Footwear industry to comply with QCOs from July 1

The government has decided to not extend the deadline for the MSMEs in the footwear industry. The industry needs to comply with the mandatory quality standards from July 1.

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Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the footwear industry will be included under the mandatory quality standards, coming into effect from July 1. The government has decided not to extend the deadline for complying with the mandatory quality standards. 

The MSMEs in the footwear sector had not been under the ambit of the quality control orders (QCO), earlier.

Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry said, “We have decided that the QCOs will be implemented from July 1. The order will come into force from July 1. It was decided not to do any changes to that. No extension will be given and everybody has agreed to that.” 

He added that these orders would help in increasing the production and exports of quality footwear and would also help in establishing Indian brands in the global markets.

The government has also decided to give six months’ time to small industries (with an annual turnover of less than Rs 50 crore and investment of Rs 10 crore) for complying with the ‘Footwear Made from Leather and Other Materials (Quality Control) Order, 2022’. They are required to follow the guidelines from 1st January 2024.

However, micro units with an annual turnover of less than Rs 5 crore will have to follow the norms from 1st July 2024.

In the leather and footwear sector, three mandatory quality orders were issued by the government in October 2020. Of the three orders, the one on protective footwear has already been implemented from January 2022. The remaining two orders will come into force from July 1, this year.