Section 21 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.
Section 21 is the only provision of the Act about training. It carries the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology forward from the repealed 1976 Act by deeming it established under the 2009 Act, and leaves its management, courses and admission qualifications to rules. The section is not amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 or the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026.
The Indian Institute of Legal Metrology, established under the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 (60 of 1976), is deemed to have been established under the corresponding provisions of the 2009 Act, for imparting training in Legal Metrology and allied branches of knowledge. Its management and control, staff, courses and curricula and admission qualifications are to be prescribed. The section creates no duty or penalty for businesses; its practical link is the training of legal metrology officers under rule 28(3) of the General Rules.
Sub-section (1): a continued institution
Section 21(1) says: "For imparting training in Legal Metrology and other allied branches of knowledge the 'Indian Institute of Legal Metrology' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Institute') established under the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 (60 of 1976), shall be deemed to have been established under the corresponding provisions of this Act."
Three things follow from this wording:
- It is a transition provision. The Institute existed before the 2009 Act. Section 21 does not create a new body; it treats the existing Institute as if it had been set up under the new Act. That avoids a gap when the earlier law went out. The repeal and saving of the 1976 Act is dealt with in section 57; see our article on sections 56 and 57.
- The purpose is training. If your real question is about a duty you owe rather than about the Institute, a short legal consultation will point you to the right section. The text names "training in Legal Metrology and other allied branches of knowledge". It does not make the Institute an enforcement body, a testing house, or an approving authority.
- "Legal Metrology" has a statutory meaning. Section 2(g) defines it as the part of metrology that treats units of weighment and measurement, methods of weighment and measurement and weighing and measuring instruments, in relation to the mandatory technical and legal requirements aimed at public guarantee of security and accuracy of weighments and measurements.
Sub-section (2): what the rules will decide
Section 21(2) leaves the following to be "such as may be prescribed":
| Matter | Text of section 21(2) |
|---|---|
| Management and control | "The management and control of the Institute" |
| Staff | "the teaching staff and other employees" |
| Courses | "the courses and curricula for training thereat" |
| Admission | "the qualifications, which a person shall possess in order to be eligible for admission thereto" |
The rule-making entry is section 52(2)(l), which lists the same four items as matters on which the Central Government may make rules. Section 53(2), the State list, has no entry for the Institute, so this is a Central matter.
Our sources contain the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011 and the Packaged Commodities Rules, 2011. We did not find in them a rule that sets out the Institute's management, courses or admission qualifications. If you need those details, look for separate rules or orders made under section 52(2)(l), or ask the Institute directly; do not assume the contents.
Where the Institute appears in the General Rules
The one place the Institute is named in the General Rules is rule 28, headed "Qualifications of Legal Metrology Officer":
- Rule 28(1): no person is to be appointed a Legal Metrology Officer unless he (a) is a graduate of a recognised university in Science (with physics as one of the subjects), technology or engineering, or holds a recognised diploma in engineering with three years' professional experience, and (b) is able to speak, read and write the regional language of the State.
- Rule 28(2): sub-rule (1) does not apply to officials who have been working as Legal Metrology Officers and are eligible for promotion to the next higher grade on the date of commencement of the rules.
- Rule 28(3): a person appointed to the post of Legal Metrology Officer "shall have to successfully complete the basic training course at the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology, Ranchi before his posting."
- Rule 28(4): the Central Government may, given the practical difficulties faced by a State Government and on its recommendation, relax the qualification in sub-rule (1) for that State.
So the Institute's role in practice, as far as our sources go, is to train the inspectors who later inspect premises, verify weights and measures and exercise powers under section 15. It is also a link in the chain of qualifications for the Director, the Controller and legal metrology officers, which sections 13 and 14 leave to be prescribed. See our articles on section 13 and section 14, and the full rule in the series article on rule 28 of the General Rules.
What section 21 does not do
- It gives no right to the public or to businesses. There is no entitlement to training there, no fee, and no licence or certificate issued to a trader.
- It does not make training a condition of any licence. The licence under section 23 depends on the Controller's prescribed conditions, not on attending the Institute.
- It carries no offence. Nothing in Chapter V punishes a breach of section 21, because the section imposes no duty.
- The place is named only in the rule. Section 21 names the Institute but not its location; the location, Ranchi, appears in rule 28(3).
Why a business reader should care
A business that deals with legal metrology is not directly regulated by section 21. It matters indirectly:
- It explains the baseline training of the inspectors who will visit. Officers must, under rule 28(3), complete the basic training course before posting.
- It tells a student or a compliance professional where the subject is taught, which helps if you want to train your own staff in weights-and-measures compliance. Whether the Institute admits private persons is for the prescribed rules and the Institute to say; the Act leaves admission qualifications to be prescribed.
Example 1. A State recruits an engineering graduate as an inspector. Rule 28(1) is met, and rule 28(3) requires completion of the basic course at the Institute in Ranchi before posting.
Example 2. A compliance manager at a packaged-goods company asks whether a section 21 course is needed for the company's licence. It is not: section 21 lays down no such condition; conditions for a licence are for the Controller under section 23.
Need help understanding officer powers?
If an inspector has visited your premises and you want to know the powers the officer holds and the limits on them, legal consultation can help you work through the Act and the rules. Bring any notice or inspection memo you were given.
Key takeaways
- Section 21 deems the Institute, established under the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976, to be established under the 2009 Act.
- Its purpose is training in Legal Metrology and allied branches of knowledge.
- Management, staff, courses and admission qualifications are to be prescribed by Central rules under section 52(2)(l).
- Rule 28(3) of the General Rules requires new legal metrology officers to complete the basic course at the Institute, Ranchi, before posting.
- Section 21 creates no duty or offence for businesses and is not amended by either Jan Vishwas Act.
Read next
- Section 20 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Non-standard imports
- Section 22 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Approval of model
- Section 14 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Controller and State officers
- Legal Metrology Officers -- Powers of Inspection
Disclaimer: Based on the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (Act 1 of 2010) as enacted, read with 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); section 21 is not amended by either Act. Also based on the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, as on 30 September 2026. State Legal Metrology rules, later amendments and notifications change; verify the current position before acting.