NEW DELHI, May 28 : The Centre has directed southern states for an early implementation of reforms introduced under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026.
The consumer affairs ministry, in a recent review meeting with representatives of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana governments, said while procedural compliances are being simplified to support honest businesses and traders, strict action against fraud, tampering and violations affecting consumer interests will continue under the legal metrology framework.
“The reforms are aimed at creating a transparent, modern and balanced regulatory ecosystem that promotes both ease of doing business and consumer protection,” the ministry said in a statement.
During the discussion, the states were requested to ensure that the shift from “licensing” to “registration” reflects a genuine trust-based and facilitative regulatory system.
“It was emphasised that registrations should be granted automatically on submission of prescribed documents, without unnecessary delays or prior inspections.”
The ministry also reviewed implementation of the newly introduced “improvement notice” mechanism under the Jan Vishwas reforms.
Under this provision, first-time procedural violations under specified sections of the Legal Metrology Act would attract an ‘Improvement Notice’ before any penal action is taken.
The reform aims to encourage voluntary compliance, reduce litigation and improve ease of doing business while protecting consumer interests.
On the expansion of Government-Approved Test Centres (GATCs), the ministry said states were requested to expedite amendments to their enforcement rules and GATC Rules in line with the amended legal metrology framework.
Participating states said revised rules are in advanced stages of drafting and approval and are expected to be notified shortly, the statement added.
The ministry further urged states and Union Territories to notify their GATC rules at the earliest and expand the scope of instruments covered under the GATC mechanism.
“This is expected to strengthen verification infrastructure, improve availability of verifiers and enable faster service delivery to industries, traders and consumers,” it said.
The ministry also informed that training programmes for legal metrology officers would be organised through the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology (IILM), Ranchi, to strengthen technical capacity and support effective implementation of the reforms. (PTI)
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