BIS raids two Tirupur packaged drinking water units for misuse of ISI mark

COIMBATORE: Officials of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) conducted enforcement raids at two packaged drinking water manufacturing units in Tirupur district on Wednesday for allegedly misusing the ISI mark without a valid BIS licence.

The raids were carried out by teams from the BIS Coimbatore branch office at Murugan Minerals in Mannarai and Sree Ganapathy Foods in Ganapathipalayam following information regarding suspected violations of the BIS Act, 2016.

According to BIS officials, the units were found manufacturing, storing and selling packaged drinking water despite their BIS licences having expired. The search and seizure operations were conducted under Section 28 of the BIS Act, 2016.

The enforcement teams seized 20-litre PET jars of packaged drinking water along with stickers and labels bearing the ISI mark from the premises. Officials said the products were being sold without a valid certification licence, which amounts to a violation of the law.

The raids were led by Rino John S, scientist-E and director, along with A Arivazhagan in one team, while another team comprised Vinith Kumar G, scientist-E and director, and Gautam Chand Soni, scientist-C and deputy director.

Ramesh K, director and head of the BIS Coimbatore branch office, said appropriate action would be initiated against the firms under the provisions of the BIS Act, 2016. “As per Section 29 of the BIS Act, 2016, the offence is punishable for the first contravention with imprisonment up to two years or with a fine of not less than Rs 2 lakh, which may extend up to ten times the value of the goods manufactured or sold, or with both,” he said.

BIS advised consumers to ensure that packaged drinking water products carry a genuine ISI mark backed by a valid BIS licence. Consumers can verify the authenticity of the licence through the BIS Care mobile application using the CM/L number printed on the product label.

Officials warned manufacturers and suppliers against misuse of the ISI mark, use of expired licences and misleading claims regarding BIS certification, stating that such violations compromise consumer safety and attract penal action under the law.