Domestic manufacturers of plywood, sanitary pads and diapers, footwear, and cement say obtaining or renewing the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification has become significantly smoother in recent weeks. This has made exporting to India easier for Nepali firms.

During the Nepal–India Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on Trade, Transit, and Cooperation to Combat Unauthorised Trade held in Kathmandu in January, India had agreed to expedite the issuance and renewal of BIS certificates to facilitate the export of Nepali goods, including footwear, plywood, yarn, sanitary pads, diapers, cement, corrugated sheets, and steel products.

In a post on X on Sunday, Nepali Ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma said industrialists report that India has streamlined BIS procedures, enabling most Nepali factories to secure certification more swiftly. “With BIS technical inspections continuing, exports have become smoother in recent weeks,” he wrote.

Hom Prasad Ghimire, president of the Nepal Plywood Manufacturer Association, said the sector had struggled for the last eight months to renew or obtain new BIS certificates. “But over the past month, we have been receiving certificates on time after completing the required process,” he said.

He credited the improvement to initiatives taken by Finance Minister Rameshore Khanal and Ambassador Sharma.

Manufacturers say the key bottleneck earlier was the delay in sending inspection teams, which held up both fresh certifications and renewals without clear reasons.

According to the association, nine plywood companies have recently received BIS certificates, and around nine more have been added to the approved list.

Of the 52 plywood manufacturers that applied, all are now on track to obtain one. Nepal exported plywood worth Rs7.09 billion in the last fiscal year.

Ghimire said Indian officials previously suspected that Nepali factories might export beyond their production capacity by importing goods from third countries, and this suspicion contributed to delays.

Jitendra Basnet, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, said Nepal has long been requesting India at bilateral meetings to ease the certification process.

“Industry Minister Anil Kumar Sinha raised the issue with Indian Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during his recent visit,” Basnet said, adding that conditions have improved noticeably.

Although India made BIS certification mandatory in 2020, its full implementation was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.

The requirement has been widely seen as part of India’s strategy to curb the diversion of Chinese products through neighbouring countries. The BIS certificate verifies that a product meets Indian standards for quality, reliability, and safety.

Rudra Prasad Neupane, president of the Footwear Manufacturers Association of Nepal, said the process still fluctuates, sometimes moving smoothly and at other times facing delays.

“We struggled to obtain BIS certification earlier, and we still have pending renewal dates,” he said. Nepal exported footwear worth Rs2.04 billion in the last fiscal year.

Cement manufacturers also noted improvements, saying certification is being issued on time once factories complete their paperwork. Demand for Nepali cement in India has been rising, with exports reaching Rs2.21 billion in the last fiscal year.

Dol Raj Adhikari, president of the Nepal Sanitary and Diaper Association, said factories in the sector are no longer facing the prolonged delays they experienced earlier.

Nepal exported sanitary pads and diapers worth Rs356.16 million in the last fiscal year.

Nepal’s total trade with India was worth Rs1.29 trillion in the last fiscal year.

According to the Department of Customs, Nepal exported goods worth Rs224.68 billion in the last fiscal year while imported goods worth Rs1.07 trillion.