Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had put this matter in front of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the past

Acting on a request from the footwear industry, the government has deferred by another year a quality control order mandating BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) compliance for footwear made and sold in the country. The Quality Control Order will now come into force from July 1, 2023.

In fact, Delhi-based Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had put this matter in front of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the past. CAIT had argued that there are small manufacturers and traders of footwear manufacturers across the country, who would find it difficult to comply with the quality standards in the absence of cash. 85 per cent of the country's population wears cheap footwear and 90 per cent of it is produced by poor people and cobblers in their homes or in cottage industries. These shoes and slippers are mostly done by the people of small and middle income group.

On this subject, CAIT's National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwan said, 'It is impossible to implement BIS standards on a large part of footwear manufacturing in India. In India, 85 per cent of the manufacturers in the footwear industry are very small scale and it would be impossible to comply with the BIS standards set by the government.'

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued an order saying, 'The new quality norms for footwear such as industrial and protective rubber boots, PVC sandals, rubber thongs and molded rubber boots will continue to apply.' This order will not apply to the goods made for export.

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