July 11, 2020
Back in Jan’ 2018, the government amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 mandating manufacturers and companies to add ‘country of origin’, information of importers, packers and e-commerce entities. The ministry has firmed up the rules of the CCPA and shall be notified soon.
Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has recently emphasized that state governments should strictly enforce the provision that requires companies and e-commerce players to display the ‘country of origin’ on all products. Along with the country of origin, the products must display price, weight, manufacturing and expiry date which has become mandatory.
The companies and e-commerce platforms must maintain transparency of the information of and on the products. These details should cover Country of Origin, weight, expiry date, manufacturer’s address, importers, common generic name, customer-care information, all the information should be legible covering 40% of the packet area while ecommerce companies must mention it on their web portals failing to which there will penalties ranging from Rs.25,000 to Rs.1.5 lakhs and imprisonment of one year on repeated violation.
Paswan getting strict about the laws, has stressed to comply with this rule strictly. “We have reiterated that we have such a provision in place. We have directed state governments to strictly enforce the provision and take action against violators,” Paswan addressed the media.
He further added, “Whether a product is sold through offline or online platform, it is mandatory to display ‘country of origin’ besides other details like maximum retail price (MRP), day of expiry, net quantity and consumer care details”.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan said, “Most of the companies are complying with the provision on product labelling sold in offline markets. But, e-commerce platforms are not showing it prominently on their websites. If this provision is strictly complied with, consumers can make an informed decision”.
“All e-commerce sites have to display it on their website. We have written to DPIIT, which registers e-commerce sites, to comply with the provision,” she said, adding that discussions are on with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on this issue.
“The provision for declarations on e-commerce sites is made under sub-rule 10 of rule 6 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011”, she said.
To address the consumer concerns, the Secretary mentioned that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has also been positioned along with Consumer Affairs Department’s Additional Secretary as chief commissioner and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Director General as investigation officer.
The CCPA holds the powers to investigate matters in connection to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices or on a complaint received, or on a direction from the central government.
The ministry has firmed up on the rules related to the composition and functioning of the CCPA, and these rules are expected to be notified on July 20, Nandan added.