Legal Metrology Packaged Commodity Declarations for Online Sellers: What Is Confirmed and What to Check

Pre-packed goods you sell online are covered by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, which set the declarations a package must carry. In February 2026 the government amended the Rules to add sub-rule 6(10A), requiring e-commerce entities that list imported products to offer a searchable and sortable country-of-origin filter. The start date is disputed in the sources we opened. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with a lawyer.

What do the Packaged Commodities Rules cover?

They set out declarations and labelling requirements for packaged commodities. We could not open the official Rules text, so we do not reproduce the full list of mandatory declarations here, and we will not guess at it. What the sources we did open show is the set of items regulators and petitioners focus on for online listings: MRP, seller details including GSTIN, the name of the manufacturer and the country of origin.

Some packages are outside the Rules. Rule 26(b) exempts a package containing fast food items packed by a restaurant or hotel and the like, according to a Central Information Commission order. Do not assume your own product is exempt because it is food. Food also has separate FSSAI rules.

What is the country-of-origin filter, and when does it start?

Sub-rule 6(10A) requires every e-commerce entity selling imported products to display them through a searchable and sortable filter based on country of origin. A legal publication says it covers marketplace platforms, inventory-based entities, foreign e-commerce companies operating in India and direct-to-consumer brands selling imported goods online.

The date:

The later source gives no notification number. Our companion guide tracks a reported second amendment that moved the date; see our country-of-origin filter guide, which treats 1 July 2027 as the working date. Until you have seen the gazette, treat the date as unconfirmed.

Who has to do what?

MediaNama says the platform builds and maintains the filter and third-party sellers must supply accurate origin data. The same report says the notification does not define "imported product", which leaves goods assembled in India from imported parts unclear, sets no specific penalty for failing to build the filter and does not say how platforms should verify seller-provided origin data. Country-of-origin display on product pages has been mandatory since January 2018.

The E-Commerce (Amendment) Rules, 2026 come into force on 1 January 2027 and add a separate duty to disclose importer details and country of origin for imported goods. A law-firm summary says sellers must supply country of origin, and that for imported goods it must be identified in line with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. The two rule sets overlap, so one clean origin field serves both. See our E-Commerce Amendment Rules guide.

Has anyone been enforced against?

Yes, on listings. A Delhi High Court order dated 24 November 2022 records that, as of 30 September 2022, the Department of Consumer Affairs had issued 481 notices to e-commerce companies, 166 cases had been compounded and about 79 had been referred for adjudication. An earlier order refers to notices issued to 152 e-commerce companies, including for "non-declaration of the country of origin". Those notices went to platforms, not individual sellers, but platforms push the cost back to sellers through listing rules.

What should I check on every listing?

We cannot give you the legal checklist, but we can give you a way to test your own pages against your pack and the Rules.

1. Photograph every pack face. Front, back, sides, and the carton if you ship one.
2. Match the listing to the pack. MRP, net quantity, manufacturer or packer or importer name and address, date fields, consumer-care details and country of origin should read the same on the listing as on the pack. Which of these the Rules require for your product is something to confirm in the Rules text.
3. Check the seller details on the listing. Your GSTIN or MSME number must be current in the seller account, because the new E-Commerce Rules require sellers to give a government identification number.
4. Check imported goods separately. Fill the origin field for every SKU, with the full country name.
5. Check bundles and multipacks. The pack a buyer receives must still carry what the page claims.
6. Archive evidence. Date-stamped pack photos and listing screenshots help if a platform or regulator asks questions.

What does a mismatch look like in practice?

For example, a brand imports a hair tool from a contract manufacturer abroad and sells it as "Made in India" because the final box is packed in Bhiwandi. The pack says one thing, the listing says another and the invoice says a third. This is the kind of gap the notices described above were about, and the 2026 rules add a filter and a disclosure duty that make it easier for a buyer or regulator to spot. The press report we read notes that "imported product" is not defined for goods assembled in India from imported parts. If your product sits in that grey area, get written advice, make the pack, the listing and the invoice consistent, and keep the supplier paperwork.

What if the marketplace asks me to correct a listing?

Answer inside the seller portal, attach the pack photos, and correct the data in the same sitting so the catalogue and the pack agree. Do not argue the legal point in a support ticket unless a lawyer has advised you to. If the platform removes a listing, ask for the specific attribute it objects to, fix that attribute and request re-review. Keep a log of each request and fix, because the same gap often repeats across variants of one parent product.

What about BIS and FSSAI?

They are separate regimes. BIS certification applies to listed product categories, covered in our BIS certificate guide. FSSAI governs food labelling and licensing. A listing can be clean on Legal Metrology and still be blocked for missing BIS. The compliance calendar shows where each dated change falls.

FAQ

Does Legal Metrology apply to online sales? Yes. The Packaged Commodities Rules cover packaged goods, and e-commerce entities have been under notices since at least 2022 for missing declarations such as country of origin. The amended Rules add a country-of-origin filter for imported products.

Is the country-of-origin filter live? As of November 2026 the date is disputed. One article says 1 July 2026; a later one says only from 1 July 2027. Verify against the gazette.

Who builds the filter, the platform or me? The platform builds and maintains it, according to MediaNama, while sellers are expected to supply accurate origin data for each imported SKU.

What is the penalty for a wrong or missing declaration? We could not confirm penalty amounts from the sources we opened. MediaNama notes the filter rule sets no specific penalty and that the Act's penalties for other violations have not been tested against it.

Are restaurant-packed meals exempt? Rule 26(b) exempts a package containing fast food items packed by a restaurant or hotel and the like. Packaged FMCG food is not covered by that exemption just because it is edible.

Where do I read the Rules themselves? On the Department of Consumer Affairs site and the Gazette of India. We could not open them from our tools, so read the official text before relying on this page.

Next step

Fix the data first: MRP, quantity, manufacturer and origin should be identical on pack and page. Blooprint, a Bengaluru e-commerce agency, manages catalogues and listings across marketplaces; our catalogue and listing optimisation service covers that clean-up.