Pre-packed commodities, such as biscuits, butter, pulses, rice, salt, baby food, bread, flour, ghee, and many other items are brought by consumers on a day-to-day basis to meet their needs. Packs of different quantities might confuse consumers in making a right decision.  To resolve consumers problem and to safeguard their interest, the Department of Consumer Affairs has introduced several amendments under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2021 which shall come into effect from 1st April,2022.

Key Highlights of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2021:

1. Declaration of Maximum Retail Price (MRP): The new rules make it mandatory to declare the MRP of a particular commodity on the packaging in Indian currency only.

2. Declaration of date of Manufacture: The month and year in which the commodity was manufactured must be declared on the package. This will help consumers in making informed decisions while buying such commodity.

3. Indicate Unit Sale Price on Pre-Packed Commodities: Unit Sale price must be indicated on pre-packed commodities in the following manner based on the net quantity, length or volume of a particular pre-packed commodity:

4. Symbol for item sold by number: The new rules has done away with the requirement of denoting quantities of commodity in the package as ‘N’ or ‘U’ only. The rules permit expressing of quantities in terms of numbers/unit/piece/pair/set of such other words which will easily represent the quantity of a particular package.

5. Omission of Rule 5: The compliance requirement to pack specified commodities as per required standards under Rule 5 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 has also been omitted.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2021 will not only aid consumers in making informed choices by knowing how much they are paying for per gram of commodities, but also give a greater control to them over the items they buy. While consumers will be benefitted by this new Amendment, the said rules cast an important obligation on the manufacturers of the pre-packaged commodities to ensure compliance to the obligations prescribed under the new rules. The manufacturers must take immediate steps to identify the compliance requirements and ensure compliance of the same.

At Lexplosion, we have been working with a lot of FMCG companies, helping them in understanding and landscaping with the new norms and compliance regulations, under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2021. Komrisk, Lexplosion’s compliance management tool helps such companies manage, monitor, and mitigate their legal risks. To know how we can help your organization, connect with us now.

Source: https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/uploads/legal-metrology-acts-rules/GSR226.pdf

Written by: Amanya Gangawat

Reviewed by: Anchal Sharma

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