US slams India's telecom, electronics testing norms, standards

The US wants India to recognise internationally accredited labs, harmonise labelling requirements and the validity period of test reports and certification with global practices, and eliminate retesting requirements. 

The US has slammed the Communication Security Certification Scheme (ComSec), which mandates that telecommunications (telecom) equipment such as routers, WiFi access points, switches, and firewalls comply with Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements, in its annual report on trade barriers released on Tuesday.

The 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers has criticised the high costs and regulatory hurdles associated with multiple mandatory domestic testing regimes for telecom and technology products across the board.

Since 2023, the government has implemented ComSec, which requires strategically important telecom equipment to undergo third-party testing at a designated Telecom Security Testing Laboratory (TSTL) in India.

"In addition to mandating testing to an outdated and country-specific standard through a limited number of approved laboratories (labs), India requires original equipment manufacturers for certain equipment to disclose proprietary information such as source code or internal test results during TSTL testing," the report by the US Trade Representative (USTR) said.

The report reiterated its opposition to the Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE), which has required local security testing for telecom products since 2019.

In May 2021, India's Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) proposed implementing procedures for the MTCTE programme and then further expanded the scope in September 2021 to require mandatory testing for 175 products.

"US industry remains concerned with the in-country testing and certification requirements. The US, bilaterally through the trade policy forum and multilaterally in the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, has urged India to reconsider its domestic testing and certification requirements," the USTR report said.

The US wants India to recognise internationally accredited labs, harmonise labelling requirements and the validity period of test reports and certification with global practices, and eliminate retesting requirements.

It has reiterated its demand that India accept test results from International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)-accredited labs.

ILAC is a global organisation that facilitates the mutual recognition of lab and inspection body accreditation. It helps ensure that test and calibration results are accepted worldwide by establishing a framework for cooperation among accreditation bodies.

The testing labs are inspected and designated by TEC, the technical wing of the Department of Telecommunications. The TEC website showed that there are 71 such lab units across the country. TEC has also drawn up ‘essential requirements' for as many as 65 separate types of telecom equipment.

Washington, DC, also wants India to adopt the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement, an international agreement that ensures the mutual recognition of security certifications for information technology products.

The report also mentioned the Compulsory Registration Order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity). In place since January 2014, the order mandates that manufacturers of laptops, wireless keyboards, point-of-sale machines, and other electronic equipment apply for registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) after getting their product tested by BIS-recognised labs. The report has argued against the need for domestic testing "even if the products have already been certified by accredited international labs".

Meity had notified an order back in 2012 for the compulsory registration of 15 categories of electronic items. The coverage of the order has since been expanded to 63 product categories.