The garment retail sold in loose form will not be covered under the provisions of the Legal Metrology (packaged commodities) rules, subject to a few details.
The Government has issued a notification in this regard, which also has some important points, which will improve the ease-of-doing business in the garment and retail industry in addition to benefitting the consumers.
The notification says that in the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, in rule 26, after clause (e), the following clause shall be inserted, namely: “Such commodities being a garment or hosiery are sold in loose or open at the point of sale in such manner that the consumer can inspect the products before buying: Provided that such product shall bear the following details, namely, name and address of the manufacturer or marketer or brand owner or importer with country of origin or manufacturer in case of imported products; consumer care email id and phone number; sizes with internationally recognisable size indicators such as S, M, L, along with details in metric notation in terms of cm or m, as the case may be; maximum retail price of the package inclusive of all taxes in Indian currency.
It further added that the exemption under this clause shall apply to sale of finished products alone: Provided also that the above information shall be displayed on e-commerce website if such product is sold through e-commerce.
The notification shall come into force on 1 January 2023.
Welcoming the step, FOHMA (Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association) said in a statement that this notification has been issued by the Government as a result of years of representations by the industry and, in particular, by the Federation.
“By giving a precise description of what constitutes a loose garment, the Government has addressed a long-standing grievance of the industry, and will hopefully minimise and even eliminate the curse of inspector harassment,” said Sanjay K Jain, Vice President, FOHMA.
