Comprehensive Introduction of Parallel Testing for Electronic and Information Technology Products under BIS

From the commencement of the pilot parallel testing procedure for mobile phones on December 19, 2022, and its subsequent expansion to include wireless headphones, laptops, tablets by June 12, 2023, the scope has now been broadened to encompass all electronic and information technology products under the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS).

The reason for launching the parallel testing guideline is that in the previous BIS application, if the product and its safety-critical parts are both controlled products by BIS, they all need to be approved by BIS, and they must be applied in order. Only after the safety-critical parts are approved can start product testing, thus lengthening the product certification cycle. According to the guidelines for parallel testing, products can be tested and applications can be submitted at the same time, thus shortening the cycle.

The following are the instructions and considerations for parallel testing:

1. May voluntarily choose parallel testing or opt for sequential application.

2. Safety-critical components and products can be simultaneously tested at any BIS authorized laboratory. Upon completion of the testing and report generation for the first component, subsequent components or products should reference the test report number and laboratory name in their testing reports, continuing until the final product.

3. BIS will complete the registration of components and products in sequence.

4. When providing samples for testing and submission, a commitment letter must be included, containing the following:

(1) Commitment to bear the entire risk (including costs). For instance, if sample testing fails or incomplete test reports are submitted, leading to rejection or non-processing by BIS at a later stage, the decision of BIS will be final.

(2) Products must not be supplied/sold/manufactured in the market without valid registration.

(3) Products should update the list of safety-critical components immediately after obtaining BIS registration.

(4) It is the responsibility to use BIS-approved safety components if the component falls under BIS regulation.

5. The responsibility lies with the manufacturer to link applications in the application chain.

The following is an example of parallel testing for illustration purposes:

A mobile phone manufacturer requires cells, batteries, and power adapters to manufacture the final product, and all these components need to be registered under the CRS (Compulsory Registration Scheme). Before the implementation of parallel testing, the approval of cells is required before initiating the battery application, and after the approval of batteries and power adapters, the mobile phone application can start, requiring a sequential process. With the implementation of parallel testing, however, testing can be conducted simultaneously at any BIS laboratory/recognized laboratory.

(1) BIS laboratories/recognized laboratories can initiate battery testing without the cell's R-number. The laboratory will mention the test report number and laboratory name (instead of the cell's R-number) in the final battery test report.

(2) Similarly, the laboratory can initiate mobile phone testing without the R-numbers of cell, battery, and adapter. The laboratory will reference the test report numbers and laboratory names for these components in the final mobile phone test report.

(3) The laboratory should evaluate the cell's test report before issuing the battery test report. Similarly, before issuing the mobile phone test report, the laboratory should evaluate the battery and adapter's test reports.

(4) Applications can be submitted simultaneously for component registration.

(5) However, BIS will grant licenses sequentially, meaning the license for the mobile phone will only be processed by BIS after obtaining registration for all components involved in the final product's manufacturing process (in this case, mobile phones).

From this, it can be seen that parallel testing will significantly shorten the testing time and certification cycle.

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