Latest news with #LegalMetrology(PackagedCommodities)Rules
Time of India
26-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Centre wants ‘country of origin' filter on shopping apps
The Centre has floated a proposal asking e-commerce platforms to add a 'country of origin' filter to their websites and apps, a move aimed at helping consumers make quicker and more informed choices, especially ahead of the festive shopping rush, as reported by TOI. The Department of Consumer Affairs on Friday held a virtual consultation with e-commerce players and industry stakeholders to explore amending the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules to introduce such a filter. The idea: enable users to sort products by country, much like how filters for price, brand, or size already work. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science MBA Others healthcare Finance Degree Cybersecurity PGDM Design Thinking Project Management CXO Artificial Intelligence Data Science Digital Marketing Technology Leadership Product Management Management others Data Analytics Public Policy MCA Operations Management Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details 'Many e-commerce platforms already have filters such as price range, brand, and product type. Adding one for country of origin is very much feasible and will help consumers find items based on their preference quickly. This will bring customer satisfaction,' a government official said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If you have a mouse, play this game for 1 minute Navy Quest Undo Currently, most platforms only mention the country of origin in the product description section — something shoppers must manually scroll through, one item at a time. While there was broad consensus among companies on the viability of the proposal, some flagged potential tech challenges, especially around tweaking existing algorithms and mobile UI constraints. Live Events 'There was almost a consensus among the participants, including from major e-commerce firms, and they said this would need change in the algorithm to create this new filter feature. We will hold more deliberations with the stakeholders,' said another official. Industry sources said the meeting was exploratory in nature. 'For marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra, it would be more of a tech issue, which can be solved. But for companies that hold inventory, there may be an added compliance burden,' said one participant. An executive from a leading platform added that screen space on mobile apps is already tight. 'It could be quite draining for the industry. And the expectation of the ministry is to get it done before the festive season if it gets implemented,' he said. Satish Meena, adviser at market research firm Datum Intelligence, said that while the change could affect product visibility for some international brands, it may not have a major operational impact. 'If this is implemented, customers will be able to filter out products based on their country of origin, which means that some brands on these platforms could lose visibility. Until now, not many consumers paid so much attention to a product's country of origin. But overall, it shouldn't be a very big challenge for platforms,' Meena said. He added that for quick-commerce platforms, where food and groceries dominate, the change is unlikely to have much of an impact, as most of their goods are domestically sourced. With inputs from TOI
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Centre suggests 'country of origin' filter on e-commerce sites
Centre suggests 'country of origin' filter on e-commerce sites New Delhi/Mumbai: Consumer affairs department on Friday suggested e-commerce companies explore including a new filter feature of "country of origin" on their websites and mobile apps for products, which will help consumers make quick choices. E-commerce platforms would have to create a new filter having a drop down menu of countries, allowing consumers to make their choice as per their preference. At present, companies display the country of origin of items under the product description option and to check this, buyers need to go through the entire information of each product, which is more time taking. "Many of the e-commerce platforms have filters on their sites and apps such as price range, brand, type of product and different sizes. So, adding another filter on country of origin is very much feasible and that will help consumers to find items of their choice based on their country of origin quickly. This will bring customer satisfaction," said an official. The department held a video conference with industry players and other stakeholders on Friday for amending the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules for country of origin-based filters on their platforms. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Private Jet - The Prices May Surprise You! Private Jet I Search Ads Learn More Undo "There was almost a consensus among the participants, including from major ecommerce firms, and they said this would need change in the algorithm to create this new filter feature. We will hold more deliberations with the stakeholders," said an official. Sources said earlier the e-commerce firms smoothly complied with the Legal Metrology Rules for labeling packaged commodities. Industry sources said the meeting was more of an exploratory one where the idea was to understand the feasibility of getting the added filter within apps and platforms. They added that officials wanted to understand the constraints of companies if they were to create such a feature. "For marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra, it would be more of a tech related issue, which can be solved. But for companies which hold inventory, there may be an added compliance burden," one of them said. Another e-commerce executive, however, said that given the limited space on mobile phones, adding another filter could be a constraint. "It could be quite draining for the industry. And the expectation of the ministry is to get it done before the festive season if it gets implemented," he said. Satish Meena, adviser at market research firm Datum Intelligence, said if this is implemented, customers will be able to filter out products based on their country of origin which means that some brands on these platforms could lose visibility. "Until now, not many consumers paid so much attention to a product's country of origin. But overall, it shouldn't be a very big challenge for platforms," he added. For quick commerce platforms, food and grocery accounts for a major part of their coverage as of now and most of them are sourced from India anyway. A very small part of their inventory comes from out of India currently, added Meena.
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Standard cooking oil packs mooted to cut shifty traders to size
New Delhi: The government is planning to reinstate standard pack sizes for edible oil, two people said, after a spell of flexible norms saw traders short-changing customers. Traders exploited the relaxed norms introduced in 2022 through amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, which allowed flexible packaging. As a result, random sizes such as 800 gm, 810 gm, and 850 gm are being sold in the market as 1 kg packs, allowing sellers to charge full 1 kg prices for lower quantities. These practice has been flagged as unfair and deceptive, undermining consumer trust. In response, the government now plans to bring back uniform pack sizes such as 5 kg, 2 kg, 1 kg, 500 grams, and 200 grams for cooking oil to prevent pricing manipulation. This comes in the backdrop of India's cooking oil consumption increasing from 24.6 million tonnes (mt) in 2020–21 to 25.8 mt in 2021–22, and 28.9 mt in 2022–23. Also read | Adani Wilmar to raise cooking oil prices by 20% following import duty hike 'We are reviewing the complaints regarding unfair trade practices related to disparities between the price and the actual weight of edible oil packs. It's a bit tricky for consumers to calculate the price of a pack weighing 800 grams, but it's much easier for the same consumer to understand the cost of a standard 2 kg or 500 gm pack," the first person said. As per the consumer affairs ministry data, the all-India daily weighted average retail price of groundnut oil stood at ₹188.82 per kg on 20 May, nearly unchanged from ₹188.76 per kg recorded a year ago. Mustard oil, however, saw a sharp rise, reaching ₹170.66 per kg compared with ₹135.50 per kg a year earlier. Soya oil was priced at ₹147.04 per kg, up from ₹123.61 per kg last year, while sunflower oil rose to ₹160.77 per kg from ₹123.17 per kg. Palm oil, one of the most widely used cooking oils, climbed to ₹135.04 per kg from ₹101 per kg. Vanaspati also saw a price increase, reaching ₹154.71 per kg compared to ₹126.40 per kg a year ago. Read this | BPCL in talks with Sulzer to make aviation fuel from used cooking oil 'The government is reviewing the packaging norms, and after stakeholder consultations, the old standards are likely to be reinstated to ensure better transparency and promote fair trade practices," the second person said. This change follows mounting confusion among consumers, the person said, adding that all stakeholders have been asked to submit their recommendations on this. The Indian edible oil market, valued at $4.39 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $6.49 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 6.79%, according to TechSci Research. Industry welcomed the move, calling it essential for ensuring consistency in retail pricing and compliance with the Legal Metrology Act. 'Standardized packaging ensures that price comparisons are simple, transparent, and fair. It creates a level playing field for both consumers and producers, encouraging trust and long-term brand value," said Sudhakar Desai, president, Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA). And read | Decoding the dilemma behind escalating cooking oil imports When the packaging rules were amended in 2021, the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules mandated the display of the Unit Sale Price (USP) on all packaged goods to help consumers compare prices more easily. Building on that, the 2022 amendment went a step further by removing Schedule II, which had previously required certain essential commodities—like edible oils—to be sold only in standard quantities. This shift gave manufacturers the freedom to choose pack sizes as per their convenience, leading to a proliferation of non-standard packs in the market.
