Piyush Goyal to mull QCO timeline extension for electrical appliances
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New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has agreed to consider the domestic industry 's request to extend the implementation timeline of the quality control order (QCO) for various electrical appliances , the government said Friday.The statement came a day after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ( DPIIT ) met stakeholders to discuss the issues being faced by the industry in the implementation of horizontal QCO on Safety of Household, Commercial and Similar Electrical Appliances notified on September 20, 2024.Goyal acknowledged concerns raised by the industry and agreed to consider the request to extend the implementation timeline of the QCO, as well as the issue of legacy stock."He requested industry to come up with the proposal for setting up more testing facilities with modern technology in public-funded labs, labs in public sector enterprises and labs in state government institutions so that robust and accessible testing infrastructure will be made available for the industry pan India," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.Major concerns raised by the industry included ambiguity as regard to coverage of DC supplied appliances and battery-operated appliances; non-availability of product manuals and test labs; lack of certification by domestic manufacturers as well as foreign makers and insufficient time available for getting the BIS certification The DPIIT said that the industry supported the intent behind QCOs to ensure only high-quality products, but they requested for notifying these orders on finished goods first followed by QCOs on components and raw materials, considering the complexity of global supply chains
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