material have been kept outside the scope of the order, while manufacturers will be allowed to import up to 200 units annually for research and development purposes, provided such goods are not sold commercially and are disposed of as scrap.

Imports of products under the aluminium QCo rose to $66.65 million in FY25 from $57.28 million in FY24, according to commerce ministry data. The products were mainly imported from the UK, the UAE, China, Thailand, the US and Sri Lanka, among others.

The order will impact domestic manufacturers, MSMEs and importers of aluminium cookware and beverage cans, who must comply with BIS standards. Consumers are expected to benefit from improved product quality, while exporters are exempt. Testing laboratories and certification bodies may see higher demand as firms seek compliance.