Automotive & Components
India's automotive components industry contributes approximately 7 percent of national gross domestic…
ISI MARK · 73 LINES · 16 STANDARDS
India's automotive components industry contributes approximately 7 percent of national gross domestic product and supports the country's position as the third-largest passenger-vehicle market and the largest two-wheeler market by annual unit volume. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified 28 eight-digit HSN codes across Chapter 40 — covering synthetic rubber compounds (HSN 4002 series) and vulcanised rubber tubes, pipes, and hoses (HSN 4009 series) — and Chapter 87, covering motor-vehicle safety glass and body parts (HSN 8708 series), bicycles (HSN 8712 series), and parts and accessories of bicycles and motorcycles including protective helmets (HSN 8714 series). The notified pool draws on six Indian Standards: IS 2553 for safety glass for road vehicles, IS 9436 for pre-cured tread rubber, IS 9573, IS 10613, IS 11356 for self-vulcanising patches and rubber compounds, and IS 16192 for protective helmets for two-wheeled motor vehicle users.
The dominant compliance instrument is the ISI Mark Scheme, operating under Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018. Two product-specific Quality Control Orders carry the operational load. The Pneumatic Tyres and Tubes for Automotive Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Section 16 of the BIS Act, 2016, brings new tyres, retreaded tyres, and inner tubes for motorcars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, and agricultural tractors within the ISI Mark Scheme. The Protective Helmets for Two-Wheeled Motor Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, notified as S.O. 2334(E) dated 27-09-2018 and enforced from 15-01-2019, brings two-wheeler helmets within HSN 8714 within the ISI Mark Scheme against IS 16192. Layered above the BIS regime sits the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) overlay administered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989; AIS type-approval for windscreens, lamps, and child-restraint systems runs in parallel with BIS certification and uses BIS-recognised laboratories as the shared testing base.
Five operational pain points recur. First, the helmet drop-test and penetration-test routines under IS 16192 require a destructive sample cohort drawn at random from production batches, costing small helmet manufacturers in the Faridabad and Pune clusters three to five working days of certified output per draw. Second, tyre high-speed rim and plunger-energy testing under the Pneumatic Tyres QCO requires a BIS-recognised laboratory with the specific drum and plunger fixtures, and lab capacity runs short during enforcement-amendment cycles. Third, the retreaded-versus-new tyre classification trap: retreaded tyres sit under a separate IS specification and CM/L sub-class, and importers and re-treading units routinely misclassify the consignment at customs. Fourth, e-commerce platform delisting on Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho for non-BIS helmets under takedown notices from BIS market-surveillance officers. Fifth, Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) liability exposure for foreign tyre and helmet manufacturers routing through Singapore, Dubai, or Hong Kong intermediaries — the AIR carries personal statutory liability under Rule 11 of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018.
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Tariff lines (8-digit HSN)
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Indian Standards in industry
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HSN chapters mapped
Indian manufacturers
Indian manufacturers of pneumatic tyres, inner tubes, retreaded tyres, two-wheeler helmets, motor-vehicle safety glass, and rubber components within the 28 notified HSN codes must hold a CM/L licence under the ISI Mark Scheme before any notified unit is dispatched to the domestic market. Operating a tyre plant, retreading unit, helmet moulding line, or laminated-glass facility without the applicable BIS certification exposes the unit to seizure of finished stock, retrospective penalty on past sales, and prosecution under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016. Indian tyre manufacturers concentrated around Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat and helmet manufacturers concentrated around Faridabad and Pune face concentrated enforcement risk because BIS surveillance officers run cluster-level surprise inspections coordinated with state-level transport-department check posts.
Foreign manufacturers
Foreign manufacturers exporting tyres, tubes, two-wheeler helmets, automotive safety glass, and rubber components to India must obtain a Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) licence under Scheme-I of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 before any ISI-marked consignment clears Indian customs, with the typical application-to-grant timeline running 6 to 9 months. The Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) named on the FMCS application carries personal statutory liability under Rule 11 of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 for the foreign factory's ongoing compliance, including sample-draw cooperation, surveillance-fee remittance, and recall coordination. Foreign tyre mills must additionally accommodate BIS officer travel to the production site for the on-site factory inspection that precedes licence grant — virtual inspection is not available under the current FMCS pathway for the tyre and helmet cohorts.
Importers
Customs verification at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mundra, Chennai, Kolkata, and every container-handling Indian port is conducted in real time against the BIS portal (manakonline.in). A lapsed, suspended, or model-mismatched FMCS licence on a tyre or helmet consignment results in immediate consignment detention at the wharf, with demurrage and ground rent on tyre and helmet cargoes accruing from day 1. Importers should verify the supplier's CM/L number, the IS specification, the tyre size or helmet model, and the foreign factory address on manakonline.in before placing each purchase order, because discrepancies identified before dispatch can be resolved while those identified after arrival in India typically end in re-export, conditional release, or confiscation.
Applicable Indian Standards
Need a regulatory steer on this product?Speak to a regulatory counsel about your specific HSN, IS, and supplier situation.
Speak to an Expert → Do all helmets need BIS certification in India?
All protective helmets sold for use by two-wheeled motor-vehicle users in India require BIS certification under the ISI Mark Scheme against IS 16192, governed by the Protective Helmets for Two-Wheeled Motor Vehicles (Quality Control) Order notified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Section 16 of the BIS Act, 2016 and enforced from 15-01-2019 with successor amendments. Industrial safety helmets, bicycle helmets, and sports helmets sit under separate IS specifications and separate notification instruments — the two-wheeler helmet QCO does not apply to those categories, and importers must verify the correct IS scope on manakonline.in before each purchase order.
Are imported tyres subject to FMCS?
Yes. Pneumatic tyres for motorcars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors, and other automotive vehicles within the HSN 4011 and HSN 4012 cohorts fall within the Pneumatic Tyres and Tubes for Automotive Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, and foreign tyre mills exporting to India must hold a Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) licence under Scheme-I of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018. The licence is product-and-factory specific, requires on-site factory inspection by a BIS officer, and runs through an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) who carries statutory liability under Rule 11 of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018.
What is the AIS overlay versus BIS for automotive components?
The Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) overlay is administered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and governs type-approval of vehicle systems and components such as windscreens, lamps, brake hoses, child-restraint systems, and seat belts; the BIS regime under the BIS Act, 2016 governs the product-level Indian Standard mark for the same and adjacent component cohorts. AIS conformity and BIS certification are concurrent and not substitutable — a Type Approval Certificate from a MoRTH-recognised agency does not exempt the manufacturer or importer from the BIS Quality Control Order obligation, and BIS-recognised laboratories serve as the shared testing base for both regimes.
Can a foreign tyre mill ship to India without an Indian Authorised Representative?
No. The Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) under Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018 requires every foreign tyre mill, helmet manufacturer, automotive-glass producer, and notified rubber-component supplier to appoint an Authorised Indian Representative (AIR) as a condition of the licence application. The AIR's name, address, and statutory undertaking are recorded on the licence; consignments without a valid FMCS licence linked to a valid AIR fail real-time customs verification on manakonline.in and are detained at the port of arrival from day 1.
Is the helmet QCO enforced on e-commerce sales?
Yes. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 read with Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016 require online marketplaces to display the manufacturer's CM/L number and the ISI mark on the product listing page for every helmet sold for two-wheeled motor-vehicle use, and BIS market-surveillance officers issue takedown notices for unmarked, expired-licence, or model-mismatched listings on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, and direct-to-consumer storefronts. Listings without a valid CM/L attract monetary penalty under Sections 29 through 33 of the BIS Act, 2016 on the seller and the marketplace operator, with repeat offences carrying criminal liability including imprisonment up to two years.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-23. Source: BIS / DGFT / Indian Customs CUSDATA.