Minor Packaging & Weighing Mistakes Won't Face Immediate Penalties Under New Jan Vishwas Rules

New Delhi, Jul 1 (KNN) The central government has introduced a significant compliance relief measure under the Legal Metrology Act, under which businesses committing a technical or procedural violation for the first time will not face fines or prosecution, and will instead be issued a notice and given a specified period to rectify the error.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has implemented the provision under the Jan Vishwas Act, 2026. Action will be taken only if the correction is not made within the stipulated period or if the same violation is repeated.

The measure covers a wide range of entities including manufacturers, importers, packers, dealers, repairers, traders, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and other registered businesses. 

The areas covered under the framework include registration, maintenance of records and documents, model approvals, manufacturing, sale and repair of weights and measuring instruments, imports, packaged commodities regulations, mandatory declarations, and filing of returns.

The government stated that the objective is to support honest businesses, simplify compliance, and reduce unnecessary litigation, while ensuring consumer interests are not compromised. 

Enforcement agencies will, under the new system, focus on serious cases involving consumer fraud, incorrect weights and measures, misleading labelling, or repeated violations. 

Minor procedural lapses will be treated as correctable, while strict action will continue where consumer rights are materially affected. 

The government has separately clarified that deliberate fraud will continue to attract strict penal action.

(KNN Bureau)