Union Govt decriminalises minor food drug violations

The Centre has operationalised key reforms under the Jan Vishwas Act, 2026, in the health sector, decriminalising several minor and technical violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, while retaining stringent penalties for offences that threaten public health.
The Union health ministry on Friday said the reforms are aimed at promoting ease of doing business, reducing compliance burden on businesses and ensuring proportionate regulatory enforcement without compromising consumer safety.

Under the amended framework, certain technical and procedural violations that earlier attracted criminal proceedings will now be dealt with through administrative penalties.
Among key changes, Section 29 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which prescribed a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh for using a Government analyst’s report for advertising any drug or cosmetic, has been omitted.
Further, violations relating to the manufacture or sale of low-risk cosmetics have been brought under an administrative penalty framework.

These include cases where cosmetic products fail to comply with minor quality parameters or contain labelling deficiencies and errors. However, offences involving spurious or adulterated cosmetics, which have a direct bearing on consumer safety, continue to attract strict penal provisions under the act, the ministry said in a statement.
However, offences involving spurious or adulterated cosmetics, which have a direct bearing on consumer safety, will continue to attract stringent penal provisions under the act, it said.
The amendments have also converted violations under Section 28A, relating to procedural compliance, such as maintenance of records and submission of information, into administrative penalties.

To facilitate effective implementation of the new framework, provisions relating to the appointment of adjudicating authorities and an appeal mechanism have been introduced, enabling the timely and transparent disposal of cases involving such contraventions. In the food safety sector, provisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, relating to the imposition of court fines in cases involving false complaints against food safety officers have been brought under an administrative penalty mechanism.

The punishment for interfering with seized items has been rationalised, with the term of imprisonment reduced from six months to three months, the statement said.