Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jul 1: Buying pre-packaged commodities and water bottles at multiplexes, airports and malls won’t burn holes in your pocket with government prohibiting sale of same product at different 'maximum retail prices' from January 1, 2018.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, was amended by Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution on Thursday. A strict prohibition is brought on dual prices, only unless allowed by law.

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has approved the amendments and a breather of six months has been given to manufacturers, so that they can exhaust the existing inventory and have enough time for compliance.

All companies have been directed to increase the font size of “best before”, “date of manufacturing”, “name of producer”, etc to help consumers. Bar Code/QR Coding is allowed on voluntary basis.

E-commerce platforms have been directed to clearly specify the name and address of the manufacturer, packer and importer, name of the commodity, net contents, retail sale price, consumer care complaint, dimensions, etc.

Crucial medical devices such as stents, valve, orthopedic implants, syringe and tools for operations under the drugs category, need to have MRP clearly mentioned on the devices. These devices are currently being sold without a standard pricing mechanism and the consumer ends up paying a lot more than the actual cost.

According to the department of Consumer Affairs, the rules were amended after a detailed consultation with the stakeholders. The amended rules aim to enhance consumer protection as well as balance the requirement of ease of doing business.