Quality Inspection in India for Portuguese Importers

Key takeaways

India shipped US$120 million of the goods we inspect to Portugal in 2025, 18% more than in 2024. Footwear and leather goods were US$62 million of it.
Most of the footwear is not finished shoes but parts: footwear parts (HS 6406) rose from US$26 million in 2024 to US$42 million in 2025, of which uppers were US$40 million (UN Comtrade).
Decreto-Lei 238/86 requires information on goods offered to the public in Portugal, including labels and instructions, to be in Portuguese.
Importers of packaged goods join the SIGRE packaging system through a licensed entity such as Sociedade Ponto Verde and declare packaging weights by material each year.

What Portugal buys from India

India reported exports to Portugal of US$120 million in 2025 across the categories Clear To Load inspects, 18% more than in 2024. The mix is unusual: footwear is the largest chapter, and almost all of it is a component rather than a finished shoe.

Source: UN Comtrade, India's reported exports to Portugal, calendar year 2025, FOB.
Category (HS)	2025, US$ million
Footwear (64), of which uppers and their parts (640610) 40.3	46.8
Woven apparel (62)	27.0
Knitted apparel (61)	16.6
Leather articles (42): bags and cases (4202) 8.9, leather clothing and gloves (4203) 5.6	14.7
Ceramic tiles (6907)	7.7
Rugs and carpets (57)	5.7
Finished leather-upper shoes (6403)	4.9

Footwear parts rose from US$26 million in 2024 to US$42 million in 2025. Uppers are bought to be lasted and soled by a shoe factory, so the importer is usually a manufacturer, and the inspection is a component check.

Inspecting shoe uppers in India

The trade data do not say what the uppers are made of; ask your supplier, and name the material in your specification. India's leather footwear makers are concentrated in Agra, Kanpur and Ambur, the Towns of Export Excellence for leather products. A finished-shoe inspection does not fit uppers, because there is no sole, no box and no consumer label. What we check instead:

Checks are set by your specification and approved sample.
Check	Why it matters to the shoe factory
Count by size and side against the size run	A shortfall in one size stops a lasting line
Left and right pairs matched for shade and grain	Mismatched pairs show only after the shoe is made
Stitch density, skipped stitches, thread ends, seam strength	Closing faults open on the last
Skiving and folded edges; lining attached and trimmed	Thick edges cause lumps and rubbing
Grain defects, scars, loose grain and finish cracks	Visible on the toe and vamp after lasting
Measurements against the pattern for each size	Short or narrow uppers do not last cleanly
Moisture and mould; flat packing without creasing	Leather in a closed container can grow mould

Chromium VI is a lab question. The finished shoe must meet the REACH limit for leather parts in contact with skin, so agree a test report per leather lot with your supplier, or we pull and seal samples for an accredited lab. See chromium VI in leather and leather shoe inspection.

Portuguese labels on finished goods

Decreto-Lei 238/86 requires information about the nature, characteristics and guarantees of goods offered to the public in Portugal to be in Portuguese. That covers labels, packaging, leaflets, catalogues and instruction books. Where the information is in another language, a full Portuguese translation must go on the label or packaging, or be added to the leaflet.

The rule is aimed at goods offered to the public, not at uppers sold to a shoe factory. For bags, leather jackets, gloves and garments sold in shops, we check that the Portuguese text is on every sampled unit and matches your approved artwork, and that textile fibre names are in Portuguese as Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 requires. See leather handbags and leather jackets and garments.

Packaging: Ponto Verde declarations

Portugal's packaging producer responsibility sits in Decreto-Lei 152-D/2017, the single regime for specific waste streams. Most companies meet it through SIGRE, the integrated system run by licensed entities such as Sociedade Ponto Verde and Novo Verde. Members, including importers of packaged products, declare each year the packaging they placed on the Portuguese market, and Sociedade Ponto Verde charges the declared weight at a rate per kilogram that differs by material and packaging type.

That makes weights by material per item the figure to collect. Ask the factory for a packaging specification sheet, then have the inspector weigh the cartons, polybags, tissue and inserts of sample units and compare them with it. The EU Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40 has applied since 12 August 2026; ask your entity what changes for your declaration.

Rules that apply

EU-wide import rules (EORI, TARIC, the GPSR responsible person, REACH and ISPM 15 for pallets) are on our EU import compliance checklist. For Portugal's leather and textile lines, see REACH, azo dyes and restricted substances and EU textile labelling. Neighbouring Spain has its own Castilian label rule; see the Spain page if the same goods go to both.

Trade agreement. The EU–India free trade agreement was concluded on 27 January 2026, and the Commission sent its signing and conclusion proposals 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. Ask your customs broker for rates; we do not quote them.

Working hours, reports and booking

India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 with no summer time. Mainland Portugal and Madeira are 5 hours 30 minutes behind India in winter and 4 hours 30 minutes behind in summer; the Azores are one hour further behind. Our office hours, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm IST, Monday to Saturday, are 4:00 am to 1:00 pm in Lisbon in winter and 5:00 am to 2:00 pm in summer. An inspection that ends in the Indian afternoon ends in the Lisbon morning, and the report follows within 24 hours, after supervisor review, with a verdict of Cleared to load, Hold or Not cleared.

A pre-shipment inspection costs US$249 per man-day, report included. Agra, Kanpur and Ambur are outside our inspector base cities, so travel there is charged at actual cost, quoted before you book; Delhi NCR adds US$99 per man-day and Jodhpur has no travel fee. See pricing, or book an inspection and send the size run and approved upper with the booking.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Do you inspect shoe uppers, not just finished shoes?

Yes. For uppers we count by size and side against the size run, match pairs for shade and grain, and check stitching, skiving, lining, leather defects and measurements against the pattern. The checklist comes from your specification and approved sample.

Must labels for Portugal be in Portuguese?

For goods offered to consumers, yes. Decreto-Lei 238/86 requires information on labels, packaging and instructions in Portuguese, with a full translation where another language is used. Other languages may appear as well.

Can you test leather for chromium VI?

Not on site. We pull and seal samples from the lot and send them to an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab you choose or we suggest, then check the lab report against the goods. Lab testing coordination costs US$99 per order.

Who declares packaging for goods made in India and sold in Portugal?

The importer of the packaged goods, usually through a SIGRE entity such as Sociedade Ponto Verde. The Indian factory does not declare, but it supplies the packaging weights, which we can verify by weighing sample units.

Is the EU–India trade agreement in force for Portuguese imports?

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.

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 Portugal