HC asks Centre to respond to plea challenging mandatory BIS licence for manufacturing PVC pipes

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Thursday sought the Centre's reply on a plea seeking direction to quash the ‘Lead Stabilizer in Polyvinyl Chloride Pipes and Fittings Rules, 2021’ which mandate obtaining licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards for manufacturing PVC pipes and to have the BIS ‘Standard Mark’ on them.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice and asked the ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Consumer Affairs, BIS, Central Pollution Control Board and Haryana State Pollution Control Board to respond to the petition.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 28, saying that before passing any order, it wishes to know the stand of the Centre.

The Centre was represented through standing counsel Anurag Ahluwalia.

The petition by PVC Pipe Manufacturers (Haryana) Association has challenged the legality, validity and proprietary of the ‘Lead Stabilizer in Polyvinyl Chloride Pipes and Fittings Rules, 2021’, notified by MoEF&CC to the extent that it mandates obtaining licence from BIS for manufacturing Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes and to mark the BIS ‘Standard Mark’ on them.

It said the rules have been framed by the ministry through a notification on March 30, 2021, pursuant to the May 2017 order of National Green Tribunal.

The petitioner association, represented through senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, contended that the rules illegally and arbitrarily made it mandatory to have the BIS licence and the ‘Standard Mark’.

Prior to the rules, it was optional for the PVC pipe manufacturers to obtain BIS licence considering the requirement of the market and their consumer base, said the petition, filed through advocates Animesh Kumar, Nishant Kumar, Utkarsh Sharma and Shweta Singh.

It said there are several PVC products that are required for plumbing work but are not covered under any of the BIS standards and such non-standard items do not have any replacement.

Therefore, the complete construction sector will come into stand still if only the products with ISI standard marking are allowed to be produced, it said.

In order to obtain BIS certification, the PVC pipe manufacturers are not only required to comply with the prescribed lead standards but also with certain others, including use Indian Standards Institutes (ISI) mark, not at all related to the lead content in the product. PTI SKV SA