The Ministry of Heavy Industries has notified the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024 (Order) under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (BIS Act), to be made effective from 28 August 2025.

Applicability of Order:

• The Order would apply to machines and electrical equipment and their assemblies, sub-assemblies and components as listed in the First Schedule appended to the Order (Specified Goods)¹.

• However, the Order would not apply to the following cases:

  • Specified Goods covered under any other order issued under section 16 of the BIS Act;

  • Goods or articles manufactured domestically for export; and

  • Construction equipment covered under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

Conformity to Standards and essential requirements:

• The Specified Goods shall conform to the corresponding Indian Standards as under:

  • Type A standards: i.e., IS 16819:2018 or ISO 12100:2010 (Safety of Machinery General Principles for Design: Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction)

  • Type B Standards: Generic Safety Standards dealing with one safety aspect or more than one type of safeguard that can be used across a wide range of machinery

  • Type C Standards: Machine Safety Standards dealing with detailed safety requirements for a particular machine or group of machines.
    
    Type C Standard will prevail over the technical provisions dealt with by Type A or Type B standard.

• Specified Goods shall conform to the labeling and marking requirements along with the requirement of technical file as provided in the Scheme X of the Bureau of Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018 (CAR).

• Further, the Specified Goods are also required to comply with safety instructions or symbols, if any, required to be labeled or marked thereon.

Compulsory certification, enforcement and surveillance:

• Specified Goods must bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau, or a certificate of conformity as provided in Scheme X of CAR, as the case may be.

• Prior to obtaining such license or certificate of conformity, a manufacturer of Specified Goods must register with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), who will be the certifying and enforcement authority.

• The guidelines for market surveillance pertaining to Specified Goods will be issued from time to time.

• Any person who contravenes the provisions of the Order will be punishable under the relevant provisions of the BIS Act.

Effective date of Order:
The Central Marks Department of the BIS has issued a Circular clarifying that the Order shall come into force after one year from the date of its publication in the official Gazette i.e., the Order will come into force from 28 August 2025.

BDO IN INDIA COMMENTS:
The Order has wide-ranging implications across multiple industries and ensures that the Specified Goods covered in the order adhere to modern safety standards. The industries impacted by the Order inter alia include -

• Construction and Infrastructure: Machinery used for earthmoving, material handling, and building processes, such as cranes, excavators, and construction equipment.

• Power Generation and Electrical: Equipment used in power plants, substations, and energy distribution systems, including transformers, switchgear, and power converters.

• Manufacturing and Engineering: Metal cutting machine tools, weaving machines, packaging machinery, and other industrial machines used in manufacturing facilities.

• Mining: Heavy machinery and electrical equipment used in mining operations for excavation and material transport.

• Textile: Weaving machines and embroidery machines used in textile manufacturing.

• Public Works: Machines used in public works and infrastructure projects, such as concrete mixers, compressors, and diesel generators.

• Automotive and Transport Equipment: Specific machinery for automotive production and certain electrical equipment for vehicle assembly.

[Source – Order no. S.O. 3649(E) dated 28 August 2024 and Circular no. CMD-1/3:3 dated 12 September 2024]