Centre plans phased QCO rollback to ease input supply constraints

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is planning to roll back a significant number of quality control orders (QCOs) imposed on input materials, aiming to ease compliance burdens and support manufacturing amid US-Iran war-led disruptions.The exercise, being led by the consumer affairs department, will be completed in phases, and all line ministries have been asked to identify products that could benefit from the removal of quality controls, said two government officials familiar with the discussions.“The proposed rollback is expected to focus on input materials where domestic capacity remains limited or where mandatory certification has disrupted supply chains,” said the first government official, on the condition of anonymity.The move follows a NITI Aayog committee recommendation to ease QCOs to augment manufacturing and ensure the availability of raw materials at affordable rates.“As recommended by NITI Aayog, we have asked line ministries to identify all such QCOs that can be withdrawn without impacting quality and domestic industry,” said the second official, also on the condition of anonymity.This official, however, maintained that some important QCOs will be introduced, if needed, to protect against substandard imports of finished goods or raw materials.

In a case in point, the government in January added aluminium cookware and beverage cans to the quality control import list, even as it withdrew a series of QCOs on key input materials for textiles and plastics.In a separate instance, in March, the Centre also introduced a new QCO covering aluminium and aluminium alloy products after imports of these items surged.Mint's emailed queries on 3 April to the ministry of consumer affairs remained unanswered.A QCO