Suspected fake ISI marking on LPG Gas Pipe and No manufacturing/expiry date

There is a wide scale misuse of ISI marking. Be in food, drinking water or electrical/home appliances, there are substandard products on which manufacturers place Agmark/ISI mark without getting certification. Some place ISI mark and license number which as per BIS website queries are invalid. Recently got an LPG gas pipe from a well known shop in Bangalore which has an ISI mark on the packaging and cover text says that the product expires and should be replaced after 3 years of manufacture as per date printed on the tube. Surprisingly there is no manufacturing date on the packaging or on the gas tube. The records as per BIS website show that the manufacturer is not one of the certified companies and so does not have ISI marking license under that standard number. License number search shows it is invalid. The company making the product also has placed incomplete address - only company name and city.

Such critical items like gas pipes having poor quality can cause accidents like the one which happened in Bangalore recently. The large retail chains as well as small shops are filled with substandard products from China as well as Indian manufacturers. Consumers need to be alert while shopping for critical every day use products some of which can risk lives and health.

- Neeraj

Misuse of ISI Marks

I recently came across some products while shopping which had ISI marks on the packaging or product but based on the quality etc. I suspected if they were really certified ISI marked products. So I explored website if India's national standard body - Bureau of Indian Standards website and found that it is possible to know through the website, which products have been certified under specific standard and also we can know the status of licences obtained by companies.

One of the items details I validated found that the license number they put on the product packaging is an invalid one.

Here are some useful links

http://www.bis.org.in/

http://nicdc.nic.in/CMMS/InternetRep/InternetRelatedRep.aspx

Also found some recent news items on misuse of ISI markings.

Misuse of ISI markings - Packaged Drinking Water in Bangalore

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/11/stories/2009111154380400.htm

BIS ropes in pvt agency to check misuse of ISI mark

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/bis-ropes-in-pvt-agency-to-check-misuse-of-isi-mark/356499/0

There is also a link for filing complaints related to BIS certified product(ISI Mark)/Services of BIS

http://www.bis.org.in/cad/complain.htm

- Neeraj