Govt exempts imported POS machines from BIS labelling till March 31

NEW DELHI: To facilitate cashless payments, government has exempted imported Point of Sales machines from mandatory Bis-labelling till March 31 to expedite their shipments. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has given nod to a proposal of finance ministry "to allow the import of non-labelled BIS registered Point of Sales terminals" complying to certain conditions.

The merchant will be given clearance for import if he presents valid registration number issued by BIS for particular model of POS being imported along with manufacturer's details. Also, the merchant will need to label products at the port before the release of consignment.

"In order to facilitate the implementation of cashless digital payment and to allow the import of non-labelled BIS registered POS terminals, this Ministry has granted special exemption till March 31, 2017 for import of non-labelled POS terminals," MEITY said in its letter to the excise and customs department. The letter said that Ministry of Finance had requested MEITY to provide special exemption to POS machines as they are being imported in country to promote cashless and digital payments eco-system.

An SBI research report said that the country has 15.1 lakh POS machines but may need an additional 20 lakh more if digitisation has to gain traction.

As per rules, it is mandatory for POS Machines that are imported in the country to BIS certification and accordingly bear BIS standard logo for clearance at Indian customs for sale in the country. BIS is implementing agency. Customs department allows import of goods covered under it as per direction of MEITY and BIS.