The Vietnamese Trade Office in India and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on April 26 organised a webinar on BIS’s regulations and certification procedures for foreign manufacturers, attracting the participation of more than 60 Vietnamese firms.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor Bui Trung Thuong said BIS certificates are mandatory for both domestic and foreign manufacturers to export goods to the Indian market. Its list of products is expanding, covering many of Vietnamese exports to India such as chemicals, toys, steel, shoes, tires, and synthetic fibers, he noted.

Speakers of the event, S. Venkatesh and P. Deshick from BIS’s Foreign Manufacturers Certification Department said an important requirement for Vietnamese businesses is to have an authorised Indian representative (AIR), who must be Indian and represent only one manufacturing company.

The BIS certification will be valid for one or two years upon initial registration. After that, the business can apply for an extension of up to five years, based on the performance of the license.

Statistics from the Vietnam General Department of Customs showed that two-way trade saw a yearly increase of 13.6% to 15.05 billion USD in 2022, with Vietnam’s exports to India topped 7.96 billion USD, up 26.8% year-on-year. The 1.4-billion-strong Indian market has diverse demands with various market segments – a good condition for Vietnamese exporters.

VNA