'Geysers, electrical products, footwear': BIS raids Amazon and Flipkart warehouses, seizes thousands of substandard products

NEW DELHI: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has conducted raids on two warehouses of Amazon and Flipkart in Delhi, seizing thousands of products lacking proper quality certification.
In an official statement, the consumer affairs department said on Thursday that in a 15-hour operation last week at an Amazon Sellers warehouse in Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, BIS officials confiscated more than 3,500 electrical products, including geysers and food mixers, valued at approximately Rs 70 lakh.

A separate raid at Instakart Services, a Flipkart subsidiary, resulted in the seizure of 590 pairs of sports footwear without required manufacturing marks, worth around Rs 6 lakh, an official statement said.
This operation is part of a broader nationwide drive by BIS to enforce quality standards. In the past month, similar raids were conducted in multiple locations, including Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Lucknow and Sriperumbudur.
A Flipkart spokesperson said, "As a marketplace, we work with local Indian sellers to drive awareness and to comply with all applicable laws. The platform has several processes to review the listings sellers make on the marketplace, and also conducts regular audits to ensure compliance."
An Amazon India spokesperson said that the company operates a marketplace in India.
"We require sellers who list and sell products on Amazon to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies. Upon being notified of any non-compliance, we take appropriate action. We are engaged closely with various stakeholders, including regulators, to provide customers with a great shopping experience," the spokesperson added.
BIS seized over 3,000 items in raids in Tamil Nadu
In a recent operation conducted last week, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) conducted raids at Amazon and Flipkart warehouses situated in Tiruvallur district, where they discovered and seized substantial quantities of uncertified merchandise.
During the inspection at Amazon's Puduvoyal facility, authorities seized 3,376 non-BIS certified items, including insulated flasks, food storage containers, metallic drinking water bottles, ceiling fans and toys. The total value of the confiscated goods amounted to Rs 36 lakh.
Simultaneously, BIS officials conducted an operation at Flipkart's Koduvalli warehouse, where they confiscated several uncertified items including 286 packs of baby diapers, 36 boxes of casseroles, 26 stainless steel water bottles and 10 insulated steel bottles, all lacking the mandatory BIS certification.
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