India temporarily lifts BIS quality mark requirement for plywood imports from Nepal

Kathmandu: The Government of India has decided to allow the import of plywood and ply doors from Nepal without a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) quality mark for one year.

This decision was mentioned in the national gazette released on Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Government of India, stating that the BIS order will be deferred for these products for the next one year.

The gazette specifies that for large industries, the quality mark order will become mandatory starting February 28, 2025. For small and medium industries, the requirement will be enforced from May 28, 2025, and for small-scale industries, from August 28, 2025. Previously, on February 29, the ministry had announced that BIS provisions would not apply to imported plywood boards for the following year.

This relaxation from India removes the BIS compliance barrier for three ply products exported from Nepal to India. Nepal Plywood Producers’ Association (NPPA) highlighted that the Government of India’s gazette exempts all three plywood categories from BIS certification. According to the association, 60% of Nepal’s plywood production is exported as plywood, 20% as plywood boards, and the remaining 20% as plywood doors.

These products have been granted one-year export facilitation. Despite the gazette’s publication by the Government of India, exports have been stalled at Nepal’s Krishnanagar, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj checkpoints. The Indian customs at these locations have halted exports due to a lack of notification from higher authorities.