Section 31 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 31 punishes three kinds of paper failure: not submitting a required return, not maintaining a required record or register, and not producing a weight, measure or document when an officer asks to see it at inspection. The defence is a "reasonable excuse". The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 replaced the prison term with a three-step fine; the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 would make the first offence an improvement notice, once notified.
Whoever, being required by or under the Act or the rules to submit returns or maintain any record or register, or being required by the Director, the Controller or a legal metrology officer to produce for inspection any weight, measure, document, register or record, omits or fails without reasonable excuse to do so, commits an offence. Since the 2023 Act the fine is up to Rs 25,000 (first), Rs 50,000 (second) and Rs 1 lakh (third and later). The 2026 Act would start with an improvement notice; it applies only from the notified date.
What the section covers
Section 31 says: "Whoever, being required by or under this Act or the rules made thereunder to submit returns, maintain any record or register, or being required by the Director or the Controller or any legal metrology officer to produce before him for inspection any weight or measure or any document, register or other record relating thereto, omits or fails without any reasonable excuse, so to do".
| Limb | Duty | Source of the duty |
|---|---|---|
| Submit returns | File the returns the Act or rules require | "by or under this Act or the rules" |
| Maintain a record or register | Keep the prescribed records and registers | Section 17(1); State rules under section 53(2)(b); rule 24 of the General Rules (Eleventh Schedule register) |
| Produce for inspection | Produce a weight or measure, document, register or record when required by the Director, Controller or a legal metrology officer | Sections 15(2) and 17(2) |
Points to note:
- "Reasonable excuse" is the defence written into the section. It is not defined in the Act, so it depends on the facts: for example, records lost in a documented fire or flood, or a demand made at a time or in a way that made production impossible. The section does not say who bears the burden or what standard applies, so do not assume either; take legal advice on the facts.
- It is an omission offence. The text turns on "omits or fails". No intent to deceive is needed. Deliberate falsity is a separate offence: section 41 punishes false information and false returns or records.
- It applies to the duty-holder. Section 17 binds manufacturers, repairers and dealers of weights and measures. A user who is not a dealer has no register duty under section 17, but any officer's requisition under section 15(2) to produce a weight or measure or a document relating to it still applies to "the person having the custody" of it.
- "Premises" and "inspection" follow section 15; see our articles on section 15 and section 17.
If an officer has asked for documents and you are unsure what you must hand over, legal dispute resolution support can help you respond in a way that protects your position.
The penalty, layer by layer
| Layer | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1. As enacted in 2010 | Fine up to Rs 5,000; for the second or subsequent offence, imprisonment up to one year and also fine |
| 2. After the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force; Schedule item 40(E)) | Fine up to Rs 25,000; second offence, fine up to Rs 50,000; third and subsequent offence, fine up to Rs 1 lakh |
| 3. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (Act 8 of 2026; in force only from the date the Central Government notifies; check the notification) | "Warned with an improvement notice"; second offence "liable to penalty which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees"; subsequent offences the text reads "the fine shall not be fifty thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees" |
A drafting note on the 2026 text: as printed in the Act, the subsequent-offence words are "shall not be fifty thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees". It reads as if "less than" has dropped out (the parallel provisions say "not less than"), but we quote the text as it is printed and suggest you check the notified or corrected version before relying on the floor figure.
The 2023 amendment removed the imprisonment limb. On the amended text, a third offence is punished with a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh; the section no longer speaks of imprisonment.
How it links to the new improvement notice
Under the 2026 Act's new section 15(6) and (7), an officer who has reasonable ground to believe that a person has not complied may serve an improvement notice, and failure to comply with it can lead to suspension or revocation of registration or approval after a hearing. For a paper default such as a missing register, the improvement notice would be the expected first response, but only once the Central Government notifies the provisions. Until then, the 2023 text applies.
Compounding
Section 31 is within sections 27 to 39 for the Director (section 48(2)) and within sections 27 to 31 for the Controller (section 48(3)). Compounding is on payment of the prescribed sum, which cannot exceed the maximum fine. The rule 32A table in the Packaged Commodities Rules (as amended up to March 2022) does not list section 31, so the sum is whatever the rules in force prescribe; our sources do not give it. Compare compounding of offences and our article on section 48.
Rule-level breaches are different
Section 52(3) and section 53(3) let the Central and State Governments provide in their rules that a breach of a rule is punishable with a fine up to Rs 5,000. A breach of a rule that does not amount to failing to submit a return, keep a register or produce a document may be dealt with under the rule's own penalty. Rule 32 of the Packaged Commodities Rules (as amended up to March 2022) is an example of a rule-level fine for Packaged Commodities Rules contraventions.
Practical steps
- Keep the register in the prescribed form at each place of business and make it available on the spot.
- If you truly cannot produce something, say so in writing at the time and record the reason: that is how a "reasonable excuse" is later shown.
- Do not hand over anything without a receipt or list; an officer who seizes records under section 15(1)(b) should prepare a seizure record under the procedure the Code of Criminal Procedure (now the BNSS) lays down.
Example 1. A scale dealer has no register in the prescribed form when the inspector visits. On a first offence, after the 2023 Act, section 31 exposes him to a fine of up to Rs 25,000.
Example 2. A manufacturer's records were destroyed in a documented warehouse fire. It tells the officer and follows up in writing. The fire may be a "reasonable excuse" on the facts, which section 31 expressly allows.
Need help after an inspection notice?
A notice for not producing records turns on what was asked, when and by whom, and on what you can show. If you have received one, our legal dispute resolution team can go through it with you. Bring the notice, your registers and any correspondence with the officer.
Key takeaways
- Section 31 punishes failing, without reasonable excuse, to submit returns, maintain records or registers, or produce weights, measures and documents at inspection.
- As amended by the 2023 Act: fines of up to Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh for the first, second and later offences.
- The 2026 Act would begin with an improvement notice; it applies only from the notified date, and its later-offence wording should be checked against the notified text.
- Reasonable excuse is the statutory defence; keep evidence of it.
- The offence is compoundable under section 48.
Read next
- Section 30 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Penalty for short delivery and excess receipt
- Section 32 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Penalty for failure to get model approved
- Section 17 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Records and registers
- Reply to Show Cause Notice -- Legal Metrology Draft
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; Schedule item 40) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (Act 8 of 2026; its change to section 31 applies only from the date the Central Government notifies), as on 30 September 2026. State Legal Metrology rules, later amendments and notifications change; verify the current position before acting.