Dual-MRP banned: Coca-Cola, bottled-water to cost same at airports, malls

Ram Vilas Paswan-led Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Ministry has notified amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.

Labels with bigger font size for manufacturing date, use by/best before, producer's name, etc are mandatory to allow buyers to easily read them.

Declarations on food items have been made compatible with "labeling regulations" under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.

Knowing MRPs of the usually-overpriced crucial medical devices like stents, valve, orthopedic implants, syringes, surgical tools, etc is now easy.

Bringing the devices under the drugs category, the Ministry has made it mandatory for manufacturers to clearly mention MRP on packaging.

Despite a price cap, these devices are sold without a standard pricing mechanism, depending on the consumer's capacity to pay.

According to a senior ministry official, the amendments will be effective from 1 Jan'18 in order to give manufacturers a six months' "breathing period" to clear existing inventory.

The rules also require e-sellers to display details like name of the product, net contents, dimensions, retail sale price, customer care/complaint, names and addresses of producers, packers and importers on the e-commerce platforms.