Legal Metrology India

Date Of Implementation Under Legal Metrology

Introduction

As we all are aware that there is a requirement for changes from time to time to make proper coordination with a world which is moving faster.

Declaration on packages is the most important part to check while purchasing the product. It is concerned with protecting the interest of the consumer. The importance of declarations on every packed commodity that is available in the market will help the consumer to know the followings:

The Legal Metrology system has a wider scope than we think, it plays an important role in our day-to-day lives and most people are not even aware of its vital role in their purchasing or dealing in the market. The salient features of the legal metrology act there as follows:

Procedure of Issuing a Certificate of Approval under Legal Metrology

Legal Metrology: Delegation Power of Government

The central government in consultation with the state government and by its notification directs that any power exercisable by or under the legal metrology act or any rule made thereunder not being a power conferred by section 15 relating to appeal or section 52 relating to power to make rules concerning such matter and subject to such conditions as may be specified may exercise also by such officer subordinate to it as may be specified in the notification.

Legal Metrology: Rule Making Power of State Government

The state government by its notification and after consultation with the central government may make rules to carry out the provision of the legal metrology act. In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the following power such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters:

Subject to the provision of an act the appeal shall lie from every decision or order under sections 15 to 20, section 22, section 25, section 27 to 39, section 41 or any rule made thereunder by a legal metrology officer appointed under section 13 to the director.

Delegation of Power Under Legal Metrology

The central government may with the consent of the state government and subject to the conditions, limitations and restrictions as may specified in the behalf delegate the power of director under the act as it may think fit to the controller of Legal Metrology in a state.

Penalty for Non-Production of Documents

Any person whoever being required by or under the legal metrology act or the rules made thereunder to do the followings:

Penalty Quoting Publishing Etc for Nonstandard Units

Section 29 of the legal metrology act deals with the penalty coating publishing etc. for nonstandard units by the manufacturer, importer, and Packer of the commodity.

Current Punishment

Current punishment under this section 29 of the act for the second or subsequent offence is imprisonment which may extend up to one year or fine or both.

Proposed Amendments

The proposed amendment for section 29 of the act is the penalty which may increase up to rupees two lacs.

If the compounding is not done after the appeal is a stage then the process of cancellation of a licence issued by the central or state government will be initiated by providing the prior information to the applicant about the initiation of cancellation of license.

Penalty for Contravention in Standard Weights or Measures, Non-Standard Packages Quantity

Section 30 of the legal metrology act deals with penalties under section contravention as standard weights and measures for non-standard package quantity.

Current Punishment

Current punishment under section 30 of the act for a subsequent or second offence is imprisonment which may extend up to one year or fine or both.

Proposed Amendments

The proposed amendment under section 30 of the ACT is the penalty which may increase up to Rupees 2 Lacs.

If the compounding is not done after the appeal stage then the process of cancellation of the licence issued by the central state government will be initiated with information to an applicant.

Penalty for non-production documents by manufacturer importer of the commodity

Section 31 of the legal metrology act deals with the penalty for non-production of documents, or for the production of false documents by the manufacturer, importer, and packer of the commodity to conduct the fraud and to harm the interests of the consumer.

Current Punishment

The current punishment under section 231 of the legal metrology act for second or subsequent offence is imprisonment which may extend up to one year and fine.

Proposed Amendments

Proposed amendment under section 31 of the act is the penalty which may increase up to two Lac rupees.

If compounding is not done after the stage of appeal, then the process of cancellation of the licence issued by the central or state government will be initiated with prior information to the applicant.

Penalty For Failure to Get Model Approval

Section 32 of the legal metrology act deals with the penalty for failure to get approval by the manufacturer, importer, seller, or packer of the commodity.

Current Punishment

The current punishment for the failure to get model approval by the manufacturer, packer, seller or importer of the commodity to commit a second or subsequent offence is imprisonment which may extend up to one year and with a fine.

Proposed Amendment

A proposed amendment to decriminalise the act under this section is the penalty to be increased up to rupees two lacs.

If compounding is not done after the appeal stage then the process of cancellation of the licence issued by the state or central government will be initiated with informing the applicant about the same.

Read Related Blog: GATC Cerifiacte Under Legal Metrology

GATC Cerifiacte Under Legal Metrology

Certificate of Government Approved Test Centers

For the purpose of verification, the office specified weights and measures the certificate of government approved test centers may be suspended by the director in the event of omission or failure on the part of the holder of such certificate. And the proper inspection is conducted for various purposes.

Mark the verification by GATC

Discussing the legal and upcoming amendments under legal metrology with certain verifying just to save the interest of public and consumer to make aware that in this particular weight and measures is legal when it is verified and stamped.

Introduction

Several offences cause a violation under legal metrology. Any person who fails or omits to submit models of any weights or measures for approval commits the violation under legal metrology and shall be liable to be punished with a fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees.

The first thing is the name and address of the manufacturer, Packer, and importer should be mentioned on the package of commodity.

Now if you look at the silent features of the legal metrology act, there are followers of every unit of legal metrology weight and measure with the basic metric system. These features will be based on the following standards.

Introduction

Legal metrology law in India has a wider scope than people usually know about it or think about it. Here we want to make it very clear that every single thing that deals in the Legal Metrology weights measurement of anything whether it's the instrument to measure the temperature of a body, temperature of the weather, weight of gas in the cylinder instrument, an instrument which tells about the petrol supply to the petrol pump, weights of any product, the weight of anything, comes under the ambit of legal metrology.

Offences under legal metrology are committed by the manufacturer, importer, Packer, or seller of the commodity.

While considering the Legal Metrology Rules the government has created four quarters for the facility for the traders and searched four quarters:

If the consumer has any doubt about the correctness of weights and measures used by any trader or industrial establishment, then he should look for the seal of verification stamp of the department and demand a copy of the certificate of verification issued by the legal metrology department. If the consumer is still not satisfied, then he may contact the enforcement officer in the area of jurisdiction.

Control of Legal Metrology Department on Manufacturing Unit

The department of legal metrology has control over the manufacturer, seller, and dealer, of weights and measures, weighing and measuring instruments. It is the power of the legal metrology department to issue the LMPC license to the manufacturer, packer, and importer of the commodity. Legal Metrology Department has control over the following:

Introduction

The one who keeps an eye on the businesses, Legal metrology for e-commerce websites, LMPC manufacturers, packers, and sellers of the commodity is the legal metrology department.

All the states of India have offices of Legal Metrology in their respective states. The officers of Legal Metrology, such as the controller of legal metrology, inspector, etc., keep an eye on the manufacturer, importer, or packer of the commodity, checking out whether they are following the rules and regulations of the act and making proper compliance with the act.

Union Minister Mr Piyush Goyal has addressed a workshop on the decriminalization of offenses under legal metrology by states.

On May 9th, 2022, the central government created penalties for minor offences committed under the act by the offender for the very first time.

On February 2, 2022, a surprise inspection and various raids were conducted by the legal metrology department in various parts of Goa. During that surprise inspection and raids, several shop products and units were seized by the Legal Metrology department due to the non-compliance of the act, improper declarations made on the packages, and considering other factors.

LMPC Inspection of Errors & Quantity in Package

Inspection of errors and quantity in a package is done as per the Legal Metrology Act.

In 2021, the government sent approximately 183 notices to e-commerce firms for violating this provision by not mentioning the country of origin on the website. A heavy fine has been imposed on the e-commerce firms for false offenses committed by them.

Introduction

The BIS certificate and the LMPC certificate are provided to the manufacturer, importer, or dealer of the commodity. It provides authority and provides permission to the manufacturer or importer of the commodity to sell the commodity to the customers. Obtaining the certificate ensures compliance with the act and protects the interests of the consumer.

Importance of Legal Metrology Registration for Business

LMPC registration plays an important role for every business or trade that deals in weights and measures, or pre-packaged commodities in the Indian market. It is important not only for the manufacturer, importer, packer, or seller of the weights and measures, or pre-packed commodities; it also enhances the scope and power of the business or trade in the Indian market.

Provisions for Legal Metrology Declarations

Legal Metrology packaging rules provide the various provisions related to declarations to be made on the packaging of the commodity. The act provides the various rules and guidelines related to the declarations on various kinds of commodities by the manufacturer, importer, packer, and seller of the commodity. It tells how the declaration on the package has to be made in a certain form. All such provisions of the declarations are given below.

The Silent Feature of Weights and Measures Under LMPC

Establishment of weights and measures based on SI units, as adopted by CGPM and recognized by OIML.

Legal Metrology Weights and measures act established and enforced standards of weights and measures to regulate trade and commerce in weights and measures. The act also deals with the other goods which are sold or distributed by weight, measure, or number.

The Legal Metrology Act lays down the procedure for submitting the documents. Any manufacturer, repairer, or dealer who wishes to deal in weights and measures has to submit the documents.

The Prime Minister announced the NIRYAT portal to analyse import-export data, provide stakeholders with convenient access to foreign trade information.

On Thursday, June 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the NIRYAT platform, which will only deal with India's import and export analysis. After unveiling the platform prime minister said that the government has created NIRYAT, or the National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade, to give essential real-time data to all stakeholders.

Proposed amendments to decriminalize the Legal Metrology Provision

Certain amendments have been proposed to decriminalize the provision of legal metrology, and those proposed amendments include the following areas:.

These disputes are majorly handled by the legal metrology officers of the legal metrology department. But the dispute, which arises because of the use of the wrong weight and measure and with the intent to cheat the customer, is under the IPC and the trial of such offenses is initiated in the court of the magistrate.

There is a need to consider the decriminalization of Legal Metrology as it has a characteristic Civil nature. There is a proper criminal procedure laid down for the criminal matters but in the case of Legal Metrology the criminal procedure for investigation, arresting and FIR is different and more like of civil nature.

Every manufacturer or importer has the LMPC license while dealing in weight and measure in the Indian market. However, the license is valid only for a certain time. Every importer or manufacturer has to get their license renewed from the respective authority, and the renewal of the license takes place from time to time whenever the expiry date of the license is near. There is a certain procedure to get the license renewed through the online mode, also known as the online renewal of a license under the legal metrology act.

How to Apply for an Online Renewal of a License?

There is a specified procedure given for the renewal of the license. The very first step for the applicant, who can be the manufacturer or importer of the commodity, is to apply for the renewal of the license, and the procedure of renewal is given in the following steps:

The very first step for the applicant is to fill out the application form, which is provided on the portal of legal metrology of the state government.
Attach all the documents required to get your license renewed under legal metrology.
On display, the acknowledgment number of the application tracking will be shown. You have to note that acknowledgment number for future reference and after that,
The last step is to submit the application form on the portal itself.

In the case of auto-renewal, the license will be issued immediately upon the payment of the necessary fee.

Documents for Renewal of a License

As we have mentioned above, in these steps of the online renewal procedure, the applicant has to submit the relevant documents required to get his license renewed. All such required documents to be submitted by the applicant are given below:

Copy of certificate of approval of models
Certificate copy of the approval of models by the Government of India
Identity proof, such as pan card voter ID card, identity documents, etc.
Labor license
Original license
Records of weight and measures
The Register of weights and measures
Ownership documents such as lease agreements, leave and license agreements, ownership documents of the premises, and lease deeds.

All the documents mentioned above are necessary for the applicant to keep them handy so that, without wasting time, he will fill out the application form and submit all the required documents on the portal of legal metrology to get the license renewed.

Declarations for License Renewal

While getting the license renewed, every applicant has to make certain declarations to the legal metrology department after getting attached all the documents stating that the applicant certifies that he has read the legal metrology Act 2009 and the rules of legal metrology of the concerned state and that he agrees to the act and the rules of legal metrology of the concerned state and also agrees to abide by the administrative order or instruction issued or to be issued thereunder.

The applicant should deposit the scheduled license as per the rules and regulations of the state and the guidelines under the act to the subtreasury or bank, and the original challan should be enclosed with the application.

Legal Metrology Model Approval Fee

The Legal Metrology Act prescribed the fee for the model approval. However, the applicant even paid the fee through the online mode of payment and also pay the online fee for the laboratories for testing weight and measure, or weighing and measuring the instrument.

For every kind of permission, approval, or renewal, the fee is still to be paid by the applicant as per the rules and regulations of the legal metrology act. Under the legal metrology department before taking the model approval or filing the application for the model approval, the applicant must check out their fee for such approval, and it is pertinent to mention that without paying the prescribed fee, the procedure for the approval will not move forward.

The prescribed fee as per the act for testing mechanical types of models of weight and measures is Rs 10,000 and the prescribed fee as per the act for imported or manufactured for protection of measuring instruments is Rs 25,000. However, the application shall be deposited by the applicant with half of the testing fee for testing the substitute material.

The Process to Obtain Model Approval

There is a proper process to get the model approval by the manufacturer and this is important as there are two methods that differ from each other and totally depend on the fact that the applicant is the manufacturer or the importer.

The applicant has to submit the application form along with the required documents.
An applicant has to bring a sample of the product to the legal metrology department for analysis.
The legal metrology department will conduct an inspection of the document submitted by the applicant.
The inspection of the sample would be conducted by the Legal Metrology department.
After completion of all the required steps and the inspection of all the documents as well as the sample, if the Legal Metrology department and the officer of the Legal Metrology department deem fit, then he may grant the model approval to the applicant who can be the manufacturer or importer of weight and measure
As per section 22 of the Legal Metrology Act 2009, the legal metrology department issued the model approval to the applicant.
The office of the legal metrology department is located in Delhi, and the standard application process involves sample testing, application filling by the applicant, and document submissions by the applicant.

After completion of all the above steps, the applicant will receive the model approval of waiting measures.

Legal Metrology for E-Commerce

E-commerce entities are incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and the Companies Act 2013. However, foreign companies are covered under clause 42 of section 2 of the Companies Act 2013. Buying and selling commodities, goods, and services on the platform of an e-commerce portal are known as the e-commerce business.

Components Of Specifications Of Standards

The legal metrology of packed commodities provides an important role in protecting the interests of the consumer and the public at large, whereas in order to make more accuracy in the commodities and the packages of commodities, it is necessary to make them clearer and specify their components on the packages so that no fraud will take place in the market.