MRP Penalty Rules 2026: E-Commerce Now Inside Section 36

Two things changed for packaged goods on 1 May 2026, and they pull in opposite directions. A first offence for a wrong declaration on a pack, including charging above MRP, is now met with a warning rather than a fine. But a third offence starts at ₹25 lakh and can reach ₹50 lakh, and section 36(1) now names e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces and electronic service providers in its own text.

Both changes come from the Jan Vishwas Amendment of Provisions Act, 2026, Act 8 of 2026. The India Code text of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 carries the footnote against each amended section: substituted by Act 8 of 2026, section 2 and Schedule, with effect from 01-05-2026.

The contrast between the two halves of section 36 is the point. A declaration breach, which is what above-MRP selling is, now begins with a notice. A short-weight breach under section 36(2) still begins with a fine of at least ₹10,000. Selling you a pack marked 1 kg that holds 920 grams was, and remains, a fine from the very first offence.

This is the more consequential half. The amended section 36(1) reaches whoever manufactures, packs, imports, sells, distributes, delivers or otherwise transfers, offers, exposes or possesses for sale, or causes any of those to be done, any pre-packaged commodity which does not conform to the declarations on the package, including through digital modes of sale such as e-commerce platforms, online market places or any other digital or electronic means including electronic service providers facilitating such sales.

The Explanation to section 36(1) does not leave those words to argument. It says that for the purposes of that sub-section, the expressions e-commerce and electronic service provider have the same meaning as in clauses (16) and (17) of section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, Act 35 of 2019.

So a mis-declared listing is no longer only the seller's problem. The statute now describes the digital channel and the service provider facilitating the sale in the operative sentence.

Do not read improvement notice as let off. The amendment inserted a real mechanism, as new sub-sections (6) and (7) of section 15, the inspection and seizure section.

Under section 15(6), where the Director, Controller or a legal metrology officer has reasonable ground for believing a person has failed to comply, the improvement notice served on that person must do four things:

1. State the grounds for believing that the person has failed to comply with the Act, the rules or the directions issued
2. Specify the matters which constitute that failure to comply
3. Specify the measures which, in the opinion of the authority, the person must take in order to secure compliance
4. Require the person to take those measures within a reasonable period, as specified in the notice

Section 15(7) supplies the teeth. If the person fails to comply with the improvement notice, his registration or approval shall be suspended or revoked. The proviso requires the authorised officer to give an opportunity of being heard first, and to record reasons in writing.

A notice that does not do all four things in section 15(6) is defective on the face of the statute. That is worth knowing whether you received one or are complaining that one was ignored.

The complaint route itself has not changed: you go to the Controller or an Inspector of Legal Metrology in your State. Our step-by-step guide to that is at filing a legal metrology complaint for wrong weight or above-MRP selling.

What has changed is what you should ask the department afterwards. Under the new regime the first response to a declaration breach is a notice, so the meaningful question is whether that notice was issued, what it required, and what happened when the deadline passed.

To,
The Public Information Officer,
Office of the Controller of Legal Metrology,
Department of Legal Metrology / Weights and Measures,
[State] .

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 regarding
improvement notices under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

Sir/Madam,

Under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, please provide:

1. The number of improvement notices issued under Section 15(6) of the Legal
   Metrology Act, 2009 in this State since 1 May 2026, district-wise.

2. In respect of my complaint number [number] dated [date] against [name of
   seller or platform] , a copy of the improvement notice issued under
   Section 15(6), or a written statement that no notice was issued.

3. The number of cases in which registration or approval was suspended or
   revoked under Section 15(7) for failure to comply with an improvement
   notice, since 1 May 2026.

4. The number of penalties imposed under Section 36(1) for a second offence,
   and under Section 36(1) for a third or subsequent offence, since
   1 May 2026, with the total amount imposed and recovered.

5. The number of cases registered since 1 May 2026 against e-commerce
   platforms, online market places or electronic service providers under
   Section 36(1), and the action taken in each.

6. The number of penalties imposed under Section 36(2) for error in net
   quantity since 1 May 2026.

I enclose the prescribed application fee of ₹10. If any part of this
information is held by another public authority, please transfer that part
under Section 6(3) within five days. Please supply the information within the
period fixed by Section 7(1).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Full postal address]
[Date]

Point 5 is the one nobody asks, and it is the test of whether the new words in section 36(1) are being used at all. Build the application with the AI RTI Drafter, fix the reply date with the Timeline Tracker, and check a thin reply with the PIO Reply Checker.

• Quoting the old section 36(1) figures. They were substituted with effect from 1 May 2026.
• Treating short weight and above MRP as the same offence. Section 36(2) is a fine from the first offence. Section 36(1) starts with an improvement notice.
• Reading improvement notice as no consequence. Section 15(7) allows suspension or revocation of registration or approval for non-compliance.
• Accepting a vague notice. Section 15(6) requires grounds, the matters constituting failure, the measures required, and a reasonable period.
• Assuming a marketplace is out of reach. Section 36(1) names e-commerce platforms, online market places and electronic service providers facilitating such sales.
• Forgetting the consumer track. Penal action under this Act does not get you your money back. A refund or compensation claim runs separately.

1 May 2026. Each amended provision in the India Code text of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 carries a footnote recording substitution by Act 8 of 2026, section 2 and Schedule, with effect from 01-05-2026.

For a genuinely first offence, the response under section 36(1) is an improvement notice. But a second offence carries a penalty up to ₹5 lakh, and a third or subsequent offence carries not less than ₹25 lakh and up to ₹50 lakh. The ceiling went up sharply while the entry point softened.

Yes, in terms. Section 36(1) now includes sale through digital modes such as e-commerce platforms, online market places or any other digital or electronic means, including electronic service providers facilitating such sales. The Explanation borrows the definitions of e-commerce and electronic service provider from clauses (16) and (17) of section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Four things, under section 15(6): the grounds for believing there was a failure to comply, the matters constituting that failure, the measures the person must take to secure compliance, and a requirement to take them within a reasonable period specified in the notice.

Section 15(7) says the registration or approval shall be suspended or revoked. The proviso requires the authorised officer to give an opportunity of being heard and to record reasons in writing before doing so.

No. Section 36(2) still punishes an error in net quantity with a fine of not less than ₹10,000 and up to ₹1 lakh for a first offence, up to ₹5 lakh for a second, and up to ₹50 lakh or imprisonment up to one year or both for a third or subsequent offence.

• The Legal Metrology Act, 2009, as amended, with the amendment footnotes, on India Code: indiacode.gov.in
• The Jan Vishwas Amendment of Provisions Act, 2026, Act 8 of 2026, section 2 and Schedule, recorded in the footnotes to sections 2, 15, 25 and 36 of the principal Act as effective from 01-05-2026
• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, Act 35 of 2019, section 2 clauses 16 and 17, applied by the Explanation to section 36(1)
• Right to Information Act, 2005: full text with the 14 November 2025 amendment

• The RTI Playbook, the full method from application to second appeal
• Legal metrology complaint for wrong weight or above-MRP selling
• AI RTI Drafter to build the application above
• First Appeal Builder if the department misses the thirty-day deadline
• RTI Act, 2005, full text

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Last verified against the India Code text of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 on 30 August 2026.