Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs, said on Tuesday that the government aims to decriminalise the Legal Metrology Act and urged his department and states to make a decision on the matter as soon as possible to prevent harassment of small business owners.
The minister said the government's objective is to protect consumers from unfair trade practises, but the law should not be used as a "weapon of harassment," he said at a World Consumer Rights Day event here.
The Legal Metrology Act of 2009 establishes weights and measures standards. In its current version, the legislation stipulates that a second or subsequent offence will result in imprisonment in addition to a fine.
"I'd want to raise a couple of points of concern...because I believe it's vital." I believe it is critical that everyone understands what Rohit Kumar Singh (Consumer Affairs Secretary) said about decriminalisation," he remarked. Goyal stated that the government wants to decriminalise the Act in order to end the everyday abuse that he was subjected to.
However, he stated that consumer groups and a number of state governments have begun to oppose the initiative. Consumers should be safeguarded, and their problems should be treated carefully, according to the minister, but the laws should not be used to harass businesspeople.
Goyal praised the department's action to safeguard customers from deceptive marketing, but said frivolous lawsuits should be prevented and penalised.
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