Quality controls on key chemicals from US, China eased

The Centre has withdrawn quality control orders (QCOs) for three key industrial chemicals—acetic acid, methanol and aniline—to ease compliance burdens for domestic manufacturers, said a 23 July notification.

- Dhirendra Kumar

These chemicals are critical inputs for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, dyes and intermediates, paints, adhesives, and agrochemicals.

These QCOs, originally issued in August 2019, mandated that manufacturers and importers of these chemicals obtain Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification to sell their products in the Indian market.

India sources significant quantities of acetic acid and aniline from China and the US, while methanol is primarily imported from Gulf countries.