Chinese Toys Import Falls As Government Tightens Norms

Greater quality control checks on Chinese toys by government has led to their decline

India has been imposing curbs on Chinese goods and components through import duty levy, as heavy flow of products from that country had at one time threatened to squeeze out domestic manufacturers.

Chinese toys were among the major products which had flooded Indian markets not long ago.

However under government's Atmanirbhar Bharat policy, where the emphasis is on “vocal for local”, the import of toys, games and sports equipment from China is gradually showing a declining trend.

According to Commerce Ministry, import of these Chinese products has reduced from $451.71 million in 2018-19 to $206.11 millions in 2021 (between April 2021 and January 2022).

How did Chinese toys' import decline?

To control import of cheap and sub-standard toys, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) through a notification dated December 2, 2019, had made it mandatory to sample test each consignment.

According to this notification, no permission for sale is to be given unless the quality testing is successful. In case of a failure, the consignment is either sent back or destroyed at the cost of the importer.

Further tightening of norms

In addition to this notification, the government also on February 25, 2020, issued a Toys (Quality Control) Order, through which toys have been brought under compulsory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification with effect from January 1, 2021.

This quality control order (QCO) is equally applicable to domestic manufacturers as well as foreign manufacturers who intend to export their toys to India.

According to this QCO, it is mandatory for toys to conform to Indian standards for safety of toys and bear the ISI mark under license from BIS.

Also, as per BIS regulations, no person is allowed to 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 BIS licence and export toys to India.

The 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 licence. Samples are also drawn for testing during these surveillance inspections.