The Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister of Delhi, Imran Hussain, reviewed the functioning of the Legal Metrology Department after instances of overcharging on items of daily needs including essential medicines and drugs such as Oxygen, Remdesivir and Tocilizumab injections etc by some dealers or retailers or manufacturers or chemists surfaced.

The Minister directed senior officers to review the functioning of field staff on daily basis. He also directed that at no cost, the chemists, retailers, traders, etc, should be allowed to take undue advantage of the health crisis due to the prevailing Covid19 pandemic.

Hussain also directed that the violators and defaulters must be immediately proceeded against strictly as per law. He also directed to constitute a district-wise enforcement team and publish their contact details on the Department's or Government of NCT of Delhi’s website for information of the general public.

The Minister also instructed the senior officers to review the action taken by the field staff in this regard on daily basis and to send a report daily by 5 PM to his office besides informing him personally about the action taken.

Hussain appealed to the chemists, retailers, traders, manufacturers etc to scrupulously comply with provisions of Packaged Commodity Rules and desist from overcharging for the packed commodities, for the benefit of consumers and join hands with Government in the fight against the health crisis due to Corona Virus.

‘Packaged Commodity Rules’ (PCRs) prescribe requirement of printing of mandatory declarations on the packaged commodities i.e. the name and address of the manufacturer or packer or importer, the common name of the product in the package, the net quantity, month and year of manufacturing or packing and expiry, MRP (inclusive of all taxes) and name, address, telephone number of the person who can be contacted by the consumer in case of a complaint.

Failure to comply with PCRs renders the retailer or manufacturer or trader etc. liable for prosecution action under Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Packaged Commodities Rules, 2011.