Certification Marks in India

The majority of the products that people purchase from the market are found with a kind of certification mark. Certification marks guarantee the packaged product’s quality. When there is a certification mark on some commercial products, you can call them marks of validity. It ensures customers that the manufacturer has examined the product and it has become capable of meeting the provided quality standard. 

The certification mark also helps specify the materials of construction, location of the origin, characteristics of the product, mode of production, etc. A few certification marks are advisory, though most of them are mandatory. The certification marks also certify the origin or nature of the services or goods they have been applied to.

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Who set the Certification Marks?

Some special bodies set certification marks, and they are known as BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). It comes under the protection of the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) standards. 

List of Certification Marks by the Government of India

Below is the list of certification marks by the government of India - 

• ISI Mark– The ISI mark is considered the most recognized mark, and it is provided for standard industrial items in India. This mark guarantees that the product has conformed to the standards that the BIS has laid down. However, it is important for many products, particularly the electronic goods sold in India, to carry this mark. But when the matter comes to various other manufactured goods, this mark turns voluntary, and it has been effective since 1955.

• AGMARK– The Directorate of Marketing issues this mark, and it gets applied to agricultural products. The Agriculture Producer enforces AGMARK legally. The AGMARK certification gets employed via the state-owned laboratories of AGMARK that are located all across India. They work at testing as well as certification centres. Besides the CAL (Central AGMARK Laboratory) in Nagpur, people will find many RALs (Regional AGMARK Laboratories) located in eleven nodal cities, like New Delhi Chennai, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kolkata, Guntur, Kochi, Amritsar, Rajkot, Bhopal, and Jaipur. Every regional laboratory remains armed, and these laboratories specialize in examining products that are of regional importance. And so, the product range that gets tested does vary from one centre to another.

• FPO Mark – This mark is considered the mandatory certification mark on every processed fruit product sold in India, like fruit jams, packaged fruit beverages, squashes, crushes, dehydrated fruit products, pickles, and fruit extracts. The FPO mark ensures that the products have been manufactured in an entirely hygienic “food-safe” environment. And so, the products are ideal for consumption.

• BIS Hallmark – The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) Hallmark is hugely used for gold and its jewellery. Hence, it becomes important for people to buy only gold with a sanctioned mark on it. The BIS hallmark is a hallmarking system used to sell some expensive metals, like silver and gold jewellery, in India. When the gold and jewellery you have bought get the BIS Hallmark, it certifies the metal’s purity. Additionally, it certifies that the gold or the jewellery has conformed to the standards that the BIS has set.

• Indian Organic Certification – This certification mark is utilised for organically farmed food items that are created in India. The Indian Organic Certification mark ensures that the organic food products have conformed to the National Standards that cater to organic products formed in the year 2000. 

These standards ensure that the raw materials or the products utilised in the product have been grown via organic farming, and there is a complete absence of any pesticide, chemical fertiliser, and induced hormone. Some testers have been recognized by the APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) under the National Program meant for organic production by the Indian government.

• The Non-Polluting Vehicle Mark – This is considered the mandatory certification mark needed on every new motor vehicle sold in India. This mark ensures that the motor vehicle has conformed to the pertinent variation of the emission standards of the Bharat Stage. However, you need to keep in mind that this mark remains valid for only six months, and you will require a fresh check after this period.

What do the Certification Marks Issued for Different Products in India Indicate?

The certification marks issued for different products in India might indicate the following things:

• A product certification agreement that happened between an organization and the manufacturer with national accreditation caters to both certification and testing.

• Legal proof that the products have been tested successfully according to a nationally accredited standard. A certification mark also gives legal assurance that a recognized certified organization has guaranteed that the products tested successfully are the same that is being proposed for sale to the customers.

• The certification mark also ensures that a successful test has given rise to some certification listing, and it is viewed as public information. 

• The certification mark also ensures that the manufacturers get audited regularly through a certification organization. 

How does a Certification Mark differ from a Trademark?

The certification marks work differently from a trademark. The certification mark does not specify the source of origin only, but it also certifies that the products related to which it has been applied get sanctioned by the owner of the mark. This is done for ascertaining the features of the services or products. When a product or a service gets a certification mark, then it gives the consumers guidance. Additionally, they get the resulting confidence of buying a specific product or service. Various merchants use a certification mark for indicating that their services and products have some features, like a particular level of quality of products or some geographic origins.

The Rules for a Certification Mark

An owner of a certification mark should follow some strict rules to obtain their mark. Some rules of certification marks issued for different products in India are mentioned below:

• Exclusivity of use: An owner cannot utilize the mark for purposes that exclude certification. When the owners do, then it turns invalidated. Again, consumers lose the sense of the mark.

• Non-discrimination: An owner cannot refuse the mark to a company that has managed to meet the set standards of certification, which prevents the discrimination and secrets involved in the process of certification.

• Objectivity: An owner cannot sell a product himself when it bears the mark.

• Standards: Every owner should draft agreements to the certified parties, and it helps in verifying that other parties are meeting the standards.

Some Interesting Facts 

Below are some interesting facts about the list of certification marks by the government of India:

• The features of certified services or goods comprise quality, safety, accuracy, used materials, morality, and manufacturing mode.

• Nothing prevents the owners of certification marks from taking part in services and sales. Nonetheless, people might not utilize their certification marks right on their products.

• A registered trademark or a certification mark in a foreign land does not turn into an acceptable basis in India.

• When people file for a trademark utilizing an application for a certification mark, they can also amend it. Commonly, for this, people are needed to have a form that an attorney has filled, and they must attach the form with the new application.