Do PE/PP granules and packaging machines need BIS marks in 2027?

We make blown film and BOPP tape at Jagannath Polymers, so the polymer orders were never theory for us. Our film starts as polyethylene granules.

The short answer for 2027 is this. PE and PP granules do not need a BIS licence under the old polymer Quality Control Orders, because the government rescinded them on 12 November 2025. Most packaging machines do not need one either, because the machinery safety order was rescinded in January 2026.

Two things have not gone away. A few packaging items still need a BIS mark, with dates in 2027. And plastic that touches food still has to meet the FSSAI standards, which were never part of the QCOs.

Checked against the Gazette of India, the BIS website and the FSSAI regulations on 28 October 2026.

What a QCO is, in one paragraph

A Quality Control Order is a government order under section 16 of the BIS Act, 2016. It makes an Indian Standard compulsory for a product. Once it applies, the product cannot be made, imported, stored or sold without a BIS licence and the Standard Mark (or, under some schemes, a certificate of conformity). Most Indian Standards are voluntary. A QCO is what turns one into law.

The polymer QCOs were rescinded on 12 November 2025

On 12 November 2025 the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals published 14 orders in the Gazette of India, numbered S.O. 5129(E) to S.O. 5142(E). Every one of them rescinds an earlier QCO "with immediate effect".

For packaging, the ones that matter are:

1. Polyethylene material for moulding and extrusion, the order of 5 April 2022 (S.O. 1647(E)).
2. Polypropylene materials for moulding and extrusion, the order of 26 February 2024 (S.O. 921(E)).
3. PVC homopolymers, the order of 26 February 2024 (S.O. 920(E)).
4. EVA copolymers, ABS, polycarbonate and polyurethanes, along with PTA, MEG and several polyester yarns and fibres.

Each order also says that anything done or not done before the rescission is not wiped out. In plain words, an old case for a past violation can still go ahead. The rule simply stopped applying from that day.

Many older articles online still say the PP order "comes into force" on some date in 2026. Those dates were overtaken by the rescission.

Always look at the date of whatever you are reading, including this page.

What should a resin buyer ask for now? I would still ask for the grade datasheet and a certificate of analysis with every lot. For food-contact grades, ask for the documents in the FSSAI section below. A BIS licence number is no longer the paper to chase for PE or PP.

Packaging machines: the omnibus order is gone

The Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024 would have brought a long list of machinery under BIS certification. The Scheme X page on the BIS website now records it as rescinded by S.O. 239(E), dated 16 January 2026.

So in 2027 a paper bubble wrap machine, an air cushion machine, a carton sealer or a band sealer does not need a BIS licence under that order.

I would still ask any machine supplier for the electrical drawing and a list of the parts in the panel. That is good practice with or without a QCO, because it is what your electrician needs on the day something burns out.

Two cautions before you relax.

1. A separate Electrical Equipment QCO covers low-voltage switchgear and controlgear to IS/IEC 60947: circuit breakers, contactors, starters, control switches, proximity switches and emergency stop devices. These are the parts inside the control panel of a machine. The same Scheme X page shows several of its phases deferred by S.O. 5038(E) of 6 November 2025. If you import a machine or a panel, ask the supplier how its electrical components stand under that order.
2. The BIS list of upcoming QCOs includes an order for household, commercial and similar electrical appliances to IS 302 (Part 1): 2024, enforced from 1 October 2026. Its list of examples names commercial vacuum packaging appliances. If you are buying a vacuum packing machine for a food unit or a shop, check that it carries the mark.

What still needs a BIS mark in 2027

From the BIS list of upcoming QCOs, notified and due for implementation, updated on 26 October 2026, these touch packaging:

BIS itself calls this list advance information for awareness. Dates on it have moved before, so read every date here as "check again the month before".

If I made woven sacks for cement, I would still treat 6 January 2027 as real and apply for the licence now. Waiting for one more deferral is a gamble with your order book.

There is one more order to watch if you buy pharma foil. An order on aluminium and aluminium alloy products, S.O. 1319(E) of 13 March 2026, is being phased in. TeamLease RegTech reports that it covers aluminium foil for pharmaceutical packaging, with small enterprises given until 1 March 2027 and micro enterprises until 1 June 2027. The BIS upcoming list does not show the foil item, so read S.O. 1319(E) itself before you rely on either date.

Food-contact film and bags: a separate rule that did not change

This is the part I would explain first to any food brand, because it is easy to mix up.

The polymer QCOs were about the resin as a material. Food safety is a different law. The FSSAI Packaging Regulations, 2018 (compendium version V, 2 April 2025) say that plastic used to make containers for packing or storing food must conform to the Indian Standards listed in their Schedule III. Polyethylene is IS 10146 and polypropylene is IS 10910. All packaging of plastic origin must also pass an overall migration limit of 60 mg/kg or 10 mg/dm², tested as per IS 9845.

None of that changed in November 2025. So for food-contact film, pouches and bags, ask your supplier for:

1. The resin maker's declaration that the grade conforms to IS 10146 or IS 10910, as the case may be.
2. A migration test report to IS 9845 on the finished film or pouch, from a laboratory you can name.
3. A declaration that the pigments or masterbatch conform to IS 9833, if the film is coloured.

At Jagannath Polymers we use only virgin material for food-contact packaging. Recycled plastic has its uses, but it does not go next to food in our plant.

How to check any QCO yourself

I would not trust a WhatsApp forward on this subject, and neither should you. The check takes about a quarter of an hour.

1. Open the BIS page Products under Compulsory Certification. It links to the product lists for each certification scheme and to the upcoming QCO list.
2. Find your product and note the S.O. number of its order.
3. Search for that S.O. number on egazette.gov.in and read the operative line. "Shall come into force on" gives you the start date. "Hereby rescinds" means the order is gone.
4. Look for a later amendment. Dates are often deferred by a fresh S.O., and some orders give micro and small units extra time.
5. If you are buying a marked product, ask for the licence number and check it on the BIS Care app.
6. Keep a printout of the notification in the purchase file. If an inspector or a customer asks, you show the paper, not an opinion.

What to do before your 2027 orders

1. Take "BIS licence copy" off your PE and PP purchase checklist, and add the food-contact documents where they apply.
2. If you make or buy woven sacks for cement or for mail, confirm the 6 January 2027 date in December and ask your supplier for the licence number now.
3. If you plan to buy a vacuum packaging machine in 2027, ask in writing whether it falls under the IS 302 appliances order, and ask for the licence number if it does.
4. If you import machines with control panels, ask for a component list with each part's BIS status.
5. Put a reminder in your calendar for the first week of every quarter to look at the BIS upcoming list. It is updated often.

When you are weighing a machine purchase, the payback method for MSMEs and the guide to carton sealing machines cover the money and the machine. This article only covers the mark.

I am a packaging maker, not a certification consultant. Where a product is borderline, a written view from the BIS regional office or a consultant is worth having before you spend money.

If you have a QCO question about film, tape or bags, write to us. If we do not know the answer, I will tell you that too.