(1) The Bureau may appoint any person or laboratory or organisation in India or outside India as its agent to act on its behalf for discharging any one or more of the following functions, namely :-
(a) to carry out inspections of manufacturer's premises in India or outside India for allowing use of the Standard Mark or for grant of certificate of conformity;
(b) to test samples of products for their conformity to Indian Standards;
(c) to inspect consignments intended to be covered under the Standard Mark or under certificate of conformity;
(d) to collect market samples; and
(e) to carry out market surveillance and surveys for any goods, article, process, system or service.
(2) The terms and conditions of the appointment of agents shall be set out in an agreement between the Bureau and the agent so appointed:
Provided that the appointment of agents outside India shall be made with the previous approval of the Central Government.