New Delhi, May 24: In a move aimed at enhancing efficiency and promoting the use of clean fuels, the central government announced on Sunday that it has amended the ‘Legal Metrology (Government Approved Testing Centers) Rules, 2013.’ This amendment seeks to strengthen India’s legal metrology ecosystem and expand the infrastructure for verifying weights and measures in the country.
A key feature of this amendment is the expanded scope for Government Approved Testing Centers (GATCs), which will now include the verification and re-verification of additional fuel distribution systems. This initiative is expected to increase the availability of verification services.
Under these amendments, state governments are empowered to notify additional categories of weights and measures for verification through GATCs according to their respective regulations.
The verification fee for petrol and diesel dispensers has been set at ₹5,000 per nozzle, while the fee for CNG, LPG, LNG, and hydrogen dispensers is fixed at ₹10,000 per nozzle.
The revised rules add five categories of dispensing systems to the list of equipment that can be verified by GATCs. These include petrol/diesel dispensers, CNG dispensers, LPG dispensers, LNG dispensers, and hydrogen dispensers.
The Department of Consumer Affairs stated that with the inclusion of these devices, GATCs will now be able to verify and re-verify a total of 23 categories of weights and measures under the ‘Legal Metrology’ framework.
GATCs are approved facilities equipped with the necessary infrastructure and technical expertise to carry out verification and re-verification of weights and measures as mandated by the Legal Metrology Act and its associated rules.
By incorporating qualified private laboratories and industries, the GATC framework helps expand the country’s verification capacity and improve access to verification services.
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