In a major reform aimed at promoting Ease of Doing Business and strengthening Consumer Protection, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir has notified the “Jammu & Kashmir Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules, 2026”.
The new rules mark an important milestone for the Legal Metrology Department and are expected to streamline the regulatory processes while ensuring greater transparency and accountability.
The “J&K Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules, 2026” introduce several business and consumer-friendly measures. Licenses for manufacturer, dealer and repairer of weights and measures have been replaced with registration certificates and the requirement for renewal of such certificates has been done away with. The need for conducting inspection prior to issuance of registration certificates has also been removed. Further, the rules mandate the use of special accuracy weighing instruments for weighing precious metals, prescribe verification fee for different categories of weights and measures and fix compounding fee for offences punishable under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009. All these measures are intended to simplify the compliance for businesses and strengthen enforcement for better consumer protection in J&K.
These reforms build upon the recently launched initiatives including the “Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026”, increased periodicity for re-verification of specified weights and measures through amendments in the “Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011”, business de-regulation in key areas and online service delivery through the “J&K Single Window System”.
The officials said that these measures address several key issues that have been pending for years. A strong legal foundation is now in place to help the Department enforce the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the rules made there under in a fair and fearless manner, thereby gaining the trust of both the business community as well as consumers in the Union Territory.