(1) Every package shall .
thereon or on label securely affixed thereto, a definite, plain and conspicu declaration made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as, to—
(a) the name and address of the manufacturer, or where the manufactu '.is“not the packer, the name and address of the manufacturer packer and for any imported package the name and address of 7:‘ importer shall be mentioned.
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Explanation I.—If any name and address of a company is mentlo :7 on the1 label without any qualifying words ’manufactured by’ ,’packed by’, it shall be presumed that such name and address it be thatl of the manufacturer and the liability shall be determl 7' accordingly;
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Explanation II.—If the brand name and address of the brand (M V appear on the label as a marketer, then the brand owner shall:
held responsible for any violation of these rules and action as 7' be required shall be initiated against the deemed manufacturer and:
the event of more than one name and address appearing in the la -, prosecution shall be launched against the manufacturer indicated.- the label in the first place and not against all of them.
' 4[Explanation [IL—In respect of packages containing food artl-J the provisions of this clause shall not apply, but the provisions of, a the requirements specified in the Food Safety and Standards Act, (34 of 2006) and the rules made thereunder shall apply;]
1. Ins. by G.S.R. 858(E), dated 7th September, 2016 (w.e.t. 7—9—2016). 7'
2. Proviso omitted by G.S.R. 784(E), dated 24th October, 2011, read with corrl G.S.R. 832(E), dated 23rd November, 2011 and G.S.R. 426(E), dated 5th June, 201 1-11-2012). The proviso, before omission, stood as under:
”Provided that if a commodity specified in the Second Schedule is packed in a all.
than that prescribed in that Schedule, a declaration that ’Not a standard pack slu ,the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 or ’non-standard size u , ., Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011’~ shall be made prominentlylabel of such package".
3. Ins. by G.S.R. 427(E), dated 5th June, 2012 (w.e.f. 5-6-2012).
4. Subs. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017, for Explanation III (w.e.f. 1-1-2018). 3 was amended by G.S.R. 427(E), dated 5th June, 2012 (w.e.f. 5-6—2012). Explanation m“substitution, stood as under: '7 Cantd. on n ' le 6] The Legal Metro/ogy (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 515 u 1[(aa) The name of the country of origin or manufacture or assembly in case of imported products shall be mentioned on the package;]
(b) The common or generic names of the commodity contained in the package and in case of packages with more than one product, the name and number or quantity of each product shall be mentioned on the package.
(c) The net quantity, in terms of the standard unit of weight or measure, of the commodity contained in the package or where the commodity is packed or sold by number, the number of the commodity contained in the package shall be mentioned.
(d) The month and year in which the commodity is manufactured or pre-packed or imported shall be mentioned in the package:
Provided that for packages containing food articles, the provisions of the 2[Foods Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006)] and the rules made thereunder shall apply:
Provided further that nothing in this sub—clause shall apply in case of packages containing seeds which are labelled and certified under the provisions of the Seeds Act, 1966 (54 of 1966) and the rules made there under:
Slant-s]
Provided also that for packages containing cosmetics products, the provisions. of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 shall apply, 1[(da) If a package contains a commodity which may become unfit for human consumption after a period of time, the best before or use by the date, month and year shall also be mentioned on the label:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply if a provision in this regard is made in any other law.
Explanation 1.—For the purposes of this sub-rule,—
(a) the expression "best before” means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage conditions during which the product shall remain fully marketable and shall retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made and beyond the date commodity may still be safe for consumption:
Contd. from previous page ”Explanation III.—-In respect of packages containing food articles, the provisions of this sub-rule shall not apply, and instead, the requirement of the Foods Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006) and the rules made thereunder shall apply”.
1. Ins. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017 (w.e.f. 1-1-2018).
2. Subs. by G.S.R. 427(E), dated 5th June, 2012, for “Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954)” (w.e.f. 5-6—2012).
3. Third proviso omitted by G.S.R. 784(E), dated 24th October, 2011, read with corrigendum G.S.R. 832(E), dated 23rd November, 2011 (w.e.f. 1—7-2012) The third proviso, before omission, stood as under:
"Provided that a manufacturer may indicate the month and year using a rubber stamp without overwritingz”.
516 The Legal Metro/09y (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 [Rule E
(b) - the expression ”Use by Date” means the date which signifies the e ~ of the estimated period under any stated storage conditions a '1.
which the product shall not have the quality attributes normal] expected by the consumers and after this date, the commodity shoul fl not be regarded as marketable] ‘
(e) the retail sale price of the package l[shall clearly indicate that it is i maximum retail price inclusive of all taxes and the price in rup and paise be rounded off to the nearest rupee or 50 paise;
Illustrations.—for declaration or retail sale price:
(a) Maximum or Max. retail price Rs or ? xx.xx (inclusive of all taxes), or »
(b) Maximum or Max. retail price R5. or ? xx.xx inclusive of all taxn,‘ or
(c) MRP R5. or ? xx.xx incl. of all taxes, or
(d) MRP Rs. or T xx.xx (incl. of all taxes):] »
Provided that for packages containing alcoholic beverages ofs.
spirituous liquor, the State Excise Laws and the rules made thereunder.
shall be applicable within the State'm which it is manufactured a where the state excise laws and rules made thereunder do not provifor declaration of. retail sale price, the provisions of these rules sh apply:
2[Provided further that if the retail sale price of any essentl commodity is fixed and notified by the Competent Authority undl!‘ the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 the same shall apply] 3 £5.
(f) Where the sizes of the commodity contained in the package “If relevant, the dimensions of the commodity contained in the pack:
and if the dimensions of the different pieces are different, ( dimensions of each such different piece shall be mentioned.
(g) such other matter as are specified in these rules:
Provided that— (A) no declaration as to the month and year in which commodity is manufactured or pre-packed shall be requl to be made on— p,
(i) any package containing bidi or incence sticks, —
(ii) any domestic liquefied petroleum gas cylinder of 1 _ kg or 5 kg, bottled and marketed by a public .w ' undertaking;
(B) where any packaging material bearing thereon the month which any commoditywas expected to have been pre-plc is not exhausted during that month, such packaging ma .
;
may“ be used for pre—packing the concerned com . -
1. Ins. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017 (w:e.f. 1-1-2018). A
2. Ins. by G.S.R. 85803), dated 7th September, 2016 (w.e.f. 7-9—2016) .
6] The Legal Melrology (Packaged Commodities) Flu/es, 2011 517 produced or manufactured during the next succeeding month and not there after, but the Central Government may, if it is satisfied that such packaging material could not be exhausted during the period aforesaid by reason of any circumstance beyond the control of the manufacturer or packer as the case may be extend the time during which such packaging material may be used, and, where any such packaging material is exhausted before the expiry of the month indicated thereon, the packaging material intended to be used during the next succeeding month may be used for pre—packing the concerned commodity:
Provided that the said provision shall not apply to the packages containing food products, where the ’Best before or Use before’ period is ninety days or less from the date of manufacture or packing.’ (C) no declaration as to the retail sale price shall be required to be made on:
(i) any package containing bidi;
(ii) any domestic liquefied petroleum gas cylinder of which the price is covered under the Administrative Price Mechanism of the Government.
Explanation I.—-The month and the year in which commodity is pre—packed ay be expressed either in words, or by numerals indicating the month and e year, or by both.
1[(2) Every package shall bear the name, address, telephone number, e-mail ddress of the person who can be or the office which can be contacted, in case f consumer complaints]
(3) It shall not be permissible to affix individual stickers on the package for ltering or making declaration required under these rules:
Provided that for reducing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), a sticker with e revised lower MRP (inclusive of all taxes) may be affixed and the same shall ot cover the MRP declaration made by the manufacturer or the packer, as the ase may be, on the label of the package.
(4) It shall be permissible to use stickers for making any declaration other than the declaration required to be made under these rules.
2[(4A) Nothing in this rule shall preclude a manufacturer or packer or 'mporter to declare the following on the package,in addition to the mandatory declarations—
(a) Barcode or GTIN or QR Code:
1. Subs. by G.S.R. 385(E), dated 14th May, 2015, for sub-rule (2) (w.e.f. 1-1-2016). Sub-rule (2), before substitution, stood as under:
"(2) Every package shall bear the name, address, telephone number, Email address, if available, of the person who can be or the office which can be, contacted, in case of consumer complaints".
2. Ins. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017 (wre.f. 1’1—2018).
518 The Legal Metro/ogy (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 [Rule ',
(b) ’e—code’ for net quantity assurance of the commodity and othof required declarations, after obtaining the same in the manner specified by the Central Government; .3-
(c) logos of Government schemes, such as Swatch Bharat Mission, when such use is authorised by the Central Government] ’
(5) Where a commodity consists of a number of components and the“, components are packed in two or more units, for sale as a single commodity, the declaration required to be made under sub-rule (1) shall appear on .3 main package and such package shall also carry information about the othfl", accompanying packages or such declaration may be given on individual, packages and intimation to that effect may be given on the main package and i, if the components are sold as spare parts, all declarations shall be given “I ' each package.
' 1[(6) Any packaging material or wrapper which could not be exhausted by the manufacturer or packer may be used for packing of the material 2[upto 3“! 5 March, 2012] or till such date the packaging material of wrapper is exhausted, " whichever is earlier, after making the corrections required under these rules by i way of stamping or putting sticker or online printing, as the case may be.]
3[(7)Every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at th.
top of its principal display panel the words ”GM”.]
4[(8) Every package containing soap, shampoos, tooth pastes and oihfl cosmetics and toiletries shall bear at the top of its principal display panel a M or as the case may be, brown dot for products of non-vegetarian origin and I green dot products of vegetarian origin] 5[(9) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in this rule, it shall it.
permissible to affix a label on imported packages for making the declaration.
required under these rules] 6[(10) An E-Commerce entity shall ensure that the mandatory declaration ll ;
specified in sub-rule (1), except the month and year in which the commodity [Iv manufactured or packed, shall be displayed on the digital and electronic network 3 used for ecommerce transactions:
_ 3;
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Provided that in case of market place model of e-commerce, responsibililf of the correctness of declarations shall lie with the manufacturer or seller fl, dealer or importer if,—
(a) the function of the e—commerce entity is limited to providing ato a communication system over which information made avail.
by the manufacturer or seller or dealer or importer is transmitted;
temporarily stored or hosted; or
1. Ins. by G.s,R. 318(E), dated 13th April, 2011 (w.e.f. 1344011).
2. Subs. by G.S.R. 734(E), dated 30th September, 2011,“ for ”upto 30th September, :01 (wet. 309-2011).
» , Ins. by G.S.R. 427(E), dated 5th June, 2012 (w.e.f. 1-1—2013).
Ins. by G.S.R. 137, dated 16th June, 2014 (w.e.f. 1—7-2014).
Ins. by G.S.R. 385(E), dated 14th May, 2015 (w.e.f. 14-52015).
Ins. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017 (w.e.f. 1-1—2018).@5411“?
ule 7] The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 519
(b) the entity does not— “
(i) initiate the transmission;
(ii) select the receiver of the transmission; and
(iii) select or modify the information contained in the transmission:
(c) the entity observes due diligence while discharging its duty as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and also observes such other guidelines as the Central Government may prescribe in this behalf:
Provided further that there shall not be any protection to the market place c-commerce entity if,—
(a) the entity has conspired or abetted or aided or induced, whether by threats or promise of otherwise in the commission of the unlawful act;
(b) upon receiving actual knowledge, or on being notified by the appropriate Government or its agency that any information, data or communication link residing in or connected to a computer resource controlled by the entity is being used to commit the unlawful act, the entity fails to expeditiously remove or disable access to that material on that resource without vitiating the evidence in any manner.
Explanation—For the removal of doubts it is hereby clarified that the provision of this sub-rule shall not provide exemption from the declarations required to be made under these rules on pre-packaged commodities delivered to the consumers]
7. Principal display panel its area, size and letter etc—(1) In the case of a package having a capacity of 1[ten cubic centimeters or less], the principal display panel may be a card or tape affixed firmly to the package and‘shall bear the required information.
i 2[(2) The height of any numeral and letter in the declaration required under these rules shall be as per Table-1.]
' 3[(3) The width of the letter or numeral shall not be less than one-third of its height, except in the case of numeral ”1” and letters (i), (1) and (1).]
1. Subs. by G‘SR. 385(E), dated 14th May, 2015, for ”five cubic centimeters or less” (w.e.f.
14-5-2015).
2. Subs. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017, for sub-rule (2) (w.e.f. 1—1-2018). Sub-rule (2), before substitution, stood as under:
”(2) The height of any numeral in the declaration required under these rules, on the principal display panel shall not be less than,—
(i) as shown in Table—I, if the 'net quantity is declared in terms of weight or volume;
(ii) as shown in Table—I], if the net quantity is declared in terms of length, area or number.”.
3. Subs. by G.S,R 629(E), dated 23rd june, 2017, for sub-rule (3) (w.e.f. 1-1-2018). Sub—rule (3), before substitution, stood as under:
I ”(3) The height of letters in the declaration shall not be less than 1 mm height and when blown, formed, molded, embossed or perforated, the height of letters shall not be less than 2 mm:
Provided that the width of the letter or numeral shall not be less than one-third of its height, except in the case of numeral ’1’ and letters (i), (I) and (l);”i 520 _ The Legal Metro/09y (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 [Rule 1[TABLE-I ‘ Serial Area of Principal Minimum height of Minimum height of numerar Number display panel in numerals and letters and letters when blown, square centimeters in millimeters formed or molded on (A) , surface of container in millimeters
(1) (2) (3)
1. A s 50 1.0 1.5
2. 50 < A g 100 1.5 ‘
3.0
3. 100< A s 500 2.5 4.0
4. 500 < A s 2500 4.0 6.0
5. 2500<A 6.0 6.0] TABLE-II ‘ 2[mu-]
1. Subs. by G.S.R. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017, for Table-I (w.e.f. 1-1-2018). Table-I, be - substitution, stood as under:
”TABLE I Minimum Height of Numeral Serial Net quantity in Minimum height in m Number weight/volume Normal When blown, formed, case molded, embossed or perforated on container
1. Upto 200g/ml 1 2
2. Above 200g/ml 2 4 and upto SOOg/ml
3. Above 500g/ml 4 6”
2. Table II Omitted by (3.5.x. 629(E), dated 23rd June, 2017 (w.e.f. 1-1—2018). Table 11, be!
omission, stood as under: ~ 1" ”TABLE [I Q:
Minimum Height of Numeral i.
4 ‘ Serial Net quantity in length, Minimum height in mm ‘ Number area or number area of principal display panel Normal When blown, formed, case molded, embossed or - perforated on container
1. Upto 100 cmz 1 . 2
2. Above 100 cm2 and 2 4 upto 500 cm2 ‘
3. Above 500 cm2 and 4 6 upto 2500 cm2
4. Above 7500 cm2 6 6” ule 8] The Legal Metro/09y (Packaged Commodities) hules, 2011 " 521 1[(4) The area not including the top, bottom, flange at top and bottom of cans, and shoulders and neck of bottle and jars shall be determined in the following anner, namely:—
(a) in the case of a rectangular package, where one entire side can properly be considered to be the principal display panel side, the product of the height multiplied by the width of that side;
(b) in case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical package, 40 per cent.
of the product of the height of the package multiplied by the circumference;
(c) in case of any other shaped package, 40 per cent. of the total surface of the package, or an area considered to be a principal display panel of the 'package.
(5) Except size of the numbers and letters for declaring net weight, retail sale price, date of expiry or best before or use by date (wherever and as applicable) and consumer care details, the provisions under sub-rules (1) to (4) shall not apply to a package if the information to be specified on such package under this rule is also required to be given by or under any other law for the time being in force.]