LMPC importer registration under rule 27: who registers, where to apply, the Rs 500 fee, documents, timelines and the 90-day rule

LMPC importer registration is the registration of your business name and address with the Legal Metrology authorities before (or shortly after) you start importing packaged goods for sale. It is required by rule 27 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. It is a one-time registration, separate from the labelling rules that every pack must meet. For the label side, see LMPC label rules. For the wider regime, see LMPC.

Rule 27(1) covers every individual, firm, Hindu undivided family, society, company or corporation that pre-packs or imports any commodity for sale, distribution or delivery^[1]. For an importer of consumer goods, that means:

• You import retail packs for sale. You register as an importer.
• You import in bulk and pack in India. You register, as importer and as packer.
• You buy imported packs from another Indian company and resell them. You neither import nor pack, so rule 27 does not require you to register. The packs must still conform. See our page for distributors.
• You buy goods on the high seas and file the bill of entry. You are the importer of that shipment and should register.

Who is outside the retail-package rules. The retail-package chapter does not apply to packages of more than 25 kg or 25 litres (other than cement and fertiliser in bags up to 50 kg), or to goods for industrial or institutional consumers that buy directly from the manufacturer^[1]. A July 2024 draft proposed changing this, but we have not found a final notification^[4]. If you import only industrial supplies for factory use, take advice before deciding that rule 27 does not apply to you.

Rule 27 is separate from the registration of importers of weights and measures under section 19 of the Legal Metrology Act, which the DoCA portal also handles through its own module^[3]. If you import weighing scales or measuring instruments, you may need both.

Any commodity imported in retail packs for sale needs it; the product category does not matter^[1]. What changes from product to product is the other approvals that sit beside it. The table maps common imports.

Rule 27(1) sets two deadlines^[1]:

1. A business already pre-packing or importing when the rules commenced in 2011 had 90 days from commencement.
2. A business that starts pre-packing or importing after commencement must apply within 90 days of the date it starts.

The second clause opens with "pre-packing or importing" but ends with "commences such pre-packing". We read it as covering importers too, and so do the state forms and consultants we have seen. The safe course is to count 90 days from the date of your first import and to apply before the first shipment if you can.

The rule does not say what "commences" means for an importer. In our view the earliest defensible date is the first bill of entry for packaged goods meant for sale. Some importers instead apply as soon as they get their IEC, which avoids the question entirely.

Missing the deadline is a breach of the Packaged Commodities Rules. Since the 2026 amendments, contravening Central rules made under section 52(3), which include these rules, carries a penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh plus possible suspension or revocation^[6]. An officer can also serve an improvement notice first^[6].

Our arithmetic, on our reading that the clock starts with the first import of packaged goods for sale^[1].

• First bill of entry: 15 January 2027.
• Day 90: 15 April 2027 (16 days left in January, 28 in February, 31 in March, 15 in April).
• Safe filing date: before the goods arrive. An incomplete application comes back within seven working days^[1], and West Bengal allows itself up to 75 working days to dispose of an application^[7], so a late start can run past the 90 days even if you file inside them.

If you already missed the window, apply now. The penalty for breaching the rules is up to Rs 5 lakh^[6], but an improvement notice usually comes first^[6], and the offence can be compounded^[6]. Penalties are explained on LMPC penalties.

Rule 27 says the application goes to "the Director or the Controller"^[1]. The Director is the Director of Legal Metrology in the Central Government (Department of Consumer Affairs). A Controller is the head of a state's Legal Metrology department.

The central route. DoCA's Legal Metrology portal routes new applications for Packaged Commodities Registration under rule 27 through the National Single Window System (NSWS). Amendments to an existing registration are made on lm.doca.gov.in/pcr, and the portal publishes lists of issued and surrendered certificates^[3].

The state route. States register importers too. Delhi's Weights and Measures Department, for example, has its own rule 27 importer form, with the fee paid at district offices or by demand draft^[8]. West Bengal processes registrations through its Directorate under a published SoP^[7].

Which one? The rule does not say. Consultants report a working practice: register with your state Controller if you sell in one state, and with the central Director if you sell in more than one state^[9]. That split is not in the rule text, so check with the authority before you file.

Rule 27(2) lists only what the application must state: your name, the complete address of the premises where you import or pre-pack, and the commodities you import^[1]. Since 29 May 2026, a company must also give the name of the director responsible for violations^[2]. "Complete address" means a street address and either city and state or PIN code, so that a consumer can locate you^[1].

Each authority then asks for supporting papers. The two official lists we found differ, so prepare for the stricter of the two.

• Both lists predate GST. Expect to give your GSTIN where the forms mention sales tax or VAT.
• Delhi's form also asks for the addresses of warehouses where imported goods are kept, the commodities imported with their country of import, and the names and addresses of all directors or partners^[8].
• Keep the label you file identical to your real pack. The label must carry every mandatory declaration^[4], laid out on the principal display panel.
• For an IEC, see IEC code. Delhi's list includes it^[8].

Fee. Rs 500 for a new registration^[1] and Rs 100 for any alteration to the certificate^[1]. That is the whole official cost. Consultants charge extra for preparing the file. See LMPC registration costs.

Time. The rules set one time limit: an incomplete application must be returned within seven working days of receipt; a complete one is registered and a certificate granted^[1]. They do not fix a deadline for granting a complete application. States set their own service standards. West Bengal, for instance, fixes a maximum of 75 working days to dispose of an application^[7]. One consultant advertises delivery in 7-10 working days^[10], but that is a sales claim, not an official promise.

Because the 90-day clock starts when you begin importing^[1], apply early enough that a slow office does not push you past it.

The government fee is fixed and small; the rest is what you pay for help.

For a single-state importer with clean documents, the application is short enough to file yourself: name, address, commodities and, for a company, the responsible director^[1][2]. A consultant earns its fee when you are filing in several states, are already past the 90 days, or need the label checked at the same time. Note that one consultancy's page states validity as both one year and up to five years^[11], while the rules now say valid until cancelled^[2]; check a provider's facts before you hire it. The LMPC consultants page compares options, and LMPC registration costs breaks down the totals.

• Validity. Since 29 May 2026, the certificate remains valid until cancelled^[2]. Before then the rules were silent on validity.
• Annual update. A 2026 proviso requires companies and firms to update their details every year on the online portal, including address, products, numbers imported in the previous year and country of origin^[2]. The rule says the option "shall be made available"; check whether it is live.
• Changes. Adding commodities, changing address or name costs Rs 100 per alteration^[1]. Delhi asks you to return the original certificate for a revised one^[8].
• Public register. Registrations go into a register open to public inspection free of charge, and state-wise lists are circulated to other states' Controllers for sampling^[1].
• Director nomination. The DoCA portal separately takes nominations of the director responsible for a company's offences under section 49 of the Act^[3]. This is in addition to naming the director in the rule 27 application.
• Shorter address. Rule 28 lets a manufacturer or packer register a shorter address for labels^[1]. It does not mention importers.

Registration gives you the name and address that must appear on every pack^[1]. The packs then need all the mandatory declarations^[4]. Since 29 May 2026, importers may make those declarations at bonded warehouses of AEO Tier-2 and Tier-3 operators, provided every retail pack carries them before leaving the warehouse^[2]. That helps if your supplier cannot print Indian labels.

Check artwork with the label checker, follow the LMPC label rules, and use the product label checklist for the BIS, EPR and LMPC marks together.

It is one of the first registrations a new importer takes, alongside the IEC.

Rule 27 registration is cheap and quick; the expensive approvals are elsewhere. A typical first electronics import also needs BIS CRS registration, and EPR registration for plastic packaging at a minimum. Use the approval checker to list them for your product, the first-time importer guide for the order of work, and the customs clearance documents checklist for the port. If you will sell on Amazon, the before-listing checklist shows which certificates sellers are asked for.

• Counting 90 days from the wrong date. The clock runs from when you start importing^[1], not from when you start selling.
• Registering one entity and importing in another. The certificate is for the name in the application. If a group company files the bill of entry, it needs its own registration.
• Label name differs from the registration. The pack must give the importer's actual corporate name^[1].
• Assuming registration fixes the label. Registration does not make a pack compliant. Every pack still needs all the declarations^[4], and a non-conforming pack carries its own penalty^[6].
• Forgetting the 2026 changes. New applications from companies must name the responsible director^[2].

2026 rewrote much of rule 27 and the penalties around it:

Three habits keep it clean. Update details every year on the online portal once the option is live^[2]; pay the Rs 100 alteration fee whenever the address or commodity list changes^[1]; and answer any improvement notice within its time, because ignoring one can lead to suspension or revocation after a hearing^[6]. Diary the annual update in the compliance calendar. For a review of your registration and labels together, ask for a free compliance check.