Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The government, in consultation with the footwear industry, has decided to include the MSMEs under the ambit of compliance, effective from January 1, 2024. After the deadline, the MSMEs in the footwear industry will have to maintain quality standards, unlike earlier when they were excluded from the regulatory framework.
An additional time limit of six months is provided to micro enterprises (companies with less than Rs 5 crore turnover) who will have to follow these guidelines from July 1, 2024.
Announcing these decisions, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that these orders would help in increasing the production of quality footwear, and exports and establishing Indian brands in the global markets.
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According to the ‘Footwear Made from Leather and Other Materials (Quality Control) Order, 2022’, manufacturers have to modify their processes to comply with the new standards as post the deadline products without the Bureau of Indian Standards or a BIS mark cannot be produced, traded, or imported. This includes establishing testing laboratories, obtaining BIS licences, and adhering to the rules for issuing the ISI mark.
Goyal further clarified that the industry is not obliged to establish its own testing facilities. The BIS will set up these laboratories using their funds across the country as per industry demand.
In fact, the minister added that the government will provide an 80 per cent discount facility to registered startups and micro enterprises that have less than Rs 5 crore turnover.
In the leather and footwear sector, three quality orders were issued by the government towards the end of October 2020. Out of the three, the guideline on protective footwear has already been implemented since January 2022, while the remaining two will come into force from the coming July 1.
Previously, several commodities such as toys, household refrigerators, steel and cable items, and bicycle reflectors have been included under the compliance of BIS standardisation.