Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Sept 9: Under the supervision of Controller, Legal Metrology, J&K, Shiv Kumar Gupta, the Legal Metrology Department (LMD) has intensified enforcement and compliance activities across the Union Territory. As per the consolidated progress report for August 2026, the Department has realised approximately Rs 44.55 lakh as revenue and Rs 9.10 lakh through composition. The Department has also adopted the Improvement Notice mechanism introduced under Jan Vishwas 2.0, marking an important shift towards compliance-oriented enforcement. Under this mechanism, establishments found with minor or rectifiable deficiencies are served Improvement Notices, giving them an opportunity to correct the deficiencies within the prescribed period before further penal action is considered, wherever warranted. The approach seeks to promote voluntary compliance while ensuring that persistent and serious violations are dealt with strictly under law. As part of this compliance-oriented approach, the Department has so far served more than 50 Improvement Notices to establishments for minor or rectifiable deficiencies. The enforcement framework has further been strengthened through the Jammu & Kashmir Legal Metrology Enforcement Rules, 2026, along with a revised fee structure providing greater uniformity and transparency in regulatory services, enforcement procedures and statutory fees. During September 2026, LMD Kulgam took action against two sellers on the Amazon e-commerce platform in connection with a violation initially detected in July, for which Improvement Notices had been issued. Both sellers were penalised with a compounding fee of Rs 25,000 each, resulting in a total realisation of Rs 50,000. In another consumer protection-related action, a penalty of Rs 75,000 was imposed by Consumer Protection, Jammu, on a spare-parts establishment for violation of applicable provisions. |
