Smartphone Screen Protectors Now Need BIS-Standard Certification: CBIC’s Customs Instruction on the New IS 19348:2025 Mandate

Tempered-glass and film screen protectors for smartphones are a product category most compliance calendars have never had reason to track — until now. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, via Gazette Notification S.O. 5190(E) dated 21 September 2026, added smartphone screen protectors (Sl. No. 66) to the Schedule of the Electronics and IT Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021, requiring them to conform to IS 19348:2025, “Glass Screen Protector — Specification,” before they can be sold or imported into India. CBIC relayed the change to field formations via Instruction No. 20/2026-Customs (F. No. 450/51/2018), dated 7 October 2026, directing Customs officers to note the amendment, take necessary action, and raise any implementation difficulties with the Board. The mandate takes effect 1 April 2027.

Sourcing note: this article is based on secondary reporting (TaxGuru, ANI News, The Federal). Neither the primary Gazette notification nor the CBIC instruction text was independently retrieved in full within this editorial cycle.

This is one of a steady stream of electronics categories MeitY has progressively brought under the compulsory-registration net in recent years — a pattern importers of consumer-electronics accessories, not just handset manufacturers themselves, need to track, because the Compulsory Registration Order’s reach extends well beyond the headline device to its accessory ecosystem once a category is added to the Schedule.

The instruction itself is short on detail — deliberately so. CBIC’s role here is purely to relay a MeitY standard into the Customs clearance process; it does not itself define what “conformity” requires beyond pointing Customs formations to the underlying BIS/MeitY framework and inviting them to escalate practical difficulties, which is typical of how these inter-ministerial compulsory-registration add-ons are operationalised at the border.

Why It Matters

For importers, distributors, and e-commerce sellers of smartphone accessories — a category with a large number of small and mid-sized businesses, including significant import volumes from China and Southeast Asia — this converts a previously unregulated accessory into one requiring product registration/certification before clearance, effective 1 April 2027. Getting registration in place well ahead of that date matters because compulsory-registration non-compliance at the border typically means consignments are held or rejected, not merely fined after the fact — a materially different risk profile from a routine customs-duty dispute.

Practical Implications

Businesses importing or planning to import smartphone screen protectors should treat 1 April 2027 as a hard stop for having IS 19348:2025 conformity and the associated registration in place, not a soft target. Given MeitY/BIS registration processes for electronics categories have historically taken meaningful lead time, businesses in this category should begin the registration process well before the compliance deadline rather than waiting for a nearer reminder.

Action Checklist

• Identify whether your business, or your client’s business, imports or sells smartphone screen protectors that would fall under the new Sl. No. 66 entry.
• Begin the IS 19348:2025 conformity/registration process now — do not wait for the 1 April 2027 deadline to approach.
• Track CBIC’s and MeitY’s implementation guidance as it develops.
• Flag this to e-commerce-seller and import/distribution clients specifically — this is an easy category to miss on a general compliance calendar.

Relevant Notifications

MeitY Gazette Notification S.O. 5190(E), dated 21 September 2026 (adds smartphone screen protectors, Sl. No. 66, mandating IS 19348:2025 conformity).
CBIC Instruction No. 20/2026-Customs (F. No. 450/51/2018), dated 7 October 2026 (relays the above to Customs field formations).

FAQs

From when is this mandatory? 1 April 2027.

Does this apply only to imports, or to domestic sale too? The underlying Compulsory Registration Order framework generally covers both manufacture/sale and import; importers and domestic sellers alike should confirm applicability to their specific business model.

What standard must the product meet? IS 19348:2025, “Glass Screen Protector — Specification.”

This article is based on secondary reporting (TaxGuru, ANI News, The Federal) of MeitY Gazette Notification S.O. 5190(E) and CBIC Instruction No. 20/2026-Customs. Neither the primary Gazette notification nor the CBIC instruction text was independently retrieved in full within this editorial cycle; businesses should verify applicability and registration requirements directly against the official notification and BIS guidance before acting. This is not legal or professional advice.