Purchase of packaged products gets more transparent; Centre introduces 'unit sale price' concept for goods

Today, consumers buying 3.5 kg packaged rice flour or 88 grams biscuit packet might be struggling to make out whether the product is exactly costly or cheap in comparison with other offerings. Come April next year, it will be much easier for the consumers to ascertain the cost in unit terms.

To help consumers make conscious purchase decisions as well as lessen the compliance burden on industry players, the Union consumer affairs ministry has amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, whereby companies will be required to print 'unit sale price' on the packaged commodities.

Companies selling packaged commodities with a quantity of more than one kilogram should print 'unit sale price' per kg along with the maximum retail price (MRP), a senior consumer affairs ministry official told PTI.

For example, a packaged wheat flour of 2.5 kg should have a unit sale price per kg along with the total MRP.

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Similarly, a packaged commodity of less than one kg quantity should have 'unit sale price' per gram along with the total MRP of the product.

Seeking to ease the compliance requirements, the ministry has scrapped Schedule 2 of the rules under which 19 types of commodities were to be packed in quantities by weight, measure or number in a specified manner.

As per that rule, rice or wheat flour for example were required to be packed in 100 gram, 200 gram, 500 gram and 1 kg, 1.25 kg, 1.5 kg. 1.75 kg, 2kg, 5 kg and thereafter in multiples of 5 kg.

"But, the industry wanted to sell in different quantities and were seeking approval from the ministry. Some were approved and some were not. To give flexibility, Schedule 2 of the rules has been scrapped. And, we have brought the unit sale price concept," the official said.

According to the official, the decision is based on the best sales practice and will reduce the compliance burden on the part of the industry as well as help consumers ascertain the price of the product before making a buying decision.

The other change made to the rules is the way MRP is printed on the packaged commodities. Currently, notices get issued to companies if MRP is not printed in a format mentioned in the rules.

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The current format is: maximum or max retail price Rs xx.xx. If a company mentioned just Rs xx and no put .xx was considered as violation and notices were issued.

"Now, we have asked companies to give in Indian rupees and freed them from any set format," the official said.

The third change made to the rules is with regard to mentioning of quantity on a packaged commodity either in 'number' or 'unit' which as per the format is to be mentioned as xxN or xxU on the pack.

If a company expressed wrongly as xxNO or xxUO, it was considered to be in violation of the rules and notices were issued. Even mentioning in pairs or pieces on the pack was also a violation, the official said.

"This has been changed. Companies were allowed to mention either in the number of units. Now, they have been given the option to mention on the package the items to be shown by number or unit or piece or pair or set of other words which denote quantity," he said.

The fourth and last change made to the rules is with regard to the packaged imported commodities. Currently, companies have an option to either mention date of import or date of manufacturing or date of prepackaging.

"Now, there won't be an option. Companies have to mention only the date of manufacturing which matters to consumers while buying the product," the official added.

The last amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 were made in June 2017

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