The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has notified The Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and implemented it from 1st April 2011 across the country. The main objective of the Act is to establish the rules for standardization of the methods and means of weighment and measurement for consumer benefit and protection of their interest.

The government has framed and notified a set of Rules to uniformly implement the Act in throughout the country. These rules are:

(i) The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011

(ii) The Legal Metrology (Approval of Models) Rules, 2011

(iii)The Legal Metrology (Numeration) Rules, 2010

(iv) The Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011

(v) The Legal Metrology (National Standards) Rules, 2011

(vi) The Indian Institute of Legal Metrology Rules, 2011

(vii)The Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules,2013

The enactment and implement of the Act and the Rules are under the purview of both Central and State Governments. The policy decisions, framing and implementation of uniform laws of weights and measures, setting up laboratories to test and train staff etc. are under the aegis of the Central Government. The State Government is concerned with the day – to – day implementation of the objectives of the Act and its accompanying Rules.

The term “pre-packaged commodity” has been clearly defined under The Act and it means:

“a commodity which without the purchaser being present is placed in a package of whatever nature, whether sealed or not, so that the product contained therein has a pre-determined quantity”

To deal with pre-packaged commodities (where the purchaser is not able to ascertain the product due to lack of any kind of information or declaration) The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011has been instituted to ensure necessary information is declared on the packs.

A sale is considered to have been transacted when there is a complete transfer of property or goods (which can be weighed, counted or measured) between a buyer and a seller at a defined price. This sale may be constituted through payment of cash or through any banking means acceptable to both parties.

If it is only mortgage or hypothecation or even pledging of goods or property, then that does not constitute a sell. The reason is the lack of complete transfer of property at a price.

According to The Legal Metrology Act, 2009; the term “transaction” has been defined as:

1. any contract, whether for sale, purchase, exchange or any other purpose, or
2. any assessment of royalty, toll, duty or other dues, or

iii. the assessment of any work done, wages due or services rendered;

There is a validity period of different weights and measures which can range from 12 months to 5 years. The process of re-verification is a meant to refresh the verification of the weights and measures at the end of their validity period to ensure and maintain the accuracy of the weights and measure and permit them to be used.

The net quantity of any commodity or product which is contained in a package, constitutes the actual weight, measure or number of the said commodity after excluding the weight or measure of theprimary or secondary packaging or even the protective wrappers.

For example: If we consider a bottle of Kissan Tomato sauce, the label of the bottle states Net Wt. 250 ml. This is the net quantity of the actual consumable product and does not include the weight of the product including the bottle, its plastic cap and the weight of the label stuck on the bottle, or the quantity that can be actually filled in the bottle.

In any packaged item, there is an available surface area on the pack which can be utilized to print and communicate various information to the consumers. The Act states that the pack must contain the “name and address of the manufacturer, or where the manufacturer is not the packer, the name and address of the manufacturer and packer and for any imported package the name and address of the importer”. This information must be printed on the principal display panel. The Principal Display Panel Area should be minimum 40% for the other size packages.

The information should be grouped in an order and printed at the same place in all the packs. This pre-printed information can be grouped in terms of ingredients, contents, manufacturer and marketer names etc. for the ease of communication to consumers. The matter on the principal display panel should be legible and should including manufacturing date and best before or expiry dates to protect the interest of the buyers and consumers.

A “dealer” defined with relation to any weight or measure, is a person who, transacts in the form of purchase or sales with any supplier or consumer directly based on a measured quantity or weight. The transaction involves upfront payment of cash or through deferred payment or in the form of a commission as a percentage of the sales value. A legal definition of dealer can be found here.

“Institutional consumer” refers to the institution which buys the packaged commodity directly from the manufacturer/ importer or wholesale dealer. The commodity is purchased for the use within the institution and is not used for any further commercial purpose or trade with another party.

The packages bought by institutions explicitly declare’not for retail sale’.

The term “Industrial consumer” refers to the consumer who buys the packaged commodity directly from the manufacturer/ importer or wholesale dealer solely for the use of that industry.

The packages bought by industrial consumers explicitly declare ’not for retail sale’.

The retail sale price is the maximum price at which the commodity can be sold in its original packaged form by the retailer to the end consumer and it is inclusive of all taxes, commissions, freight charges etc.

It is mandatory to mention the maximum retail price on the primary packaging of the commodity.

For example: The MRP is mentioned on the package of Lay’s wafers packet and not on the carton which carries 10 – 50 such packets.

There are certain commodities which might undergo significant variation in their weight or measure due to environmental factors or conditions that might lead to some depletion or alternation of their state. Such commodities qualify for “when packed” declaration. The commodities include all kinds of soaps, lotions, cream (other than cream of milk) and camphor.