Yesterday the Money Mantra programme of DD News had a discussion on the book with its author Shailendra.
Packaged Commodities Rules Amended - New Definition of industrial consumer
THE Government has notified amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, making several important changes.
The new definition of "industrial consumer" and "institutional consumer" are as follows:
(bb) "industrial consumer" means the consumer who buys packaged commodities directly from the manufacturer or from an importer or from wholesale dealer for use by that industry and the package shall have declaration 'not for retail sale';
(bc) "institutional consumer" means the institution who hires or avails of the facilities or services in connection with transport, hotel, hospital or other organisation which buy packaged commodities directly from the manufacturer or from an importer or from wholesale dealer for use by that institution, and the package shall have declaration 'not for retail sale';'
Earlier "industrial consumer" was the consumer who buys packaged commodities directly from the manufacturer for use by that industry; now it includes purchase not only from manufacturer but also from importers and wholesale dealers. This has been done at the request of the trade to exempt items not meant for retail sale.
E-mail address mandatory on packages with effect from 1.1.2016 : From 1st January 2016, every package shall bear the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address of the person who can be or the office which can be contacted, in case of consumer complaints.
'L' for litre : for indicating the unit for litre, the letter 'L' may be adopted to avoid confusion with the letter ‘I' and figure '1'.
The change in definition of "industrial consumer" may have impact on Excise Duty in the context of RSP valuation. When the goods are cleared to the wholesale dealer, duty has to be paid under Section 4A. Whether Section 4 or 4A applies can be decided only when the goods are cleared from the wholesale dealer. At that time, will excise allow re-assessment?