The new retail norms from the Government of India, has caused a stir within the toy community. The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has come forward and expressed their displeasure, as they said that adhering to the new norms will surely hurt their sales.
The norms, which were notified in September, specifies that all imported toys should be tested locally and comply with the standards prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, said RAI.
It also said while as per the new notification, ‘representative sample of the toys being imported’ are to be tested “by an independent laboratory which is accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), India,” currently, none of the independent laboratories in India are NABL-accredited.
The move would result in customer dissonance as toys are popular among children during the festive season, it said. “Non-availability of toys will lead to customer dissonance since retailers will not be able to meet the high demand of toys.”
Pointing out to the difficulties in complying with the norms, the RAI said, “It is therefore imperative to ensure adequate transition period of 12 to 18 months as is the norm in many other large markets.”
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