Packaging & Labelling

Our firm extensively advises clients on their packing and labelling requirements for local retail as well as for import.

Indian law does not permit any wholesale dealer, distributor or importer to sell, distribute or display any commodity in the packaged form that is misbranded and non-compliant with the statutory labelling requirements.

The labelling requirements for packaged commodities in India are governed under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. Labelling of food products are governed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011.

The foregoing statutes prescribe labelling requirements sale of all kinds of goods in India.

The labelling requirements in India vary in different states, such as certain states require specifying the statutory warning in the local language, etc. Further, there are different labelling requirements for the retails packages and the wholesale packages.

Non-compliance of the statutory prescribed requirements and the regulatory registrations / licenses triggers monetary penalty.

Our lawyers have the expertise and updated knowledge of the laws, regulatory requirements and challenges, and the industry practices. Therefore, we are able to provide most practical and solution-oriented advice to our clients.

Our client base include both Indian and international companies who have existing businesses or are intending to export to India or set up their franchise in India, or the small-scale operations.

We regularly advise clients on statutory packaging and labelling compliances, review their labels, print and media advertising contents, etc., to ensure statutory compliance, advise on import of packaged commodities in India, custom bonding and clearance, storage requirements after import, additional labelling requirements before shelfing the products in Indian stores, etc.

We also provide transactional assistance, assist in enforcement actions, handling statutory notices and complaints, help the client understand and comply with regulatory requirements, provide support as and how they require to respond to emergencies and so on.