Toys (Quality Control) Order 2020

To comply with the latest toy safety standards and bear the Standard Mark, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Government of India issued the Toys (Quality Control) Order 2020. This draft quality control order seeks to tighten quality norms for toys, both imported and manufactured. The new provision of quality order will become effective on September 1, 2020; the quality order mandates the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for toy imports. This article will look in detail at the Toys (Quality Control) Order 2020.

Purpose of Toys (Quality Control) Order

Introducing the toys (Quality Control) Order aims to ensure safer toys for children and strengthen the government’s current policy of keeping non-essential imports under check. According to the reports, India imports around 85 percent of toys sold in the domestic market. The Toys Quality control order is one of the important ways to halt the flow of cheap sub-standard toys in the Indian market.

Applicability of Toys (Quality Control) Order

Toys (Quality Control) Order 2020 relates to the regulation of toys and materials for play by children under the age of 14 or any other documents as notified by the Government of India.

Provisions of Toys Safety

Quality Control contains several relevant requirements for toy safety, including the following.

The requirement for toys to conform to the latest version of a list of Indian Standards
The need for trinkets to bring the Standard Mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards as per the BIS Scheme-I of Schedule II of Bureau of Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.
Directing the Bureau to be the certifying and enforcement authority

Prescribed Authority for Toy Imports

As per the draft Toys (Quality Control) Order, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) would be the certifying and enforcing authority for all toys exported, imported, and manufactured in India.

New provision of Toys (Quality Control) Order

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Government of India, has sought comments from the World Trade Organization (WTO) members on the DPIIT’s draft quality control order on toys. The member needs to submit the reports within 15 days once the notification is out; the new provision of the Toys (Quality Control) Order will be in place within six months.

Indian Safety Standards for Toys

The toys manufactured or imported in India should comply with the Indian standards on safety aspects such as mechanical and physical properties, the safety of swings in toys, flammability of the material, slides and distinguishable activity toys, and certain phthalates esters in toy and finger paints test methods. The critical Indian Safety Standards for toys in the Toys (Quality Control) Order are summarized below:

Sl.No	Indian Standards	Details
1	IS 9873 (Part 1): 2019	Mechanical and Physical Property
2	IS 9873 (Part 2): 2017	Flammability
3	IS 9873 (Part 3): 2017	Migration of Certain Elements
4	IS 9873 (Part 4): 2017	Slides, Swings, and Similar Activity Toys for Outdoor and Indoor Domestic Use
5	IS 9873 (Part 7): 2017	Finger Paints
6	IS 9873 (Part 9): 2017	Certain Phthalate Esters in Toy and Children’s Products
7	IS 15644:2006, reaffirmed the year 2016	Safety of Electric Toy

Import policy on Toys – Old Regulation

Previously the imported consignment sample was tested in an independent lab with ILAC MRA accreditation and relevant standards such as ASTM F963 or ISO 8124 (part I-III) or IS 9873 (part I-III) or EN 71. The imported consignment samples were tested as per the manufacturer's choice of Lab, but it is no more allowed as per the Toys (Quality Control) Order 2020.

Import policy on Toys – New Regulation

The consignment-based testing will be done per the quality control order to ensure the import and sale of quality toys in the country. The toy samples will be randomly picked from each import consignment and sent to the NABL-accredited labs for testing and custom clearance. Import of toys shall accompany with following related certificates.

A certificate that the toy being imported conforms to the safety standards specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
A Certificate regarding the imported toys conforms to the standards prescribed in the above table.
A certificate of Conformance from the Toy Manufacturer that an independent National Accreditation Board has tested the sample of the toys imported. The Certificate needs to link the consignment to the period of manufacture indicated in the Certificate of Conformity.

If the toy sample fails to meet the required Indian safety standards, the consignment will be sent back to the exporter, or the shipment will be destroyed at the importer's cost. The official notification of the Quality Control Order in respect of Toys is reproduced below for reference: [pdf-embedder url="https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/qualityControlOrder_Toys_27February2020.pdf"]