New Delhi, 24 March (H.S.):

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government is bolstering coordination between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Customs through the ICGAT portal enabling regular information exchange to streamline quality checks and imports.

Responding to BJP MP Dr Sangeeta Balwant who flagged delays in customs clearance for BIS certified products Joshi said BIS conducts market surveillance tests products against standards and flags non compliant ones to Customs authorities.

The minister emphasized efforts to promote technology based inspection systems minimizing human intervention to ensure product quality while enhancing ease of doing business and preventing bottlenecks in the import process.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar