Government’s major QCO rollback on polyester yarn and 13 other inputs immediately boosts India textile export competitiveness. Discover how this decision lowers raw material costs and empowers MSMEs to achieve the $100 billion textile export target.
Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on polyester yarn
In a significant and widely anticipated policy course correction, the Indian government has officially revoked the Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on polyester yarn, various polyester intermediates, and several other chemical inputs. This decision, which rescinds mandatory certification requirements for 14 crucial products, has been universally hailed by the Indian textile industry as a necessary and pro-growth measure, providing a vital pathway for the sector to regain global competitiveness.
The QCOs, originally intended to curb the import of substandard goods, had inadvertently created severe operational bottlenecks and cost disadvantages for domestic manufacturers. A rigorous assessment by NITI Aayog revealed that the imposition of mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification on intermediate raw materials—rather than finished goods—was fundamentally misplaced. The unintended consequences were stark: raw material costs for items like polyester yarn and staple fibre had escalated by an estimated 10 to 30 percent above international benchmarks.
This regulatory anomaly put Indian manufacturers, particularly MSMEs, at a severe disadvantage against regional competitors like Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh, none of whom impose mandatory factory-level certification on similar synthetic fibres. Indian exporters often struggled to meet specialized quality demands from international buyers because the BIS standards and lengthy approval times restricted their access to globally required specialty fibres and yarns.
