Rule 15 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 15 is the procedure behind section 19 of the Act. Section 19 says no person may import any weight or measure unless registered with the Director in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee. Rule 15 supplies the manner: who applies, through whom, how long the registration lasts, how it is renewed and when it can be suspended or revoked. If you are planning imports, our importer registration service can go through the steps with you.
A manufacturer or dealer of weights or measures who intends to import them applies to the Director, through the Controller of the State where he carries on business, in the form in the Tenth Schedule (rule 15(1)). The application goes with the fee in the Twelfth Schedule and must reach the Director at least one month before the proposed import (15(4)). Registration lasts five years (15(5)), can be renewed for a like period (15(6)), and can be suspended or revoked after an inquiry and hearing on the grounds in 15(7). This rule covers weights and measures; packaged-commodity importers have a different registration.
Who must apply and how (sub-rules (1) and (2))
Rule 15(1) applies to "every manufacturer or dealer of weight or measure who intends to import any weight or measure". He must apply "to the Director, through the Controller of the State in which he carries on such business, for registration of his name as importer in the form specified in Tenth Schedule."
Three features are worth noting.
- The applicant is a manufacturer or dealer. The rule speaks to people already in the weights-and-measures trade. The Act's own prohibition in section 19 is wider: "no person shall import" unless registered.
- The route is through the State Controller. The application is made to the Director (the central officer, see section 13) but lodged through the Controller (see section 14).
- The Controller reports. Under rule 15(2) every application received by the Controller is "forwarded by him to the Director with a report as to the antecedents and technical capabilities of the applicant."
What the Tenth Schedule form contains
The form is in the Tenth Schedule, headed "Application form for registration of importer of weights and measures" (marked "See Rule 15"). It is a one-page letter addressed to "The Director of Legal Metrology, Government of India, New Delhi". It says "I/We hereby apply for registration of my/our name(s) as importer of weights and/or measures", states that the registration fee has been paid in the treasury under a Chalan (challan) number and date, and encloses the challan. The applicant then fills a table of particulars, and signs. Words that do not apply are to be struck out.
| Item | Particular asked for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Name and full address |
| 2 | Whether individual, undivided Hindu family or registered firm |
| 3 | Income-tax registration number, if any |
| 4 | Date of registration as manufacturer or dealer, registration number and the registering authority |
| 5 | Date and number of the licence to carry on the business of weights and measures, and the authority that issued or renewed it, for (a) buying and selling or (b) manufacturing |
| 6 | Items of weights and measures for which the applicant is registered as manufacturer and/or dealer |
| 7 | Items of weights and measures for which registration as importer is sought |
| 8 | Items, if any, imported during the period of years immediately before the year of application (the number of years is not legible in the scan, so check the official form) |
| 9 | Remarks |
Two practical points follow from the form. First, a manufacturer's or dealer's registration and licence details are asked for, so have them ready. Second, the form asks for the fee payment particulars, so the fee has to be paid before the application is sent. Which treasury or payment channel is used today is not stated in the form; ask the Controller's office.
Existing importers (sub-rule (3))
Rule 15(3) protects a person who was already importing when the rules began. It says that nothing in the rule takes away "the right of any person ... to carry on the business of importing of any weight or measure until he has been informed by the Director in writing that he cannot be registered as an importer", and that on receiving such a letter he "shall stop forthwith the import". (Rule 15(3) as notified says "any person referred to in sub-rule (2)", which reads oddly because sub-rule (2) is about the Controller's report; read it with the proviso, which makes the target clear: persons already carrying on the import business.)
The proviso adds that registration of a person carrying on the import business at the commencement of the rules "shall not be refused except after giving him a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the proposed action." For anyone starting now, the main point is that the Director's written refusal ends the right to import.
Fee and timing (sub-rule (4))
Every application must go to the Director "in the manner aforesaid, together with the fee specified in Twelfth Schedule, at least one month before the date on which import is proposed to be made."
- Timing: one month before the proposed date of import, counted from the application reaching the Director.
- Fee: the Twelfth Schedule is headed "Scale of fee" and has a row for "Registration/Renewal of registration of any person as an importer". The scanned table separates the service column from the rate column, so we do not state an amount here; read the rate for that row in the official text, and note that States may have their own fee arrangements. See our article on rules 25 and 26.
Validity, renewal, suspension and revocation (sub-rules (5) to (7))
| Sub-rule | What it provides |
|---|---|
| (5) | Registration remains effective for five years from the date of registration. |
| (6) | On expiry the Director may, on the registered importer's application and on payment of the prescribed fee, renew the registration for a like period. |
| (7) | Registration or renewal may be suspended or revoked before expiry if the Director is satisfied, after an inquiry and after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard, that (a) a statement in the application for registration or renewal was false or incorrect in material particulars, or (b) the person has contravened any provision of the Act or the rules or any term or condition of the registration. |
Two procedural safeguards are built in: an inquiry and a hearing. The Director cannot revoke on suspicion alone. Renewal under 15(6) is framed as something the Director "may" do on application, so apply well before the five years end.
Rule 15 with the Act and other rules
- Section 19 is the prohibition; section 20 separately bars the import of any weight or measure, singly or as part of a machine, that does not conform to the standards under the Act. Registration does not cure non-conformity.
- Model approval. Section 22 requires approval of model before manufacturing or importing a weight or measure.
- Penalty. Importing without registration is penalised under sections 38 and 39. Those sections are among those touched by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, which is enacted but in force only from the date the Central Government notifies; check the notification and our article on those sections for the layers.
- Different registration. Importers of packaged commodities register under the Packaged Commodities Rules; see rule 27 of those Rules. Rule 15 here is for importers of weights and measures. Our practical guides are How to Register as Importer Under Legal Metrology and Importer Registration Under Legal Metrology.
Examples
Example 1: a scale dealer. A dealer in Delhi wants to import electronic scales. He applies to the Director through the Controller of his State, using the Tenth Schedule form and the fee. He must submit it at least one month before the intended import. The Controller sends it on with a report on his antecedents and technical capabilities.
Example 2: a revoked registration. An importer's application said that he had a workshop, which he did not. After an inquiry and a hearing the Director may suspend or revoke under rule 15(7) because the statement was false in a material particular.
Common mistakes
- Applying directly to the Director and skipping the Controller.
- Applying less than a month before shipment.
- Letting the five-year period run out without applying to renew.
- Assuming the registration covers non-conforming goods.
Need help with importer registration?
If you want to import weights or measures and need to prepare the application, the covering papers and the renewal timetable, or you have received a show-cause notice from the Director, our importer registration service can help you work through the documents.
Key takeaways
- Manufacturers and dealers who intend to import weights or measures apply to the Director through the State Controller.
- The Tenth Schedule form and the Twelfth Schedule fee go in at least one month before the proposed import.
- Registration lasts five years and can be renewed for a like period.
- Suspension or revocation needs an inquiry and a hearing, on the grounds in rule 15(7).
- The Tenth Schedule form asks for identity, existing registration and licence details, items to be imported and past imports, and records the fee paid by challan. The fee amount is in the Twelfth Schedule; read it in the official text.
Read next
- How to Register as Importer Under Legal Metrology
- Importer Registration Under Legal Metrology
- Rules 16, 17 and 18 of the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011: Non-standard weights for export
- Rule 14 of the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011: Calibration of vehicle tanks and the Ninth Schedule
Disclaimer: Based on the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011 (G.S.R. 11(E), 7 February 2011) as notified in 2011, read with the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (Act 1 of 2010), the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (in force only from the date the Central Government notifies), as on 30 September 2026. The Schedule text is the 2011 notification; later amendments, State Legal Metrology rules and notifications change; verify the current position before acting.