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BIS and WPC Approval

Wearables sold in India often need two separate approvals: BIS registration for product safety and WPC equipment type approval for their radios. This guide explains which products are listed, how each route works and what to check before importing.

By Noah Williams · Updated October 2026

BIS registration for listed electronics

The Bureau of Indian Standards runs a Compulsory Registration Scheme, listed as Scheme-II, for electronics and IT goods notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021. It works through self-declaration of conformity backed by registration. BIS's product list includes smart watches and wireless headphones and earphones, both against IS/IEC 62368-1:2023. The same list covers power banks, sealed secondary cells and batteries for portable use, and power adapters for IT equipment, which matters for wearables sold with a charger or battery pack. Products on the list must be registered before they are sold in India, and the registration should name the exact model.

Wearables that fit no listed category

Not every wearable matches a row on the BIS list by name. Smart glasses or a haptic glove may not, while the charger, battery pack or adapter supplied with them may. Ask the maker or importer which row, if any, it registered the product under, and request a registration number for each separately supplied charger. Where a product falls outside the list, BIS registration may not be required, but independent safety testing is still sensible and the WPC route described below can still apply because of the radio inside. Keep the answers with your purchase records, because customs officers, retailers and corporate buyers may ask for them later, sometimes long after the first shipment has cleared.

WPC equipment type approval for radios

Wearables that use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi also fall under the Department of Telecommunications. Its Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing says equipment type approval (ETA) is required for the import, sale and use of wireless devices that operate in de-licensed bands or involve radio frequency transmission. For commercial finished products such as smartwatches, smartphones, laptops and short-range devices, ETA is permitted on self-declaration through the Saral Sanchar portal. Radar, jammers, drones and satellite equipment cannot use that route. A WPC letter dated 23 September 2021 confirms that, for products meeting the licence-exempt frequency notifications and classed as free imports, an undertaking generated on Saral Sanchar can be given to customs instead of a separate import licence.

Checks before you import or resell

If you import wearables for resale or a company rollout, collect for each model the BIS registration covering its exact model number, the ETA certificate from Saral Sanchar, and the customs undertaking where that route was used. Confirm that the model printed on the box matches the model on each certificate, since a regional variant with a different radio can fall outside an approval. Ask whether the maker or an Indian representative made the self-declarations, and who answers if an authority queries them. For quote-only items on this site, such as the Iristick Z1 or the Nimo Planet, make approvals a line in the quotation so that delivery is not held at the port.

Sources and further reading

List of Electronics and IT Goods under the Compulsory Registration Scheme (Scheme-II) — Bureau of Indian Standards.
BIS list of electronics needing registration in India, including smart watches and wireless earphones.
Equipment Type Approval (ETA) — Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing, Department of Telecommunications.
DoT page on equipment type approval for wireless devices, including the self-declaration route via Saral Sanchar.
Clarification regarding import of licence-free wireless equipment (R-11018/06/2017-PP) — Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing, Department of Telecommunications.
WPC letter explaining that licence-exempt wireless imports clear customs with an ETA and a Saral Sanchar undertaking.

Common questions

Is BIS registration the same as WPC approval?

No. BIS registration concerns product safety against an Indian Standard, while WPC equipment type approval covers the radio transmitter. A Bluetooth smart watch sold in India can need both, so ask the seller for each document separately and check that both name the same model.

How can I check a seller's BIS registration for a smart watch?

Ask for the registration number and the model it covers, then compare those details with the product label and packaging. BIS publishes its list of products under compulsory registration, so you can also confirm that smart watches fall within the scheme.

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