Legal Metrology penalties for importers in 2026: improvement notices, fines, compounding and how to respond

For a pre-packaged commodity whose package does not carry the required declarations, section 36(1) now gives an improvement notice for a first offence, a penalty up to Rs 5 lakh for a second, and a fine of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for later offences^[1]. It applies to anyone who makes, packs, imports, sells or offers the goods, including through e-commerce platforms^[1].

These figures come from the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, which rewrote most of the Legal Metrology Act's penalty sections. The Legal Metrology entries were reportedly brought into force from 1 May 2026^[4]; we have not seen the commencement notification itself.

The pattern is the same across most sections: a warning first, a civil penalty second, and a much larger fine after that. This page sets out every section an importer is likely to meet, how compounding works, and what to do when a notice arrives. For the label rules themselves see LMPC label rules; for registration see LMPC importer registration.

Two things changed: first offences now get a notice rather than a fine, and repeat offences cost far more. Before the amendment, section 36(1) was reported to carry a fine up to Rs 25,000, up to Rs 50,000 for a second offence, and Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and/or up to a year's imprisonment for later ones^[4]. Now the third offence starts at Rs 25 lakh^[1].

Imprisonment has largely gone. For example, section 38 (importing a weight or measure without registration) used to allow six months' imprisonment for repeat offences; it now runs notice, up to Rs 25,000, then Rs 2-5 lakh^[2]. Breaking the Packaged Commodities Rules jumped from a Rs 5,000 fine to a penalty up to Rs 5 lakh with suspension or revocation^[1].

And the amounts will rise on their own. The Jan Vishwas Act raises fines and penalties by ten per cent of the minimum amount every three years^[1].

Most importers meet sections 36 (packages), 52(3) (Central rules), 41 (false information) and, if they import scales or meters, 38 and 39. The table gives the 2026 position for each.

The remaining sections mostly concern weighing and measuring instruments and traders, but they matter if you import or sell scales, meters or dispensers. All follow the 2026 notice-penalty-fine pattern.

An improvement notice is a written warning that lists what you are doing wrong and what you must do to fix it. The new section 15(6) lets the Director, a Controller or a legal metrology officer serve one where there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has not complied; it states the grounds, specifies the failures, sets out the remedial measures and gives a reasonable period to take them^[1].

Ignoring it is serious. Under section 15(7), if you do not comply, your registration or approval can be suspended or revoked after you have been heard^[1]. For an importer that means the LMPC registration you need to import pre-packed goods at all.

A first-offence notice is also the record that makes the next offence a 'second offence' with a penalty up to Rs 5 lakh^[1]. Treat it as the cheapest moment to fix a label across your whole range, not just the SKU named.

Respond fully and within the period stated in the notice^[1]. A pattern that works:

Yes. The substituted section 48 lets offences under sections 25-39, 41, 45-47 and rules under sections 52(3) and 53(3) be compounded before or after prosecution, for a sum not exceeding the maximum fine^[1]. Compounding means paying an amount to the government to settle the offence instead of going to court.

Who compounds depends on the offence. The Director of Legal Metrology (or a specially authorised officer) may compound sections 25-39, 41 and Central rules; a State Controller may compound sections 25-31, 33-37, 41, 45-47 and State rules^[14]. Once an offence is compounded, no further proceedings are taken; if you do not compound, a Magistrate tries the case under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023^[14].

The compounding amount is 'as may be prescribed'^[14], and we have not seen 2026 compounding rules. In practice the officer proposes an amount. Courts take cognizance only on a written complaint by the Director, a Controller or an authorised officer^[1], so settling at the compounding stage keeps a case out of court.

The company and its nominated director. Section 49 makes the company and the director it has nominated as responsible (or, without a nomination, every person in charge of the business) liable for offences by the company, unless that person proves the offence happened without their knowledge despite due diligence^[15].

Nominating a director is now routine. From 29 May 2026 a company's LMPC registration application must name the director responsible for violations^[16], and DoCA's portal takes separate director nomination applications through NSWS^[17].

Nominate a director who actually controls labelling and imports. If nobody is nominated, liability spreads to everyone in charge, which is worse for everyone. Our LMPC importer registration page covers the nomination filing.

Yes. The 2026 section 36(1) expressly covers sale through e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces and electronic service providers facilitating sales^[1]. Separately, since 2018 e-commerce entities must display the mandatory label declarations for pre-packaged goods on their platforms^[12].

More is coming. From 1 July 2027 every e-commerce entity offering imported products must give listings a searchable and sortable country-of-origin filter, under rule 6(10A) as replaced in April 2026^[18]. That date was pushed back from 1 July 2026^[19].

For marketplace sellers the practical risk is a listing whose declarations differ from the physical label. Keep listing data and label artwork in one source. See Amazon sellers, Flipkart sellers and the before listing on Amazon checklist.

Importing pre-packaged goods for sale without registering under rule 27 is a breach of the Packaged Commodities Rules, which are Central rules under section 52(3); since 2026 that carries a penalty up to Rs 5 lakh plus suspension or revocation^[1]. Every person who pre-packs or imports a commodity for sale must apply for registration^[13], within ninety days of starting^[13].

Registration itself is cheap: the fee is Rs 500^[13], and since May 2026 certificates remain valid until cancelled^[16]. Compared with a Rs 5 lakh exposure, there is no reason to delay.

Do not confuse this with section 19 registration for importers of weights and measures (scales, meters), which is a different registration with the Director^[20]. Importing those without registration falls under section 38^[2].

Yes, if the figures are wrong. A 2026 proviso to rule 27(3) requires companies and firms to update their details every year on the online portal, including address, products, the numbers manufactured, packed or imported in the previous year, and country of origin^[16]. The portal function was reported as not yet active in June 2026.

Two penalties can attach. Not filing is a breach of the rules under section 52(3), up to Rs 5 lakh^[1]. Filing false figures is a false return under section 41: a notice first, then up to Rs 5,000, then Rs 2-5 lakh^[3].

Take the import quantities from your bills of entry, not from estimates, and keep the working. The compliance calendar will show the filing once DoCA switches it on.

Effectively, yes, when properly authorised. A new section 15(5) says an inspection, search or seizure by a legal metrology officer under a general or special order or written authorisation of the Director or Controller is deemed to have been made under a lawful warrant^[21].

Inspections happen at warehouses, shops and, for imports, wherever goods are labelled before sale. Importers using AEO Tier-2 or Tier-3 bonded warehouses may make the declarations there, provided retail packages carry everything before they leave^[16], which keeps label correction under your control.

If officers arrive, ask to see the authorisation, keep a copy of the seizure memo, and do not obstruct: section 40 obstruction is now punished under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023^[10].

Three scenarios, using the 2026 amounts:

Missing month and year of manufacture on imported earphones. The declaration is mandatory^[11]. First detection: improvement notice^[1]. Fix within the period and the cost is relabelling. Ignore it and your registration can be suspended^[1].

Same importer, same fault found again a year later. Second offence: penalty up to Rs 5 lakh^[1], likely compounded for a lower amount set by the officer^[1].

Third time. Fine of not less than Rs 25 lakh, up to Rs 50 lakh^[1]. For a small importer that is more than a year's margin.

Net quantity is different: a short-filled pack is fined from the first offence, Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh^[1]. The label checker catches most declaration gaps before goods ship.

Yes. Section 50 provides appeals against orders of legal metrology officers to the Director or Controller, and against their orders to the Central or State Government, within sixty days of the order^[22]. The 2026 amendment lets the Central Government authorise an officer not below Joint Secretary rank to hear appeals under section 50(1)(c)^[23].

An appeal is worth considering where the officer treated an offence as a second offence when the first was cured, or applied a retail-package rule to industrial or institutional supplies, which rule 3 exempts^[11]. Packages over 25 kg or 25 litres are also outside the retail-package chapter^[13].

LMPC is now the gentlest on a first offence but among the heaviest on repeat offences. The other regulators an importer meets work differently.

Any retail pre-packaged import is exposed, but some product types fail more often because their labels carry extra declarations. Dimensions must be declared where size matters^[13], multi-piece packs need declarations on the main package and on each spare part sold separately^[13], and G.S.R. 722(E) is reported to let electronics show the month and year of manufacture anywhere on the retail package^[27]. A DoCA advisory reportedly allows customary units such as inches beside SI units, provided the SI unit prevails^[4], which matters for screens.

Imported goods are labelled at the factory, far from the officer who will check them, so country of origin and the importer's name and address are the declarations most often wrong. Both are on the mandatory list^[11]. Brief your supplier with a label template and approve a printed proof before production. Our China import guide and Vietnam guide cover supplier briefs, and the first electronics import checklist puts the label check in the right place in the timeline.

Most LMPC penalties trace back to the label, so the controls are simple.

Start with the LMPC overview and label rules, and check a label with the label checker. For a live notice, LMPC consultants handle compounding with State Controllers, and our free compliance check can tell you which section the notice relies on.