New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) In a bid to improve efficiency and support the growing adoption of cleaner fuels across the country, the government on Sunday said it has amended the Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013, to further strengthen India’s legal metrology ecosystem and expand the country’s verification infrastructure for weights and measures.

A key feature of the amendment is the expansion of the scope of government-approved test centres (GATCs) to include verification and re-verification of additional fuel dispensing systems. The move is expected to enhance the availability of verification services.

The amendments empower state governments to notify additional categories of weights and measures for verification through GATCs under their respective Rules.

The verification fee for petrol and diesel dispensers has been fixed at Rs 5,000 per nozzle, while the fee for CNG, LPG, LNG and Hydrogen dispensers has been fixed at Rs 10,000 per nozzle.

Under the amended rules, five categories of dispensing systems have been added to the list of instruments that can be verified by GATCs: Petrol/Diesel Dispensers; CNG Dispensers; LPG Dispensers LNG Dispensers; and Hydrogen Dispensers.

With the inclusion of these instruments, GATCs can now undertake verification and re-verification of a total of 23 categories of weights and measures under the Legal Metrology framework, said the Department of Consumer Affairs in a statement.

GATCs are approved facilities with the required infrastructure and technical expertise to undertake verification and re-verification of specified weights and measures under the Legal Metrology Act and Rules.

By involving qualified private laboratories and industries, the GATC framework helps expand the country’s verification capacity and improve access to verification services.

According to the government, the inclusion of CNG, LNG and Hydrogen dispensers under the GATC framework comes at a time when the use of cleaner fuels is increasing across the country. The measure will help ensure accurate fuel delivery and greater transparency in transactions.

—IANS

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