Shortages may become an issue within India’s tire industry following the release of a quality control order by the country’s Department of Commerce.

Reporting on the threat, the Business Standard newspaper explains that the order prevents the sale of tires and tubes in India unless they feature a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark or a certification mark licence is otherwise obtained. The business daily also states industry sources claim the country’s tire manufacturing industry “has come to a standstill” as it possesses a substantial inventory that cannot be sold without the BIS mark.

Although data on domestic manufacturers’ existing stock levels is not available, sources told the Business Standard that the total number of tires manufactured in 2010-11 is around 57.2 million units. They added it would take time to have tires BIS-certified as manufacturers first need to establish necessary infrastructure within their plants in order to meet BIS requirements. The Department of Commerce control order, incidentally, does not cover tires imported by OEMs for sale in the replacement market.

The newspaper reports that a number of industry bodies and tire manufacturers have approached the Bureau of Indian Standards and Department of Commerce for an extension of the order, while others have applied for a stay. Some officials, however, have apparently commented that India’s tire industry is panicking unnecessarily, as the control order was postponed several times before its introduction and there is thus nothing new about it. (Tyres & Accessories)