All the states can have their own Act and centre do have its own which applies to whole India. For centre- Legal Metrology Department falls under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Wing of the Government of India.
If we talk about state license, every State Government has their respective Legal Metrology Department with different names like in Delhi State Government has the department of Legal Metrology with the name of “weights and measurements departments”.
What is the role of state and central government in Legal Metrology Act?
Subjects of legal metrology fall under the concurrent list of constitution of India- which means both states and centre has the power to grant licenses under LM Act.
But licences related to weighing and measuring instruments as well as weighments and measurements are only issued by the centre, whereas licenses related to packaging of goods under The Legal Metrology Packaged Commodities Rules,2011 can be issued by state as well as centre.
Incase of central licenses, the duty of enforcement of law is of the state government, it’s only through state governments, the central government do enforce the given law.
Which is better option- whether to have Centre license or state license?
If you have a business address in one state or your place of business is within the one state- in such case you can go for state licence. REMEMBER YOU CAN ALSO APPLY FOR CENTRAL LICENSE.
Central Government License is mandatory under certain cases
You need to mandatorily apply for centre license in the following two cases:-
- When place of business address in more than one state.
- When you require any license related to weighing and measuring goods then ONLY centre has power to grant license.
Validity Period of License under State Government and Central Government License
It is crucial aspect to know that validity period under the state licenses of legal metrology is limited wherein the validity period of
