Quality Inspection in India for German Importers

Key takeaways

Germany took US$2,064 million of India's exports in our product categories in 2025, up 5% on 2024, led by apparel, footwear and furniture (UN Comtrade).
Germany's Product Safety Act (§ 6 ProdSG) requires the GPSR instructions and safety information in German, so the printed inserts and labels are a factory-side check.
Since 12 August 2026 the VerpackDG and the EU PPWR replaced the VerpackG; LUCID registration continues, and your registration needs packaging weights by material for each item.
The EU–India free trade agreement was concluded on 27 January 2026 but was not signed or in force on 14 October 2026.

What Germany buys from India

Among EU countries, Germany is the largest buyer of the Indian consumer goods we inspect. In calendar year 2025 India exported US$2,064 million of them to Germany, 5% more than in 2024. US$540 million of that was home goods (UN Comtrade, India's reported exports, FOB).

Source: UN Comtrade, India as reporter, calendar year 2025.
Category	India's exports to Germany, 2025 (US$ million)
Knitted apparel (HS 61)	529
Woven apparel (HS 62)	376
Footwear (HS 64)	318
Furniture and lighting (HS 9401, 9403–9405)	190, of which other furniture (9403) 92
Bags and cases (HS 4202)	154
Home textiles (HS 6301–6304)	143, of which bed, table and kitchen linen (6302) 72
Rugs and carpets (HS 57)	91

Handicrafts tell the same story. The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts reports US$210.28 million of handicraft exports to Germany in FY 2024-25, up 13.74%, with Germany taking 8.6% of India's woodwares and 8.6% of its art metalware (EPCH Annual Report 2024-25, excluding hand-knotted carpets).

Where those goods are made in India

The Indian government names Towns of Export Excellence for a specific product (DGFT Appendix 1B). The ones behind Germany's main lines:

Knitwear: Tirupur, a Town of Export Excellence for hosiery. See T-shirt and knit top inspection.
Shoes and leather bags: Agra, Kanpur and Ambur, each listed for leather products. See leather shoe inspection and leather handbag inspection.
Furniture and woodwares: Jodhpur and Saharanpur, both listed for handicrafts. See sheesham wood furniture.
Art metalware: Moradabad, a Town of Export Excellence for handicrafts since the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.
Rugs: Bhadohi, listed for carpets and other textile floor coverings. See hand-knotted wool rugs.

Jodhpur, Saharanpur and Moradabad are among our inspector bases. Tirupur, Agra, Kanpur, Ambur and Bhadohi are reached by travel.

Checks a German order adds at the factory

German-language text. The EU product safety regulation lets each member state set the language of instructions and safety information (GPSR Art. 9(7)). Germany requires German, in § 6 of its Product Safety Act (ProdSG). Textile fibre labels must also be in German under Regulation (EU) 1007/2011. Our inspectors work in English and Hindi, so they check the printed inserts, swing tags and sewn labels against your approved German artwork word for word, not by translating. Wrong-language or old-version inserts are recorded as a labelling finding, which puts the report on Hold.

Traceability marks. The manufacturer's name and address, your EU contact and a type or batch number must be on the product or its packaging under the GPSR. We check they are present and match the purchase order.

Packaging data for LUCID. Since 12 August 2026 the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the German Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG) have replaced the VerpackG. LUCID registration, participation in a dual system and data reporting continue for packaging that ends up with private end users. The first German company in the supply chain, usually the importer, is normally the producer; a foreign company that ships direct to German end users is the producer and must now appoint an authorised representative (ZSVR). Register before the goods arrive, or they cannot be sold. On request, we weigh the packaging of each item by material (cardboard, plastic film, foam, paper fill) and record it in the report, so your registration and dual-system reporting use measured figures.

Product-specific checks. For kitchenware, the food-contact symbol and declaration (EU 1935/2004 and LFGB). For wooden furniture, the species against your EUDR file. For apparel, leather and shoes, sealed samples for azo dye and chromium VI tests at an accredited lab.

Rules that apply

The EU-level rules, including GPSR, REACH, EUDR, textile labelling and ISPM 15, are set out in the EU import compliance checklist. For the detail behind the checks above, see EU GPSR, EUDR for wood furniture, REACH and azo dyes and restricted substances. Textile and footwear producer responsibility is coming too: Directive (EU) 2025/1892 requires member states to set up schemes by April 2028.

Trade agreement. The EU and India concluded a free trade agreement on 27 January 2026, and the European Commission sent its proposals for signature and conclusion to the Council on 11 September 2026. As of 14 October 2026 it was not signed or in force, so normal EU duty rates apply. We do not advise on duty; ask your customs broker.

Time difference and when reports arrive

India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 with no daylight saving. India is 4:30 ahead of Germany in winter and 3:30 ahead in summer. Our office hours, Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 6:30 pm IST, run from 5:00 am to 2:00 pm in Frankfurt in winter and 6:00 am to 3:00 pm in summer, so a German buyer has the whole morning to talk to us while the inspector is still at the factory. The report follows within 24 hours of the inspection, after supervisor review, and ends in one verdict: Cleared to load, Hold or Not cleared.

Booking and price

An inspection costs US$249 per man-day: one inspector, one factory, one working day of 8 hours, report included. There is no travel fee in Jodhpur. Jaipur, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Delhi NCR and Kolkata add US$99 per man-day; anywhere else is charged at actual travel cost, quoted before you book. The price is the same for every destination. See pricing.

For a German order, send the German label and insert artwork with the booking, and say whether you want packaging weighed for LUCID. For furniture going in full containers, add container loading supervision. Book an inspection.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Must instructions for goods sold in Germany be in German?

Yes. § 6 of the German Product Safety Act requires the instructions and safety information under GPSR Article 9(7), and related warnings, to be in German. Textile fibre labels must also be in German under Regulation (EU) 1007/2011.

Is the VerpackG still the German packaging law?

No. Since 12 August 2026 the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the German VerpackDG have replaced it. LUCID registration, dual-system participation and data reporting continue, according to the ZSVR, the central packaging register.

Can you weigh our packaging for the LUCID register?

Yes, on request. The inspector weighs the packaging of each item by material and records it in the report. The registration and the dual-system contract stay with you as the producer.

Does the EU–India free trade agreement apply to our imports yet?

No. It was concluded on 27 January 2026 but, as of 14 October 2026, it had not been signed or entered into force. Normal EU duty rates apply.

Can your inspector read German labels?

Our inspectors work in English and Hindi. They compare the printed German text with your approved artwork character by character and photograph every label, so a wrong or outdated version is caught without translation.

Know before it ships

Tell us the product, the factory's city and your ready date. We confirm the inspector, the notice time and the price before you book.

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Quality inspection in India for importers in Germany