Quality Certification Support (ZED and Other Certifications) under the UP MSME Promotion Policy 2022

What is quality certification support under the UP MSME Policy 2022?

Quality certification support is the reimbursement offered under paragraph 5.5 of the Uttar Pradesh Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Policy 2022, notified by Government Order dated 28 September 2022. The Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Export Promotion is the nodal department for the policy, and the Directorate of Industry and Enterprise Promotion runs the claim process.

The policy's reasoning is set out plainly. Global standards on environment and technical benchmarks have moved fast, and investment in technological upgradation and testing infrastructure is described as vital for the competitive bandwidth of micro, small and medium enterprises. A small unit in Uttar Pradesh that wants to supply an exporter or a large OEM is usually asked for a certificate it cannot afford to obtain. The state's answer is to pay most of the cost back.

The policy encourages MSMEs to attain quality parameters such as Zero Effect Zero Defect (ZED), WHO-GMP, Hallmark and other national or international quality certifications that are endorsed or accredited by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) or NABCB (QCI). Support is offered in the form of reimbursement.

Who is eligible for certification support?

Your unit can claim if:

• It is a micro, small or medium enterprise in Uttar Pradesh, as defined by the MSMED Act 2006 and its amendments. The size decides the percentage.
• It has obtained, or is obtaining, a quality certification or approval that is endorsed or accredited by BIS or NABCB (QCI); ZED, WHO-GMP, Hallmark or another accredited certification.
• It has actually incurred and paid the cost being claimed. Every component here is a reimbursement.
• It is a manufacturing unit, or one of the manufacturing-related service units the policy includes, such as Common Effluent Treatment Plants, Common Facility Centres and research and design services.

Your unit cannot apply if:

• It manufactures tobacco products, gutkha or pan masala, alcohol, aerated or carbonated drinks, firecrackers, or plastic carry bags below 40 microns, or anything else in the state's prohibited category. The policy does not apply to those investment proposals at all.
• The certification is not endorsed or accredited by BIS or NABCB (QCI).
• You are an individual seeking a personal benefit. This is an enterprise-level reimbursement against invoices, not a citizen entitlement.
• The same head of benefit has already been claimed under another Uttar Pradesh policy. The 2022 policy bars duplication across state policies.

How much is reimbursed?

The policy sets one table with four components and three slabs by unit size.

The percentages fall as the unit grows, which is deliberate. A micro unit recovers three quarters of its certification bill, a medium unit a quarter.

What else is reimbursed under the same paragraph?

Paragraph 5.5 of the policy carries three further supports that sit alongside certification and are claimed the same way:

• Patents and Geographical Indications, reimbursement of 75 percent, up to Rs 10 lakh, of the cost of documentation for national and international patents and GI registry. Process patents are eligible. Attorney fees are reimbursed up to Rs 50,000 for a national application and Rs 2,00,000 for an international one. This support is released only after the patent or GI tag is granted, not on filing.
• ERP systems; 75 percent of capital expenditure, up to Rs 1 lakh, for installing ERP systems approved by the Directorate of Industries and Enterprises Promotion, Uttar Pradesh.
• ICT facilities; 75 percent of capital expenditure, up to Rs 5 lakh, for implementing ICT platforms and facilities.

The policy also commits the state to developing standards, in coordination with BIS and QCI, for products whose quality standards have not yet been determined, so that such products can be made globally competitive.

What documents does a claim need?

How to apply for ZED and quality certification reimbursement

The policy requires units to apply through online mode for financial assistance and lets them track the application status online.

1. Get Udyam Registration for the unit, since the reimbursement slab depends on whether it is micro, small or medium.
2. Obtain the certification, ZED, WHO-GMP, Hallmark or another certification endorsed or accredited by BIS or NABCB (QCI), and pay the certifying or testing body. Keep the invoices, the payment proof and the certificate itself.
3. File the reimbursement claim online with the Deputy Commissioner of Industries of your district, attaching the Udyam certificate, the certificate obtained, the paid invoices and a chartered accountant's certificate of the expenditure.
4. District evaluation. The Deputy Commissioner evaluates the file and forwards it with recommendations to the Joint Commissioner of Industries of the division.
5. Divisional approval — a committee chaired by the Divisional Joint Commissioner of Industries approves the claim. District Deputy Commissioners, divisional officers of power, pollution control and labour, and district Lead Bank Managers sit on that committee.
6. Track the sanction and disbursal through the Directorate's online system, and follow up with the district office if the sanction is issued but the payment has not arrived.

Where the claim is for a patent or a GI tag, wait until the grant. The policy is explicit that this support is given only after the patent or geographical indication tag has been granted.

How the claim is processed above the division

• A State Level supported Committee, chaired by the Commissioner and Director of Industry, Uttar Pradesh, technically evaluates claims, calculates the benefits and seeks the budget from government.
• A High Powered Committee under the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner reviews progress and handles inter-departmental coordination.

Because disbursal follows a budget sought by the state committee, a claim sanctioned late in a financial year is commonly paid in the following one.

Why certification claims get rejected

• The certification is not BIS or NABCB (QCI) accredited, so it falls outside the category the policy supports.
• Invoices are in a different name from the enterprise on the Udyam certificate.
• Cost was not actually paid. A proforma invoice or a quotation cannot support a reimbursement claim.
• Wrong slab claimed. A small enterprise claiming the 75 percent micro rate.
• Component limits exceeded, for instance claiming Rs 5 lakh against the IT system component, which is capped at Rs 2 lakh.
• Patent claim filed before grant. Documentation support arrives only after the patent or GI tag is granted.
• Prohibited product line under the policy.
• Duplication, where the same head of benefit has been drawn under another state policy.

What sits around this support

Certification support is one strand of a wider quality and capability package in the 2022 policy that a growing unit should read together:

• Technical upgradation. The state's existing Technical Upgradation Scheme is to be re-tuned and publicised, with capital and interest subsidy available for projects taken up for product quality improvement, environmental improvement, energy efficiency, quality packaging, training facilities and computerised quality control.
• Cluster linkage: each MSME cluster in the state is to be connected with a technical and management institute which provides technical and vocational counselling and sets up cluster-related mini Centres of Excellence, with the local District Industries and Enterprise Promotion Centre as first point of contact.
• Incubation; incubation centres in state engineering colleges, ITIs and polytechnics, to strengthen the industry-academia link.
• Training, the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, Lucknow acts as the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development programmes across districts, and the Uttar Pradesh Institute of Design, Lucknow is to be upgraded for design training.
• Udyog 4.0, a working group to promote IoT, fast communication technologies and 3D printing across value chains.

Help and grievance redressal

• Deputy Commissioner, District Industries and Enterprise Promotion Centre (DIEPC) of your district; where the claim is filed and first evaluated.
• Directorate of Industries and Enterprise Promotion, Uttar Pradesh at msme.up.gov.in.
• Nivesh Mitra at niveshmitra.up.nic.in, the state single window portal, for approvals and its helpdesk.
• UP Jansunwai (IGRS) at jansunwai.up.nic.in for a written grievance with an online tracking number.

The English text of the policy published by Invest UP carries a note that it is a translation and that the Hindi Government Order prevails in case of any discrepancy. For a contested computation, rely on the Hindi order of 28 September 2022.

How to check your application status

Certification claims move through two offices in sequence: the district Deputy Commissioner of Industries first, then the divisional committee. Checking status means finding out which of the two currently holds your file.

• Check online first. The Directorate of Industries and Enterprise Promotion runs the portal at msme.up.gov.in, and the policy commits to letting applicants track claim status online through this system. Use the login or reference number generated when you filed the claim.
• Call or visit the district office if the online status has not moved for several weeks. The Deputy Commissioner, District Industries and Enterprise Promotion Centre (DIEPC) of your district is the first evaluator, so this is the right office to ask whether your file has already gone up to the division or is still under district review.
• Ask the divisional office once the district confirms the file has been forwarded. Divisional approval sits with the committee chaired by the Joint Commissioner of Industries of the division, so a claim can sit there even after the district has cleared it.
• Note the seasonal gap. Because disbursal depends on a budget that the State Level supported Committee has to seek from the government, a claim can be sanctioned but wait for payment into the next financial year. If your status shows "sanctioned" but no payment has arrived, that budget cycle, not a fresh problem with your file, is the usual reason; confirm the disbursal timeline with the district office rather than refiling.
• Use Nivesh Mitra for single-window issues. If your claim is linked to an approval originally routed through the state single window system, niveshmitra.up.nic.in and its helpdesk can also confirm where an application stands.
• Escalate through Jansunwai (IGRS) at jansunwai.up.nic.in if the district and divisional offices give no clear answer. A written grievance there generates an online tracking number and a mandated response timeline, which is useful when a claim has stalled without explanation.

Keep your Udyam number, the date you filed the claim, and the name of the district officer you last spoke to on hand for every follow-up call; claims are tracked by district office and by unit, not by a single centralised ticket number.