The Indian government has approved: 6 months extension of BIS compulsory certification of polyurethane and paraxylene

Less than two weeks after the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) approved a six-month extension of mandatory quality standards for some plastic raw materials and raw materials, the quality assurance watchdog has allowed similar relaxations for key plastic raw materials such as polyurethane and paraxylene

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers of India has extended the mandatory BIS quality specification for polyurethanes and paraxylene by 180 days (six months), according to a communique notice issued recently

"After consulting the Bureau of Indian Standards, the central government believes that it is necessary or advantageous to do so in the public interest," the DCPC notification said

Earlier on March 11, the DCPC made similar extensions for polycarbonate, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), ethylene dichloride (EDC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)

DCPC has brought about 80 basic chemicals, petrochemicals, polymers and raw materials into mandatory BIS certification

There are more than a dozen basic chemicals and plastic raw materials that India relies heavily on imports from countries

“The entire process of testing and collecting samples has been disrupted over the past two years due to the global spread of the coronavirus (Covid) pandemic

For example, India's polyurethane consumption is estimated at 70-72 million tons, of which 80%-85% is imported from various countries

The same is true for many other chemicals and plastic raw materials

“This extension will definitely bring significant relief to the entire plastics value chain

On March 30, 2021, the Ministry of Chemicals and Petrochemicals issued a circular instructing the entire plastics value chain to comply with the BIS's quality specifications for raw materials

However, companies across the plastics value chain see a major setback across the industry since the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in February 2020

Polyurethane refers to a class of polymers composed of urethane-linked organic units

Paraxylene is an important chemical raw material