Government Eases QCO Compliance For Msmes

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Dec 15 (KNN) The Government of India, through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Department of Consumer Affairs, is phase wise implementing Quality Control Orders (QCOs) while providing exemptions/relaxations for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure domestic production is not disrupted.

This information was provided by the Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shobha Karandlaje, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

QCO Implementation with MSME Relaxations

Micro enterprises are granted an additional six months and small enterprises, three months to comply with QCOs.

Domestic manufacturers importing inputs for export-oriented production are exempted, while imports of up to 200 units are allowed for research and development purposes.

Provision has also been made for clearance of legacy stock manufactured or imported before QCO implementation within six months of the effective date.

BIS Financial and Technical Support Measures

BIS has introduced financial and technical relaxations for MSMEs, including concessions in annual minimum marking fees of 80 percent for micro enterprises, 50 percent for small enterprises and 20 percent for medium enterprises.

An additional 10 percent concession is available for MSMEs located in the North Eastern region and women-owned enterprises.

The requirement for maintaining in-house laboratories has been made optional, allowing MSMEs to use BIS-recognised or National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited external labs, including shared cluster facilities.

Product certification guidelines and product-wise manuals have also been made publicly available on the BIS website.

RBI Measures to Improve MSME Credit Flow

The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to link MSME loans to an external benchmark and reduce the interest rate reset period to three months. Existing borrowers have been offered a switchover option to the external benchmark-based regime.

Further measures by RBI include the Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, which provides government-backed credit guarantees for term loans up to Rs 100 crore.

Banks have also been directed not to insist on collateral for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for micro and small enterprises, while working capital requirements for MSEs have been fixed at a minimum of 20 percent of projected annual turnover for borrowings up to Rs 5 crore.

(KNN Bureau)

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