India to enforce BIS standards for smartphone screen protectors from 2027

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has announced plans to bring smartphone screen protectors under its mandatory certification framework, effective from April 2027. The regulatory move aims to establish uniform quality benchmarks for the protective accessories market, which has expanded significantly as smartphone penetration deepens across India.

The screen protector market, valued between Rs 12,000-15,000 crore, has largely remained unregulated despite its size. Chinese manufacturers currently control a substantial share of supplies, with grey-market and substandard products proliferating unchecked. The lack of standardized quality metrics has allowed inferior products—prone to cracking, poor transparency, and reduced durability—to flood the market.

Under the new framework, all screen protectors sold in India will require BIS certification, compelling manufacturers and importers to meet specified standards for material composition, impact resistance, optical clarity, and manufacturing processes. Industry stakeholders will have approximately two years to align their operations with the new requirements.

The regulation is expected to curtail informal trade channels while encouraging domestic manufacturing and legitimate imports. Consumer protection advocates have welcomed the move, noting that standardized products will enhance user safety and device longevity. Manufacturers currently operating in the unregulated space face pressure to formalize operations and invest in quality assurance systems ahead of the April 2027 deadline.