Import Norms Relaxed for Compressors Till 2027

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has allowed manufacturers of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment to import specified quantities of certain compressors without complying with the mandatory Quality Control Order (QCO) till March 31, 2027.

The department has issued the Air-Conditioner and its related Parts, Hermetic Compressor and Temperature Sensing Controls (Quality Control) Amendment Order, 2026, in this regard on May 8.

"This order shall not apply to goods or articles specified ...imported by a manufacturer of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment and related parts for the purposes of its own manufacturing, up to 31st March, 2027, to the volume specified," the order said.

Each company can import only a fixed quantity based on its 2024-25 import levels, while imports beyond those limits must meet full QCO requirements.

Under the order, refrigerator compressors below 2-ton capacity can be imported without QCO compliance up to 40 per cent of 2024-25 import volumes.

Compressors below 2 tons used in air-conditioners and heat pumps are capped at 30 per cent.


Larger scroll and rotary compressors used in refrigeration and cooling systems are allowed up to 90 per cent, while compressors for VRF (variable refrigerant flow) and air-conditioning systems can continue to be imported up to 100 per cent of previous import volumes without QCO compliance.

"The manufacturer shall maintain monthly record of goods or articles specified... and furnish the same to the authorities concerned in their letterhead signed by its authorised signatory and shall also submit a plan for indigenisation of goods or articles to the central government," it said.

Compressors are critical components in air-conditioners, refrigerators and heat-pump systems, affecting product life, energy efficiency and safety.

Commenting on the move, think tank GTRI said the government appears to have introduced the relaxation because domestic manufacturing capacity, BIS certification infrastructure and localisation levels are still insufficient to support full-scale implementation of the QCO regime without disrupting production.

The move offers immediate relief to manufacturers dependent on imported compressors and helps avoid supply shortages in the AC and refrigeration sector during peak demand periods, it said.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava recommended that the government should test product quality at Indian ports for both QCO-exempt and non-exempt imports.