**Executive Summary**
On 27 May 2026, the Department of Consumer Affairs held a regional review meeting with Southern States and UTs to accelerate the implementation of reforms under the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. The session focused on transitioning from licensing to registration, decriminalizing minor offenses, and expanding the infrastructure for Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs). States were urged to expedite the notification of revised rules to improve the ease of doing business and strengthen consumer safeguards.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Regulatory Framework Reforms**
* Transition from a "licensing" system to a "registration-based" framework to foster a trust-based regulatory environment.
* Requirement for registrations to be granted automatically upon submission of documents, eliminating prior inspections and unnecessary delays.
* **Decriminalization and Compliance**
* Decriminalization of minor procedural offenses to reduce litigation and encourage voluntary compliance.
* Introduction of the "Improvement Notice" mechanism, where first-time procedural violators receive a notice before any penal action is initiated.
* **Expansion of Verification Infrastructure**
* Urgent expansion of Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) to improve the availability of verifiers and speed up service delivery.
* Clarification that GATCs can only perform verification and re-verification within the specific State or UT for which they have received approval.
* Expansion of the scope of instruments covered under the GATC mechanism.
* **Digitization and Capacity Building**
* Integration of services through the e-Maap portal for seamless, faster delivery of legal metrology services.
* Provision of technical training and capacity-building programs for Legal Metrology Officers through the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology (IILM), Ranchi.
* **Consumer Protection**
* Reiteration that while procedural compliance is simplified, strict action remains in place for fraud, tampering, and violations affecting consumer interests.
**Impact Analysis**
**Southern States and UTs (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana)**
**Impact**
States are responsible for the localized rollout of the Jan Vishwas reforms and must align their legal frameworks with the amended Central Act.
**Action Required**
Expedite amendments to State Enforcement Rules and GATC Rules; ensure the shift to automatic registration and implement the "Improvement Notice" mechanism.
**Businesses, Traders, and Industries**
**Impact**
Entities will benefit from simplified compliance, reduced administrative hurdles through automatic registration, and a lower risk of immediate penal action for minor errors.
**Action Required**
Adopt the new registration-based framework and utilize the e-Maap portal for services; ensure compliance with standards to avoid "Improvement Notices."
**Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs)**
**Impact**
GATCs gain an expanded role in verifying a wider range of instruments but are strictly limited to their approved geographical jurisdictions.
**Action Required**
Align operations with newly notified GATC Rules and restrict verification activities to the state or UT for which approval was granted.
**Legal Metrology Officers**
**Impact**
Officers must transition from traditional inspection-heavy roles to a system focused on registration and the issuance of "Improvement Notices."
**Action Required**
Participate in mandatory training programs at IILM, Ranchi, to strengthen technical capacity and understand the new regulatory ecosystem.
Key Entities Referenced
Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026: The primary legislative reform introducing decriminalization of minor offenses and a registration-based framework to improve the ease of doing business.
Legal Metrology Act, 2009: The principal legislation governing weights and measures, which is being amended and implemented through new regulatory reforms.
Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs): Third-party verification infrastructure being expanded to strengthen the verification of weighing and measuring instruments.
e-Maap portal: The digital platform utilized for the integration and seamless delivery of legal metrology services across states.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana: The specific group of Southern States and Union Territories involved in the regional review and implementation of these regulatory reforms.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Department of Consumer Affairs Holds Regional
Review Meeting on Legal Metrology Reforms
with Southern States and UTs
Centre Pushes Faster Rollout of Jan Vishwas Reforms in
Legal Metrology
Meeting Reviews Registration-Based Framework, GATC
Expansion and e-Maap Integration
Focus on Simplified Compliance and Stronger Consumer
Safeguards
Posted On: 28 MAY 2026 3:41PM by PIB Delhi
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, held a regional review meeting along with
recommendations of the High-Level Committee (HLC) and deregulation cell of Cabinet Secretariat
on regulatory reforms, on 27 May 2026 with Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil
Nadu and Telangana to review implementation of reforms introduced under the Legal Metrology Act, 20
09 through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026.
The meeting focused on –
Implementation of the new registration-based framework,
Decriminalisation of minor procedural offences & Introduction of ‘Improvement Notices’
Expansion of Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) and Digitisation of Legal Metrology
services.
Capacity Building
Shift from licensing to registration
During the discussions, States were requested to ensure that the shift from “licensing” to “registration”
reflects a genuine trust-based and facilitative regulatory system. It was emphasised that registrations
should be granted automatically on submission of prescribed documents, without unnecessary delays or
prior inspections.
Decriminalisation and “Improvement Notice” mechanismThe Department also reviewed implementation of the newly introduced “Improvement Notice”
mechanism under the Jan Vishwas reforms. Under this provision, first-time procedural violations under
specified sections of the Legal Metrology Act would attract an ‘Improvement Notice’ before any penal
action is taken. The reform aims to encourage voluntary compliance, reduce litigation and improve
Ease of Doing Business while protecting consumer interests.
Expansion of Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs)
States were requested to expedite amendments to their Enforcement Rules and GATC Rules in line with
the amended Legal Metrology framework. Participating States informed that the revised rules are in
advanced stages of drafting and approval and are expected to be notified shortly.
The Department further urged States and UTs to notify their GATC Rules at the earliest and expand the
scope of instruments covered under the GATC mechanism. This is expected to strengthen verification
infrastructure, improve availability of verifiers and enable faster service delivery to industries, traders and
consumers.
During the meeting, it was also clarified that the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 does not provide for inter-
state verification of weights and measures, unlike the repealed Standards of Weights and Measures Act,
1976. Accordingly, Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) approved by the Director of Legal
Metrology, Government of India, can undertake verification and re-verification only within the State
or UT for which approval has been granted. The clarification was issued to ensure uniform
implementation of the framework and avoid operational ambiguity regarding the jurisdiction of GATCs.
Capacity building
The Department informed that training programmes for Legal Metrology Officers would be organised
through the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology (IILM), Ranchi to strengthen technical capacity and
support effective implementation of the reforms.
Key areas discussed during the meeting included - Faster and seamless delivery of services through the e-
Maap portal, strengthening third-party verification mechanisms, Expansion of verification infrastructure
through Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs), Inclusion of newly added categories of weighing
and measuring instruments under the GATC frameworks, Capacity building and technical training of
Legal Metrology Officers.
The Department reiterated that while procedural compliances are being simplified to support honest
businesses and traders, strict action against fraud, tampering and violations affecting consumer interests
will continue under the Legal Metrology framework. The reforms are aimed at creating a transparent,
modern and balanced regulatory ecosystem that promotes both Ease of Doing Business and
consumer protection.***
RT/ ARC
(Release ID: 2266230) Visitor Counter : 1230
Read this release in: Urdu , ही , Gujarati , Tamil , Telugu , Kannada , Malayalam