Consumer Affairs Secretary reviews legal weights-and-measures reforms with States
The consumer affairs ministry on Sunday reviewed the rollout of legal metrology reforms across eight northern states and union territories, pressing local authorities to move swiftly toward a simplified registration-based system for businesses dealing in weights and measures.
The meeting, chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, covered Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Ladakh.
It follows similar consultations with southern states earlier this week as part of a nationwide series of regional reviews.
The discussions centred on implementing the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 and recommendations from a high-level committee on regulatory reforms, an official statement said.
A central focus was replacing the existing licensing regime for manufacturers, dealers and repairers of weights and measures with an automatic registration system. Officials stressed the reform was intended to fundamentally streamline the regulatory process, not simply relabel licences as registrations.
“Registrations are to be granted automatically on submission of prescribed documents,” the ministry said, reducing delays for businesses operating under the legal framework.
Officials also reviewed a newly introduced “Improvement Notice” mechanism, which allows businesses to correct first-time procedural violations before facing penalties, a provision aimed at cutting litigation and encouraging voluntary compliance.
On verification infrastructure, states were urged to notify rules for Government Approved Test Centres at the earliest and expand the categories of instruments eligible for self-verification and third-party verification, steps the department said would reduce turnaround times for businesses.
Progress on digitisation, including the e-Maap portal, officer training and enforcement rule amendments, was also assessed.
The ministry said simplification of procedures would not come at the expense of consumer protection, warning that fraud, tampering and deliberate violations would continue to attract strict action.
