India's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), acting through the Ministry of Steel, has made third-party certification mandatory for stainless steel cookware, kitchen utensils, sinks, and food cans under the Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Order, 2026 ("QCO 2026"). The QCO is grounded in the BIS Act 2016 and applies to all goods manufactured, imported, or sold in India.
Applicable Indian Standards. Three IS standards are in force: (a) IS 14756:2024 for stainless steel cooking utensils; (b) IS 18427:2024 for stainless steel sinks; (c) IS 13983:1994 for aluminium cans for foods and beverages. Aluminium cookware for direct food contact is not yet in scope, but a separate QCO is under consultation.
Certification pathways. Goods manufactured in a BIS-licensed foreign factory may carry the ISI mark without separate consignment testing, provided the licence is current and the registration number is reproduced on the commercial invoice and packing list. Goods from non-licensed factories must undergo consignment-wise sample testing at a BIS-recognised lab, which adds 6–10 weeks to the import timeline. From 31 December 2025, foreign manufacturers were no longer permitted to continue shipments of in-scope goods without a BIS licence; the only compliant pathway is licence + lot-by-lot testing fallback.
Action items for WanLong buyers. (1) Confirm that your Indian supplier (or WanLong's partner factory for India-bound orders) holds a current BIS licence for the relevant IS standard. (2) For fresh India orders, plan an additional 4–6 weeks for production scheduling at the BIS-licensed facility. (3) The MOQ for India-bound orders is unchanged from other markets (typically 3,000 pieces per SKU); however, BIS audit cycles can compress available production windows. (4) For SKUs that fall outside the QCO scope (e.g. aluminium cookware not yet covered), BIS certification is voluntary but recommended as a quality differentiator.
What we are doing at WanLong. Our cutlery and kitchenware lines produced at our BIS-licensed partner factory carry the ISI mark, with the registration number printed on commercial invoices and packing lists. The BIS licence copy and test certificate are available on request.
Source: India Ministry of Steel QCO 2026 (Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages); IS 14756:2024; IS 18427:2024; IS 13983:1994; BIS Act 2016
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