Plastic Waste

Basics of compliance followed by Plastic Toys Manufacturers in India

Toys make an integral part of a memorable childhood. Preferred by kids, babies, teens, and even adults, toys entertain and help develop the horizon of curiosity, imagination, and more. Thus, looking at the constant demands, plastic toys manufacturers in India have gained momentum, and many anticipate setting up their factories anytime soon.   

From starting to execution, the process of toy manufacturing is quite challenging. From getting certifications to following the established norms, one needs the help of highly-trained professionals to do the job quickly. Or else, one must have a sound knowledge of multiple technical processes to make your life easier. But even if you are not a pro, don’t panic! This blog will clear your doubts regarding mandatory compliance for plastic toys manufacturers.

Market analysis of plastic toys in India

India is a crucial toy market because of the growing demand and the nation’s robust economic growth. As per the National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, the Indian toy industry is calculated to be $1.5 billion, which is about 0.5% global market share. The report also stated that by 2024 the Indian toys industry is estimated to grow to $2-3 billion. It is also indicated that by 2025 the demand for toys will rise by 1.2 times in Tier II and III cities.

Types of Plastic Toy Moulds

Plastic toys are heroes of the toy market because their production uses almost all plastic mouldings. Plastic toys manufacturers must take note of the most common plastic toy moulds that lie in the following categories:

Hollow mould: it’s used in producing hollow toy products with considerable wall thickness, complex shapes, big size and low dimensional accuracy.

Injection mould: it’s the most widely used mould in the toy production industry in India. Its characteristics are regular size, high product quality and high production efficiency. It’s used in several assembly components, prime quality requirements and large batch sizes.

Electroforming mould: it has a highly simulated outer surface because it is directly electroformed with actual material. It’s ideal for producing heads, limbs and torsos on the toys like dolls and animals.

Environmental impact of toys

Shockingly, the toy industry uses 40 tons of plastic for $1 million in revenue. 90% of the toys in the market are made of plastic. In addition, plastic toys can contain heavy metals such as cadmium or lead or other harmful chemicals such as dioxins.

Studies have revealed that children who chew on PVC plastic toys can absorb dangerous chemicals. Also, when plastic wastes like discarded toys are disposed of, many results in pollution of Earth’s ecosystems, including the oceans. Keeping all this in mind, many solutions like environmental compliance and sustainable toys were devised, which plastic toys manufacturers in India must pay attention to.

The government is working to encourage sustainable toys and their associated industry in India. In addition to the specific Plastic Waste Regulations, there are also General Hazardous Waste Rules which cover the efficient disposal of plastic waste. Considering littered plastic’s adverse impacts on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, MoEF issued the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules 2021. The rules ban the utilisation of single-use plastic items with low utility and high littering potential by 2022. Additionally, as per the rule,  plastic packaging waste shall be collected and managed in an environment-friendly manner via the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) of the Producer, importer and Brand owner (PIBO). The primary responsibility for implementing these rules is of the State Departments of Environment (SDE) and Central Pollution Control Board, and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).

Documents required by plastic toys manufacturers for starting a toy manufacturing business

• Photo of all partners/directors/proprietors
• PAN Card
• ID Proof
• Electricity Bill to be used as the address proof of the Registered Office
• Passport
• For directors not residing in India, all the documents must be duly apostle by the native country.
• If the director lives in India, then documents need not be an apostle

Mandatory Compliances for Plastic Toys Manufacturers in India

There are certain compliances that plastic toys manufacturers in India must abide by. These regulations are as follows –

From September 1, 2020, no toy manufacturer or importer will be able to import or sell any of the toys or articles specified in the Order without obtaining a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification. According to Scheme I of Schedule II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018^[1], the bureau has started granting licenses to toy manufacturers to use the BIS Standard Mark. The following steps must be followed to do so.

Decide about the business incorporation

Plastic toys manufacturers must be aware that there are specific ways in which you can register your company/business in India. For the unversed, these are described as follows –

Sole proprietorship firm – This is the case when you are just beginning a business as an individual with a minimal investment of your own.

Partnership firm – You and two or more individuals can start a business with an investment of each of you. However, partners are personally liable for any loss incurred.

One-person company (OPC)- One-person company (OPC) is quite a new trend. Introduced by the Companies Act of 2013, this process involves a single person forming a company with many benefits while enjoying the freedom of a sole proprietorship.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)- Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is another way of registering your toy manufacturing business in India. This process allows freedom of partnership with limited liability benefits to business owners.

In the case of a Private Limited (Pvt. Ltd.) company, two or more persons agree to bond together for a common business interest.

So now you know about the common business formations in India, you can decide depending on the nature and resources of your business.

Check for Legal Protection

Legal protection means seeking out a trademark. It’s essential when plastic toys manufacturers in India produce toys. Thus, conducting a trademark search is quite essential.

Trademark searches are generally done by licensed attorneys who explore various databases to ensure that a similar name isn’t already used. The market research is not considered complete without this step because toy manufacturing companies may have patented toys that are not yet available.

Most importantly, the trademark registration is valid for ten years and is renewable for another decade. So, as long as you keep renewing the trademark, you will be able to reap benefits from the trademark rights.

You must have the following documents when applying for a trademark:

• Your logo or brand name
• Information about the classes in which the trademark will be registered
• An attorney can file the trademark registration on your behalf
• If yours’ is a start-up firm or an MSME, you must get e a certificate of registration

To file a trademark, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Select a distinctive trademark by searching.
2. Submit a trademark registration application to the Controller General’s Office of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks.
3. Later, the Trade Marks Registry assigns an application number.
4. Once you get the application number, you can place the TM symbol next to the registered mark.
5. Once the application is filed and reviewed, the Indian Trade Marks Registry assigns a Vienna code
6. The Trademark Registry will review your application to ensure that the basic requirements have been met.
7. After that, the specified trademark will be published in the Journal.
8. The trademark gets registered if no objections are received within four months of publication.
9. You will get a trademark registration certificate if there are no objections.
10. Once a trademark registration certificate is generated, the owner can use the trademark entirely with the ® symbol.

Get a trade licence

A trade license is a certificate needed for a business or individual to carry out operations. Generally, the respective state government or Municipal Corporation issues this license. Hence plastic toys manufacturers will have to apply to the relevant authority of a specific state to get the trade license. Furthermore, to get this license, the applicant must be more than 18 years of age and without any criminal records. He/she must not be against any provisions of the law in force.

Procedure for applying for a Trade License

1. You can apply for the trade license certification either online or offline.
2. After accepting the mandatory terms and conditions, the applicant should fill in the necessary details regarding the trade license.
3. After submitting the relevant documents, the manufacturer gets a confirmation message.
4. The applicant gets the license within eight to eleven working days.
5. However, it should be noted that there are severe consequences if the manufacturer doesn’t get the license.

Besides this, other licenses are also required by plastic toys manufacturers in India to run their businesses. These licenses are as follows:

• OPC Registration
• MSME Udyog
• Aadhar registration
• PAN and Aadhar card
• GST Registration

Understand  the Goods and Services Tax (GST) applicable to plastic toys in India

The plastic toys manufactured and supplied by a company fall under Sr.No.228 of Schedule-II of Notification No.01/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. Thus, the GST applicable on plastic toys in India is 12% (6% SGST + 6% CGST), 18% or 28%. The tax slab depends entirely on the type of category these toys fall into.

Get NOC from the respective Pollution Control Board

Just like the above steps, obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the respective Pollution Control Board (PCB) in the area is mandatory before starting any business. Plastic toys manufacturers must ensure that they are not disturbing the environment or causing pollution. NOC is granted for a lifetime, five years or just one year, depending upon the pollution category your firm falls in. an exemption is granted if the industry doesn’t deal with the discharge of toxic or hazardous waste in any form.

The Pollution control board was established to oversee and maintain air and water pollution standards. It serves as an authority for handling pollution-related problems. It also issues many policies and directives from time to time regarding pollution and its management. To modernise its industrial plant and rise in the air and water pollution load, under the Air Pollution Act, 1981 and Water Pollution Act, 1974, it is essential to obtain the NOC from the respective Pollution Control Board. The entrepreneur must apply for renewal of ‘Consent to Operate’ upon its expiry.

Obtain an Extended Producer Responsibility – authorisation from Central Pollution Control Board

The producer must apply in Form –I within 90 days to the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

After scrutinising the application, the respective board processes it further or raises an inquiry. Subsequently, the producer gets the ERP – Authorisation, provided in Form-1(aa), within four months.

Ensure the safety

The Toy Association has various resources to help you understand the importance of getting patents and their technicalities. Plastic toys manufacturers must follow specific rules and regulations associated with the safety of new toys. Toy safety standards are updated frequently, so keeping an eye on industry trade resources such as the Toy Association for further guidelines is of utmost importance.

Toy manufacturers must also know that safety guidelines vary by age group and the country where a product is sold. Thus, having a note of the target audience helps in knowing the exact standards the product must meet to be safe. Promising a toy’s safety for children is very crucial when manufacturing a toy.

The registration process for plastic toys manufacturers in India

International or domestic toy manufacturers who wish to apply for a BIS license should analyse the certification program available on the BIS website.

Type	Application Primary Standard
Non-Electric Toys (familiar toys such as rattles, dolls, puzzles, and so on)	IS 9873 (Part 1):2019
Electric Toys (toys having at least one function dependent on electricity)	IS 15644:2006

Based on the type of toy for which a license is anticipated, plastic toys manufacturers in India must select one of the above applicable primary standards when applying for a license. Separate applications should be submitted if seeking a license for more than one type of toy. The notice clearly states that the BIS authorities will check the samples for adherence to the relevant secondary and primary requirements, like IS 9873 sections 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9, among others.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to Grant License

After successfully evaluating the manufacturer’s production process, manufacturing facilities, quality control, and testing capabilities, BIS issues a license. Conformity of the item to the applicable standard(s) can also be assessed by third-party on-site testing, laboratory testing, or a combination of both. The procedure for the Grant of License is mentioned in the guidelines for Grant of License (GoL) according to the conformity assessment Scheme-I of Schedule-II of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. (GoL).

As per a study, 30 % of plastic toys failed to meet the safety standards of acceptable levels of phthalates and heavy metals. Phthalates are a group of chemicals. The study also revealed that around 67% of toys sold in India failed all safety and standard tests. This increased the pressure on plastic toys manufacturers to follow all the guidelines for setting up their businesses.

A lack of regulation earlier resulted in the degradation of the quality of the products and failed endeavours to cope with international standards. However, this is not valid now as the government has not only strengthened the existing key parameters but has also laid new compliances to steer clear of the past policy’s lapses and miscalculations. These compliances are as follows:

The Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020

Issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, vide order February 25, 2020, the safety of toys is brought under mandatory BIS certification, which is granted after the successful assessment as mentioned above. The toys must have the standard mark under a licence from BIS as per Scheme-I of Schedule II of BIS (Conformity Assessment Regulations), 2018. The said Quality Control Order (QCO) was initially said to come into effect from September 01, 2020, but was later extended to January 01, 2021.

Exceptions under the Toys QCO, 2020

The plastic toys manufacturers must also remember that the order does not apply to articles and goods manufactured and sold by artisans registered with the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) under the Ministry of Textiles.

Also, the order sets an exception for articles and goods sold and manufactured by the authorised user and registered proprietor of geographical indication under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Articles or goods manufactured/meant for export purposes.

While applying for a license, the manufacturers should state the type of toy to select the applicable standard it would be subjected to. The specifications of toys and their associated standards are as follows:

For Entities manufacturing hundreds of SKU’s/toy models

Indeed testing hundreds of toy samples individually proves to be practically challenging for the BIS certification. The problem has been addressed in the Product Manual for the safety of toys.

The product manual is a guidance document specifying product-specific compliances for certification. The manual includes “Grouping Guidelines”, which enables certification for a group of toy models based on testing specific representative models. This helps plastic toys manufacturers to set up their businesses.

These grouping guidelines have been framed depending on the IS (Indian Standard) IS 9873 (Part 8):2019, which is akin to the International Standard (ISO)/TR 8124-8:2016 (Safety of Toys Part 8 Age Determination Guidelines), which categorises toys into seven categories and 146 sub-categories depending on the suitable starting age and the exact function or purpose of the toy.

For certification purposes, all the toy models of similar design, covered under a single sub-category and made from the same materials, are considered a series. A sample of any model from every series must be drawn and tested to cover all the models in that series.

Where to Apply

Plastic toys manufacturers in India can apply for a BIS license for toys on the manakonline portal. However, foreign manufacturers need to apply to BIS. Subsequently, these applications are sent to Foreign Manufacturers Certification Department (FMCD). To apply for a BIS license, manufacturers must follow the steps mentioned below –

1. Create an account on manakonline.
2. Select any Indian standard depending upon the toy type, i.e., electric or non-electric.
3. Fill out necessary information such as the factory’s location, details of raw material, etc. If choosing the second option, upload the conforming test report(s) issued by BIS.
4. Fill in the details of test facilities.
5. After filling in product details as per Appendix – II, submit the minimum marking fees.
6. Post successful registration, an application number will be generated. It can be used to check the application status from time to time. Don’t forget to respond and address any query BIS raises as soon as possible.
7. Confirm the date for the factory inspection.
8. During factory inspection, ensure that all varieties of toys are available.
9. Do respond to queries raised in discrepancy cum advisory report within the deadline given by the officer. If told to send the samples and test reports to the designated labs, immediately do so without any second thought.
10. After receiving the approved test reports and ensuring no pending action, the application gets processed for granting the license. Once asked by the BIS, proceed with fee payment as per Annexure – I of the fee schedule. After the successful completion of all the steps, the license will be generated.   

Conclusion

Plastic toys manufacturers in India are always trying to simultaneously meet the demands of children, parents and concerned authorities. While children usually expect excitement and fun, parents care for other things. Parents want toys that help children learn, boost creativity, are durable and offer good value for money. Children and parents are gradually becoming environmentally conscious and aware of toxic materials and safety regulations. The green or tested toys increase the feel-good factor while making a purchase. These toys are not only completely safe but can also make a difference to the environment.

There might be an extra effort for toy manufacturers to adhere to mandatory compliances. But in the long run, this proves to be highly beneficial.

Read our Article:Licenses and Documents Needed for Plastic Granules Business: An Overview