Guide to Legal Metrology Certification for Importing Goods

The official government of India created the Act on Legal Metrology, which provides a framework for using measurements and weights in business operations. It is intended to protect the interests of consumers, guarantee the accuracy of weighing and measuring devices, and preserve their security. Companies that manufacture weights and measures in India are required to acquire a manufacturing license for legal metrology. A Legal Metrology department in the state where the facility for manufacturing is located is the one that issued this license.

Important characteristics:

• Online Request Form
• Certificate Particular to a Model
• adherence to the laws governing metrology
• Extensive confirmation
• Interstate Repairs Notification

How Do I Apply for a License in Legal Metrology?

There are several phases involved in completing the application procedure for a Legal Metrology Manufacturer License. Since the application must be submitted online, you can obtain the necessary form and upload the supporting documentation on the Department's official website. Following submission, the Department conducts an inspection of the manufacturing facility to verify full compliance with legal metrology requirements. This step-by-step tutorial will make it simple for you to comprehend and navigate through the Legal Metrology Manufacturers Registrations procedure.

Step 1: Get the application here - Go to the official website of the Legal Metrology Department in your state to access and download the application for a Manufacturer License in Legal Metrology. Make sure you download the most recent version of the form as this is your one-stop shop for licensing needs.

Step 2: Fill out the application - Complete the application according to the given instructions, and affix the necessary documentation. For first license, the LM-I form can be utilized. On another hand, you can utilize the LM2 form to renew a license that has expired.

Step 3: Paying the fee and submitting - After completing your application, you can submit it by completing the required application cost. The authorities will review the forms and documentation that have been submitted before moving on to the next phase.

Step 4: Examining and confirm - The agency will dispatch representatives to examine the applicant's company's manufacturing facilities prior to granting the license. This is done to make sure that all required prescribed standards are reached and that all Legal Metrology requirements are complied with.

Step 5: Issuing Licenses - A Manufacturing License under the Legal Metrology Act will be issued to it by Legal Metrology Department if the company satisfies all the requirements. The Form-LM-3 is used to grant the license.

Cost of a Legitimate Metrology Manufacturer License

The application fees for filling the forms with the documents and fees for professionals, if you need expert legal metrology manufacturing license consultation, determine the total cost of the license.

Validity and Renewability

A legal metrology manufacturing license normally has a one-year minimum validity duration when it is granted. Nonetheless, they might be prolonged for no longer than five years. The application for renewal needs to be sent in a minimum of thirty days before the expiration date. The Controller or another authorized individual is in charge of the procedure, which is carried out using the LM-2 form. Schedule IV to this Legal Metrology Act specifies the applicable renewal charge.

Important Things to Bear in Mind -

1. Present - The Legal Metrology Act requires licenses to be conspicuously displayed in the company's location where the licensee operates, whether they are newly issued or renewed.

2. Not Transferable - It is crucial to realize that licenses granted or renewed in accordance with this Act cannot be transferred or sold.

3. Records management and reporting - In accordance with Schedule VII, licensed producers, repairers, and dealers must keep the records and registers listed there and file the necessary periodic reports and returns.

4. Weights & Measures are periodically verified and inspected - A Legal metrology official in a state in which weights and measures are used must periodically verify and stamp them in order to ensure their safety during transactions. Schedule IX contains the necessary verification fee. The sort of weight or measure determines the re-verification intervals, and these instruments need to be regularly re-checked and stamped.

a. Periods of Re-Verification - The following is the schedule for these re-verification tests.

1. For counter machines, tapes, beam scales, length measures, capacity measurements, weights, and counter machines, every 24 months.
2. For storage tanks, every 60 months.
3. For any other weights or measurements—including tank lorries—that were not included in the first two categories, every 12 months.

b. In-Situ Verification - Before being used, a weight or instrument for measurement that has been verified and stamped within its original position must be checked and stamped once again if it is later disassembled and reinstalled before the next scheduled re-verification.

c. Repairs Before Verification - Any weight or measuring device that has been verified and stamped has to be re-verified and stamped before it can be used again if repairs are made before the next scheduled verification.

The Benefits of a Manufacturing License for Legal Metrology

Getting the Legal Metrology Manufacturer License offers many benefits that can have a big influence on your company's operations in addition to being a legal necessity. Let's examine a few of these advantages. Each benefit plays a crucial part in boosting the organization's spirit and efforts, from lowering transaction costs to boosting client trust and improving market access.

• Reduced Transaction Costs - Adherence to legal metrology norms contributes to the reduction of transaction-related costs.
• A rise in customer confidence - Having this license gives the manufacturer more confidence and reliability in to the eyes of the consumer.
• Diminished Technical Challenges - Trade can go more smoothly when legal metrology regulations are followed, both domestically and globally.
• A rise in government revenue - Excise taxes levied on goods produced by businesses with licenses provide the government with revenue.
• Promotes Trade - The possession of this license incentivizes firms to uphold elevated benchmarks for product quality and provide weights and measures that are more precise and dependable.
• Obtaining Market Access - Market access becomes easier for manufacturers. This license makes it easier to trade and grow by proving compliance with regulatory norms.

Who can submit an application for a license as a legal metrology manufacturer?

In order for companies to be granted this license, they have to fulfill certain requirements, such as:

• Running a real manufacturing facility with enough room and machinery.
• For every kind of weight or measure they plan to manufacture, a Model Approval Certificate.
• Sending a completed application to a Controller residing in Legal Metrology alongside another designated authority, together with the necessary documents.

Information disclosed in the package.

The required disclosures on pre-packaged commodities are specified by the Legal Metrology law. You are not allowed to import, sell, produce, distribute, or package the pre-packaged commodities if the required information is not disclosed. The data that must be made public comprises.

• Date of packing, import, or production.
• The date on which food goods expire.
• Maximum Retail Price (with GST included).
• The product's quantity.
• Product name in its generic form.
• Net product contents (weights, lengths, and volumes).
• Country of the imported products' origin.
• Information about the customer service.

How Can I Apply for an Import LMPC Certificate?

The steps for obtaining a legal metrology certificate can be found here, in detail.

1. Getting ready and submitting the application - You must submit the application in order to be considered to receive an LMPC Certificate for Import. It needs to be turned in to the local government office.

2. Send in the Required Documents - Moreover, when submitting a application to obtain the LMPC certification, you must include all required papers. Below is a list of the required documents.

3. Cover the registration fees for LMPC - After completing the application and submitting the necessary paperwork, you must pay the required metrology registration fee. Following submission, the application is reviewed by the director of Metrology, who then determines whether to approve or deny it. After receiving the application, a legal metrology certificate can be obtained in 7–10 working days...

Regulation LMPC Exemptions

In India, obtaining a legal metrology certificate is not required in the following situations.

1. Goods weighing no more than 10 milliliters or 10 grams.

2. Produce packaged in quantities greater than fifty kilograms.

3. Packages with fast food products packaged by lodging establishments or restaurants.

4. Formulas containing packaging approved by the 1995 Drugs (Price Control) Order.

5. Packages containing greater than 25 liters or 25 kg of commodities, with the exception of cement and fertilizers, which are offered in bags up to 50 kg in weight.

6. Packaged items intended for use by hospitals, hotels, airlines, railroads, and other institutional customers.