A borrowed registration number on a battery

A mark of quality is useful only if buyers can trust it. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) grants the Standard Mark, and for many electronic goods a product cannot be sold without a BIS registration. On 22 October 2026, officials of the BIS branch office in Chennai searched a mobile hardware shop in Velachery and seized about 300 lithium-ion batteries. The action was taken under Section 28 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.

The problem was not that the batteries carried no mark. They did carry the BIS Standard Mark, but the registration numbers printed on them were either invalid or belonged to other brands. In other words, a number that BIS had issued for one brand was being displayed on goods sold under a different brand name. Such batteries are covered by an Indian Standard, IS 16046 (Part 2):2018, and by an order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that makes registration compulsory for these goods.

Under this Compulsory Registration Scheme, the rule is specific: a registration is valid only for the product and the brand for which it was granted. A firm cannot borrow another firm's registration, and a seller cannot rely on a number simply because it looks official. BIS treats the use of one brand's registration on another brand's goods as a breach of the Act.

The law provides a serious penalty. Under Section 29 of the Act, depending on the offence, a violator may face imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of at least ₹2,00,000 that can rise to ten times the value of the goods, or both. BIS has said it will take further action against the shop under the Act.

The head of the Chennai office used the case to make a broader point for buyers. A printed mark or number, he said, should not by itself satisfy a customer. Before buying electronic goods or batteries, consumers are advised to check, through the BIS Care App, the BIS website or the manakonline.in portal, that the registration is valid and matches the actual product and brand. Suspected misuse can be reported through the same app.