QUALITY CONTROL ORDERS

• The Indian textile and clothing industry consumes both indigenous and imported fibres and filaments.
• The imports are for different reasons cost competitiveness, nonavailability in the domestic market, or to meet a specified demand of the overseas buyer.
• The main aim of the QCO  is to control the import of subquality and cheaper items and to ensure that customers get quality products.
• The entire supply chain, from the textile manufacturers to exporters has so far focused on quality standards prescribed by the buyers.

3. Challenges does the new mandate bring

• India imports 50, 000- 60, 000 tonnes of viscose fibre annually and its variants such as Modal and Tencel LF from nearly 20 countries.
• In the case of polyester, almost 90, 000 tonnes of polyester fibre and 1.25 lakh tonnes of POY (Polyester Partially Oriented Yarn) are imported annually.
• The overseas fibre manufacturers sell not only to India but to other countries too. The supply of some fibres to India is in small quantities.
• Getting the certificate from the BIS involves a cost and hence not all are interested in getting the certificate.
• The Indian Textile manufacturers who are dependent on these suppliers for the raw material will have to either look at other suppliers or lose orders. 
• For instance, a bed linen exporter in the Tiruppur district imports polyester filament with functional properties from Turkey based on the demand of his European buyers.
• Though the imported filament constitutes just 6 per cent of the product, the buyer has specified the source for the filament.
• Since the Turkey company is not interested in getting the BIS certificate, the exporter in Tiruppur has lost an order to Pakistan.
• Furthermore, BIS officials have to visit the manufacturing unit abroad before issuing the certificate and this process is yet to be completed for all suppliers who have applied for BIS registration.
• There is no clarity on the fibres that were shipped before the certification and which will reach India in the coming days.
• The textile buyers, be they domestic or international, have established a supply chain over the years and when there are constraints because of certification, the value chain is disrupted.

4. The way forward

• Be it viscose or polyester, some varieties of the fibre have special functional properties and separate HS (Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System) codes when imported.
• But, these are bundled in the QCO and thus have uniform quality standards.
• The textile industry imports just small quantities of such fibres and restricting its availability will deny Indian consumers of niche products.
• The textile industry is of the view that the import of speciality fibres that are used as blends with other fibres should be made available without restriction.
• Also, any overseas applicant for the BIS certificate should get it without delay after inspection.
• Several textile units use lower-grade fibres generated from rejects and wastes, which are not covered under the QCO. There is also a fear of costs going up for basic garments.
• Further, polyester spun yarn mills in the MSME sector need capital support to set up labs to test products.
• The QCO should be implemented only after the ambiguities are cleared and the anomalies set right.
• The BIS standards are mandatory for viscose staple fibre from March 29 and for five polyester products, including polyester staple fibre and polyester spun yarn from April 3.

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