The government is going to implement new rules of packaging for things from April next year.
The government is going to implement new rules of packaging for things from April next year. It aims to empower the customers to make the right decisions before buying any packaged item. Under the new rules, manufacturers will have to add additional items to the MRP. They have to mention the price per unit of the commodity.
per kilogram or liter for things weighing more than one kilogram or one liter. And for items of less than one kilogram or one liter per gram or per milliliter (ml), the price has to be given. There will be similar rules for things measured in meters and centimeters.
No limit on quantity will apply
In the amended Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, the norms for prescribed quantity of packaging for 19 types of items have also been reduced. These items include milk, tea, biscuits, edible oil, flour, soft drinks and drinking water, baby food, pulses, bread, cement bags and detergents. With this, any restriction set by the government on the quantity will not apply. With this, the manufacturers will have the freedom to decide the quantity of all the packaged items.
The second major change under these new rules is that on imported packaged items, companies will have to mention the month and year of manufacture. In the current regime, they have to mention the month or date of import or pre-packaging. According to the report of Times of India, on the new rules, an official of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that the quality of a product is determined from the date of its manufacturing. The ministry has notified the changes in the rules.
Customers will get more options
On the first of the two major changes related to quantity and unit price, the official said that the changes have been implemented simultaneously to give more choices to the customers and at the same time ease of doing business for the manufacturers dealing in these items. .
The official further said that once the packaged items are made available in all quantities, the customers will be able to choose the product as per their requirement. They will not have to buy things in large quantities under compulsion. Similarly, companies will also be able to bring more options. But to protect the rights of the customers, a provision has been added to declare the prices in the units, such as kilogram, gram, litre, milliliter, meter and centimeter.
