Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) raids Amazon, Flipkart warehouses; seizes non-certificated products

CHENNAI: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) raided warehouses of e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart in Tiruvallur district on Wednesday, seizing large quantities of products being sold without mandatory certification.At Amazon’s warehouse in Puduvoyal, officials confiscated 3,376 items including insulated flasks, food containers, metallic potable water bottles, ceiling fans, and toys without BIS standard marks. The seized products are valued at Rs 36 lakh. The raid was led by BIS joint directors Gowththam B J and Dhinesh Rajagopalan. The firm was found violating Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016, by storing and offering uncertified goods for sale on its platform.In a parallel operation, BIS officials raided Flipkart’s warehouse in Koduvalli and seized baby diapers (286 packs), 36 boxes of casseroles, 26 stainless steel water bottles, and 10 insulated steel bottles without BIS certification. This raid was conducted by a team led by BIS Director Jeevanandam D and Joint Director Sreejith Mohan J.Chennai Branch head G Bhavani said action will be taken against the offenders under the BIS Act, 2016. “The violation is punishable with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh, which can go up to 10 times the value of the goods sold or displayed without the BIS mark, or both, for the first offence under Section 29 of the Act,” she said.