Lok Sabha Question No. 729 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-01
Subject: Legal Metrology
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 729

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.03.2016

## LEGAL METROLOGY

## 729. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has revised/ amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rule, 2011; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the major amendments made therein?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=ky; ea=h ¼Jh jke foykl ikloku½

## CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## THE MINISTER OF (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)

- (a) & (b) : Madam, the Legal Metrology  (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 were notified under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 vide GSR 202 (E) dated 7 th March, 2011 and were come into force w.e.f. 1 st April , 2011 with the Legal Metrology Act and other Rules framed under the said Act.

Yes Madam, these Rules are amended from time to time in the interest of consumers and industries. The major amendments made in the said Rules are as follows:

- (i) Proviso to the Rule 5 of the original rules provided for non standard packages. In order to protect the consumers interest to get the correct quantity amendments was made under the Rules, vide GSR 784 (E) dated 24 th October, 2011 and vide GSR 426(E) dated 5 th June, 2012 to omit the proviso of Rule 5 to pack the 19 commodities mentioned in the second schedule of the said rules in the prescribed pack sizes only.

These  19  commodities  are  Baby  food,  Weaning  food,  Biscuits,  Bread  including  brown bread  but  excluding  bun,  Un-canned  packages  of  butter  and  margarine,  Cereals  and  Pulses, Coffee,  Tea,  Materials  which  may  be  constituted  or  reconstituted  as  beverages,  Edible  Oils Vanaspati, ghee, butter oil, Milk Powder, Non-soapy detergents (powder), Rice(powdered), flour, atta,  rawa,  and  suji,  salt,  Soaps  (Laundry  Soap,  Non-soapydetergent  cakes/  bars,  Toilet  Soap including all  kinds  of  bath  soap,  cakes),  Aerated  soft  drinks,  non-alcoholic  beverages,  Mineral water and drinking water, Cement in bags, Paint varnish etc. [Paint (other than paste paint or solid paint) varnish, varnish stains, enamels, Paste paint and solid paint, Base paint].

- (ii) A new provision to Rule No.5 of the said Rules was inserted vide GSR 427 (E) dated 5 th June, 2012 through an amendment, related with the sale of retail packages on promotional offer and value based packages from Rs. 1.00 to 10.00 irrespective of any quantity stated in the second schedule  in  the  interest  of  small  consumers.    A  new  provision  in  Rule  6  was  made  for  the packages containing genetically modified food to declare 'GM' on its display panel.
- (iii) A new provision to Rule No. 18 of the said Rules was inserted vide GSR 359(E) dated 6 th June,  2013 through an amendment for the delivery of correct quantity of  LPG cylinders to the consumers.  A  new  provision  in  Rule  32  was  made  for  the  compounding  sum  for  violation  of provisions of Act and Rules to prescribe under the said Rules.
- (iv) A new provision to Rule No. 6 of the said Rules was inserted vide GSR 137 dated 16 th June,    2014, through  an  amendment that for 'every package containing soaps, shampoos, tooth pastes and other cosmetics and toiletries shall bear at the top of its principal display panel a red or, as the case may be, brown dot for products of non-vegetarian origin and a green dot for products of  vegetarian  origin'  (However,  Hon'ble  High  Court of  Bombay and Delhi  has directed not to make coercive action in the matter).
- (v) A new provision to Rule No.26 of the said Rules was inserted vide GSR 870(E) dated 4 th December,  2014,  through  an  amendment  that  'any  thread  which  is  sold  in  coil  to  handloom weavers' is exempted from the purview of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 to safeguard the interest of small weavers.
- (vi) To safeguard the interest of industries/consumers an amendment is made vide GSR 385(E) dated 14 th May,  2015,  to  amend  the  definitions  of  industrial  and  institutional  consumers  under Rule 2 of the said Rules, in the interest of industries. A new provision in Rule 6 was made to allow the Importers to put a label on imported packages for making the declaration required under the Rules. Further, Rule 10 was also amended to allow the registered address of the company or firm to be declared on pre-packaged commodities. It is also  made mandatory to declare all the declarations  required  under  these  rules  on  tobacco  and  tobacco  products  of  any  quantity  by amending Rule 26 of the said Rules.

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