The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, by which companies are now required to print ‘unit sale price’ on packaged commodities.

Key Points

• New amendment will be applicable from April 2022.
• With this move, it will be easier for consumers to find the cost in unit terms.
• This amendment was done for consumers to make a conscious purchase decision. It will also lessen compliance burden on industries.

What amendment has been made?

• Under the amendment, companies which are selling packaged commodities with a quantity of more than one kilogram are required to print ‘unit sale price’ per kg along with its maximum retail price (MRP).
• For instance, a packaged commodity of 2.5 kg should mention a unit sale price per kg along with its total MRP, while a packaged commodity of less than one kg quantity should mention ‘unit sale price’ per gram along with MRP.
• Rule regarding mentioning of quantity on a packaged commodity was amended. Quantity should either be in ‘number’ or ‘unit’ and it should be mentioned as “xxN or xxU” on the pack.

How compliance requirement has been eased?

• In order to ease the compliance requirements, ministry has scrapped Schedule 2 of the rules, under which 19 types of commodities were to be packed in quantities by number or measure or weight in a specified manner.
• According to the rule, rice or wheat flour were required to be packed in 100-gram package, 200-gram package, 500-gram package, 1 kg package, 1.25 kg package, 1.5 kg package, 1.75 kg package, 2kg package, 5 kg package and in multiples of 5 kg.

Amendment regarding MRP

Amendment has been made on the way MRP is printed on the packaged commodities. Currently, MRP is printed in “maximum or max retail price Rs xx.xx” format. If a company mentioned only in “Rs xx” format, it was considered as violation. Now new amendment has been made under which companies are required to give MRP in Indian rupees and they are now free from any set format.