Legal Metrology & MRP Label Requirements for Packaged Goods India 2026 — Complete Compliance Guide

Every manufacturer, packer and importer selling pre-packaged goods in India must comply with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 — commonly called LMPC Rules. Non-compliance is not a minor administrative issue. Under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, penalties go up to ₹25,000 for a first offence and ₹1 lakh for repeat violations. Goods can be seized on the spot. Individual directors and managers can be prosecuted personally.

This guide covers every mandatory declaration required on an MRP label in India, the minimum font size rules, the correct format for MRP and Unit Sale Price, FSSAI dual compliance for food products, and how to print fully compliant labels using a TSC barcode printer.

What Is LMPC and Who Does It Apply To?

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 apply to every person who manufactures, packs, imports or sells pre-packaged commodities in India. A pre-packaged commodity is any product placed in a package without the purchaser being present at the time of packing, where the quantity is pre-determined.

LMPC applies to you if you:

• Manufacture and pack any product for retail sale in India
• Import packaged goods for sale in India
• Re-pack or re-label products
• Are a brand owner or marketer whose name appears on the label

LMPC does not apply to:

• Packages above 25 kg or 25 litres (except cement, fertilizer and agricultural produce sold in bags above 50 kg)
• Packages meant exclusively for industrial or institutional consumers (not retail)
• Loose commodities sold by weight or measure at the point of sale

Food products have dual compliance: Food and beverage products must comply with LMPC Rules AND FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) labelling regulations. Where the two overlap, the stricter requirement applies. Both sets of rules must be satisfied simultaneously.

The 11 Mandatory Declarations Under LMPC Rule 6

Rule 6 of the LMPC Rules, 2011 specifies every declaration that must appear on the label of a pre-packaged commodity. Missing even one of these declarations is a violation.

1. Name and Address of Manufacturer / Packer / Importer

The full name and complete postal address (including PIN code) of the manufacturer, packer or importer must appear on the label. For imported goods, the Indian importer's name and address must be declared even if the foreign manufacturer's details are also present. The foreign label alone is not sufficient for sale in India.

If a brand owner’s name appears as marketer, the brand owner is held responsible for violations — not just the physical manufacturer.

2. Common or Generic Name of the Commodity

The common or generic name of what is in the package must be declared. Brand names alone are insufficient. A product sold as “Sunshine” must also declare what it actually is — for example, “Refined Sunflower Oil” or “Wheat Biscuits.”

3. Net Quantity

Net quantity must be declared in standard units of measurement:

• For solid or semi-solid commodities: by weight in grams (g) or kilograms (kg)
• For liquid commodities: by volume in millilitres (ml) or litres (l)
• For certain commodities (biscuits, bread, textiles, etc.): by number or by measurement as specified in the Second Schedule

Net quantity means the contents of the package excluding the weight of the packaging material. Incorrect or misleading net quantity declarations are among the most frequently penalised LMPC violations.

4. Month and Year of Manufacture or Packing

The month and year when the commodity was manufactured or packed must be declared. The format is: Mfg. / Packed: MM/YYYY or spelled out — for example, Manufactured: March 2026. Day is not mandatory but can be included voluntarily.

5. Best Before / Use By Date (Where Applicable)

For any commodity that may become unfit for human consumption after a period of time, the best before or use by date must be declared.

• Best Before: The date until which the product remains fully marketable and retains its stated qualities. Beyond this date the product may still be safe to consume but quality cannot be guaranteed.
• Use By: The date after which the product should not be consumed for safety reasons.

The format is: Best Before: MM/YYYY or Use By: DD/MM/YYYY. For products with a shelf life of three months or less, the full date (day, month and year) is required.

6. Maximum Retail Price (MRP)

The MRP must be declared as:

MRP ₹XX.XX (Incl. of all taxes)

Key rules for MRP declaration:

• MRP must be inclusive of all taxes — GST, customs duty (for imports) and any other applicable taxes
• The rupee symbol (₹) or “Rs.” must precede the amount
• The phrase “(Incl. of all taxes)” or “(Inclusive of all taxes)” must accompany the MRP
• Selling above the declared MRP is a cognizable offence under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009
• When GST rates change, the MRP on existing unsold stock may be revised by stamping, stickering or online printing — provided the original MRP remains visible and legible

7. Unit Sale Price (USP)

Unit Sale Price is the price per standard unit of measurement — per gram, per kilogram, per millilitre or per litre. It allows consumers to compare prices between different package sizes.

Format: ₹XX.XX per g or ₹XX.XX per ml — rounded to two decimal places.

USP is not required on:

• Packages with a surface area of 100 square centimetres or less
• Packages with an MRP of ₹35 or less
• Wholesale packages

The font size for USP must be at least 50% of the font size used for the MRP declaration.

8. Consumer Care Details

Contact details for consumer grievance redressal must be printed on the label. This must include:

• Name of the consumer care contact (company name is sufficient)
• Address
• Telephone number (a working number — non-working numbers are a violation)
• Email address

This is one of the most commonly incomplete declarations on Indian product labels. A non-functional phone number or missing email triggers show-cause notices from Legal Metrology Officers.

9. Country of Origin (Imported Products)

For imported packaged goods, the country of origin must be declared on the label. “Made in [Country]” is the accepted format. Domestic products manufactured entirely in India are not required to declare country of origin, but many manufacturers do so voluntarily.

10. FSSAI Licence Number (Food Products)

For food and beverage products, the 14-digit FSSAI licence or registration number of the manufacturer must appear on the label. This is a requirement under FSSAI regulations, not LMPC — but both apply simultaneously to food products. The FSSAI logo is not mandatory but the licence number is.

11. Dimensions (Where Applicable)

For commodities where dimensions are relevant — textiles (length × width), cables (length), sheets (dimensions) — the label must declare the relevant dimensions in addition to weight or volume.

Minimum Font Size Rules for MRP Labels

Font size requirements under LMPC are not suggestions — they are mandatory. The minimum height of numerals is specified based on the package surface area:

Important: These are minimum heights for numerals. Text must be clearly legible and not obscured by design elements, colours or folds. Labels where the MRP is printed in a font technically meeting the minimum height but hidden behind a fold or printed in low-contrast colour are still considered non-compliant.

In practice, for a standard 100mm × 75mm product label (75 cm²), the MRP numeral height must be at least 2 mm. For a larger 150mm × 100mm label (150 cm²), the minimum is 4 mm. At 300 DPI printing, 4 mm corresponds to approximately 47 dots — well within the capability of a TSC TH340 or TX610 printer.

Correct MRP Label Format — Full Example

A correctly formatted MRP declaration block for a 500g packaged food product looks like this:

Common LMPC Violations That Trigger Notices and Raids

FSSAI Additional Requirements for Food Labels

Food products must comply with both LMPC Rules and FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. Additional requirements under FSSAI that are not in LMPC include:

• Nutritional information table — mandatory for packaged food products (energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, sodium per 100g/ml and per serving)
• Allergen declarations — mandatory declaration of all allergens present (nuts, gluten, milk, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish)
• Vegetarian / Non-Vegetarian symbol — the green dot (veg) or brown/maroon dot (non-veg) symbol is mandatory on all food packages
• Percentage of fruit / juice content — for fruit-based beverages and products
• No claims without substantiation — health claims, nutrition claims and comparative claims must comply with FSSAI standards

Penalties for Non-Compliance

How to Print LMPC-Compliant MRP Labels Using a TSC Printer

Printing compliant MRP labels requires a thermal label printer that can handle the minimum font sizes and barcode formats specified under LMPC. Key requirements:

• Resolution: 300 DPI minimum for labels with small text (6mm numeral height at 300 DPI = sharp and legally legible). 203 DPI is acceptable for larger labels where minimum sizes are easy to achieve.
• Label design software: BarTender Automation (connected to your ERP or stock system) ensures MRP, batch number, manufacturing date and best before date are pulled directly from your system — eliminating manual data entry errors that cause LMPC violations.
• Variable data capability: Each batch has different manufacturing dates and best-before dates. Your printer and software must support variable-data printing so these fields update automatically per batch run.

Recommended TSC printers for LMPC-compliant label printing in India:

Infinite Solutions is India’s authorized TSC and Printronix dealer and BarTender Software implementation partner. We help manufacturers design and implement label templates that meet LMPC, FSSAI and GST compliance requirements. Contact us to discuss your specific product category and label size requirements.

Contact: sanjay@infinitesolutions.co.in  |  +91 93110 11467