ISI Certification vs. BIS Certification: What's the Difference?

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ISI Certification vs. BIS Certification: What's the Difference?

Whenever you purchase a product from the market you see an ISI mark on it. Sometimes you must wonder why this mark is used on the product, who provides certification for this mark, etc. In India, there are two standards to verify and clarify whether a product is valuable or complies with set standards or not. The ISI certification gives assurance of high-quality products in India. BIS is an organisation that provides ISI certification. 

To get the certification every product needs to pass certain quality standards to be sold in the market. Below is the comparison between BIS certification and ISI certification.

What is BIS Certification?

The BIS stands for Bureau of Indian Standards. When the ISI mark was established, there was a lack of standardized regulations. So, to ensure the growth of the economy and ensure uniformity in standardised practice, the BIS Act was launched on December 23rd, 1986.

The BIS took all the activities which are handled by ISI previously. Now the ISI certification comes under BIS. The following activities come under the BIS:

• Creating guidelines and rules of standardisation
• Certifying products
• Awarding Trademark
• Granting Patents

In the BIS Act, of 1986 there was a problem, in that the act was only focusing on certifying producers and not the material. So, the 1986 act was replaced with the BIS Act 2016. 

However, there was a problem with the 1986 BIS Act - it only focused on certifying producers, not the materials themselves. This new act was certifying the quality of the material. As per the act, the consumers will get compensation if their purchased product does not meet the standards. And, the companies which don’t follow the regulations will face punishment in terms of fines or imprisonment.

What is ISI Certification?

The ISI stands for Indian Standards Institution. The certificate comes under the BIS scheme to ensure that the product follows the BIS Standards and Safety. It was founded on January 6th, 1947 to safeguard the interests of consumers and implement a certification mark scheme. 

With time as the economy evolved, a more robust organisation, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), was established to provide standardisation for industrial products. The ISI mark still indicates that a product has received a high-quality certification.

The ISI mark on Indian products signifies that the product meets all the guidelines set by the government of India and has been certified for quality assurance. Some advantages of the ISI marks are as follows:

• Products that have the ISI mark have undergone a comprehensive evaluation and investigation to ensure that the product has high-quality standards.
• If a customer is not satisfied with a product that bears the ISI mark, they can return it to the manufacturer for a replacement. 
• If a customer is not happy with a product bearing the ISI mark, they may also file a complaint with the manufacturer.

Difference between Certification of WPC and BIS 

The following are the differences between WPC certification and BIS certification:

Conclusion

To conclude, it is evident that both the marks guarantee the consumer that the product is of high quality. When a product bears the ISI mark, it means that it meets the standards set by the Indian Standards Institution. However as the economy grew, the BIS Act was introduced to strengthen laws for both consumers and sellers.

Manufacturers can apply for the mark at the nearest BIS office. A BIS officer then visits the factory to test the samples. If the standards meet all guidelines and pass all tests, the manufacturer will grant the license. At Registrationwala, we assist businesses to get the certification be it ISI certification or BIS certification. Reach out to us to know the complete process of getting these certifications.

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