Consumer Affairs Ministry mandates all packaged goods to have a price per unit declaration

The packaging requirements that require all producers and importers of packaged goods to include the unit cost of their products have been in effect for almost a year. After multiple delays, the guidelines ultimately went into effect on January 1, 2024.

The notification states that manufacturers and importers of all goods must henceforth state the unit price of the product, the maximum retail price (MRP), and the precise month and year of manufacturing.

Manufacturers and importers of goods weighing more than one kilogramme or litre are now required by law to state the unit price per kilogramme or litre. Likewise, the price must be stated per gramme or millilitre (ml) for commodities weighing less than one kilogramme or one litre. The unit price for pre-packed items longer than one metre will be per metre, and for things shorter than one metre, it will be per cm.

“For items sold by number, the number of unit, piece, pair, set, or such other word that represents the quantity in the package shall be mentioned,” the notice reads.

The notice was first issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in November 2021 and set April 2022 as the deadline for enforcement. However, according to the official information, the date was extended at least three times in consultation with the industry as they requested more time to make these changes.
According to the ministry the rule will bring transparency for the buyers as they may be able to choose the best price per unit, which as of now was difficult as the MRP of the whole pack was mentioned. 

Apart from this, the government has recently mandated the rule of the construction industry to sell the welding electrodes in kilograms instead of pieces or numbers.