The import of toys, games, sports equipment from China has declined by over 54% since 2018-19.
According to data published by the Ministry of Commerce, the imports of these products from China have reduced from 451.71 USD million in 2018-19 to 206.11 USD millions in 2021 (from April 2021 to Jan 2022).
To control the import of cheap and sub-standard toys, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) vide notification No. 33/2015-2020 dated 2.12.2019 has mandated sample testing from each consignment and no permission for sale unless the quality testing is successful. In case of failure, the consignment is either sent back or destroyed at the cost of the importer.
The Government has also issued Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 on 25 Feb 2020 through which toys have been brought under compulsory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification with effect from 1st Jan 2021.
This QCO is equally applicable to domestic manufacturers as well as foreign manufacturers who intend to export their toys to India.
As per this QCO, it is mandatory for toys to conform to Indian standards for the safety of toys and bear the standard mark (ISI mark) under license from BIS as per Scheme–I of BIS (Conformity Assessment) regulations 2018, and no person shall manufacture, import, distribute, sell, hire, lease, store or exhibit for sale any toys without the ISI mark. Under the BIS Product Certification scheme, only those foreign manufacturers whose manufacturing and testing capability has been assessed as satisfactory by BIS will be able to obtain a BIS license and thereby, export toys to India.
Further, BIS also undertakes market surveillance activities and factory surveillance in order to check whether the licensee is operating satisfactorily as per the terms of the license and the Scheme of Inspection and Testing is being followed. Samples are also drawn for testing during these surveillance inspections.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.