The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has welcomed a move by the Government making it mandatory for electronics manufacturers to embed mandatory declaration of a product via a QR code on the packaging. Terming it a "historic pro-consumer improvement", the ICEA said, "This is a significant first step to simplify labelling using digital QR code under a law that is over 30 years old."
On July 14, The Department of Consumer Affairs issued the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), (Second Amendment) Rules 2022, making it compulsory for "electronic products to declare certain mandatory declarations through the QR Code for a period of one year, if not declared in the package itself".
Also read:
Except information that is needed during the purchase of a specific electronic item — MRP, name of manufacturer/importer, customer support details, unit sales price, month/year of manufacture and country of origin, which will remain on the label — all other mandatory declarations can be stored and read digitally through the QR code.
"This development is consistent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to use digital technology for not just ease of doing business, but also ease of living," the ICEA said in a statement and added, "This step will benefit Indian consumers in several ways. It declutters the label while retaining only relevant information needed at the time of purchase, and makes the label neater and more legible."
This step by the Department of Consumer Affairs is a strong and decisive step aligning with India’s march into the digital age keeping in mind consumer interest and the aspirations of a young generation, the statement read.
“This is a historic, pro-consumer step to reform a 30-year old law. Consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries of this change. It is both environment-friendly and reduces compliance burden for the industry," said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA.
“The industry will start working alongside the government to start transforming labelling on electronic commodities over the next year. We expect this move to gain traction with consumers, along the same lines as several other digitalisation initiatives launched by the government since 2014. This is a win-win for consumers, government and industry”, he added.
