In March 2000, the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, launched the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), designed to establish national standards for organic products which could then be sold under the logo India Organic. To ensure the implementation of NPOP, the National Accreditation Policy and Programme (NAPP) has been formulated, with Accreditation Regulations announced in May 2001. These make it mandatory that all certification bodies, whether already engaged or proposing to engage in inspection and certification of organic crops and products, should be accredited by an Accreditation Agency. Foreign certification bodies operating in the country must also be accredited.

Local voluntary standards. In some countries, individual certification bodies may produce their own standards which can be more stringent than the regulation in force, usually in response to specific consumer demands. Although these are not legally enforceable, private certifiers may be more restrictive than is required by law.