BIS certification mandatory for helmets from June 2021

The sale of imported helmets will be allowed under the revised rules.

Only helmets certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will be allowed to be sold in India from June 1, 2021.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification stating that 2-wheeler helmets have been included under compulsory BIS certification. Publication of the Quality Control Order will also be mandatory.

The sale of imported helmets will be allowed under the revised rules, as long as those helmets meet BIS norms. BIS standards are in line with international norms such as DOT, Snell, ECE and Sharp and therefore, most imported helmets will be legal in India.

Earlier, the government wanted to peg the maximum weight of a 2-wheeler helmet to 1.2 kg. The latest notification does not offer any clarification on this.

In 2018, the government had banned the sale of non-ISI helmets. Even international brands selling their helmets in India had to adhere to ISI standards.