New Delhi, Dec 24 : The Centre on Friday said it will soon finalize a proposal to decriminalise the Legal Metrology Act in order to reduce compliance burden for businesses and consumers.
In his virtual address on the occasion of National Consumer Day, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said there is a need to decriminalize the Legal Metrology Act in such a way that both consumer interest is protected and traders or businesses are not harassed.
“This, we will finalize at the earliest,” the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister said.
The Legal Metrology Act 2009 enforces standards related to weights and measures. In its present form, the law prescribes imprisonment, in addition to fine, for second or subsequent offence. On the draft amendment to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) rules, the minister said the government has received “very good” feedback from various stakeholders.
The feedback is being examined to finalize the draft, he said, adding that the amendments have been proposed to curb unfair trade practices on e-commerce platforms and protect the interest of consumers.
Besides, the government has come out with rules on mediation, direct selling and misleading advertisements. Some changes have also been made in the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.
So far, the government has notified 10 rules and six regulations under the Consumer Protection Act 2009.