Sections 34 and 35 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.
Sections 34 and 35 are twin provisions. Section 34 punishes selling or delivering a commodity, article or thing by any means other than the standard weight, measure or number. Section 35 punishes rendering a service through non-standard means. Both were rewritten by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which dropped the Rs 2,000 minimum fine and the prison term, and both would be rewritten again by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (improvement notice first), from its notified date.
Section 34: whoever sells or delivers any commodity, article or thing by any means other than the standard weight, measure or number. Section 35: whoever renders a service through means other than weight, measure or numeration, or in terms of a weight, measure or number other than the standard. Since 2023, both carry a fine up to Rs 25,000 (first), Rs 50,000 (second), Rs 1 lakh (third and later), and no minimum fine or imprisonment. The 2026 Act would start with an improvement notice, from the notified date only.
The two offences
Section 34: sale or delivery
"Whoever sells, or causes to be sold, delivers, or causes to be delivered, any commodity, article or thing by any means other than the standard weight or measure or number".
Reading points:
- Sale or delivery, directly or by causing it, is covered. "Sale" has the meaning in section 2(r).
- "By any means other than": the method of sale is the issue. Selling by the heap, by the bundle, by the glassful or by an unstandardised container, where a standard weight, measure or number applies, is caught. The text does not list methods; it speaks generally.
- The yardstick is the "standard weight or measure or number", which is what the Act and rules specify, together with what section 10 prescribes for transactions in particular goods (sections 9 and 10).
Section 35: services
"Whoever renders or causes to be rendered, any service through means other than the weight or measure or numeration or in terms of any weight, measure or number other than the standard weight or measure".
- It is the service counterpart of section 34: for example, charging for a service measured by weight, volume or count using a non-standard unit or a non-standard means of measurement.
- Section 2(u) defines "transaction" to include the assessment of work done, wages due or services rendered, which shows the Act treats services as transactions.
Section 30(b) and (d) separately punish short or excess service (see section 30), and section 29 punishes quoting or documenting in non-standard units (see sections 28 and 29). The difference is the focus: sections 34 and 35 are about the means of sale or service.
If a market inspector has questioned how you sell or charge, legal dispute resolution support can help you establish which section is being alleged before you respond.
Penalty, layer by layer (both sections)
The text is the same for both sections at each layer.
| Layer | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1. As enacted in 2010 | Fine not less than Rs 2,000 but up to Rs 5,000; for the second or subsequent offence, imprisonment not less than three months but up to one year, or fine, or both |
| 2. After the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force; Schedule item 40(F) and (G)) | 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) | "Shall be warned with an improvement notice"; second offence "liable to penalty which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees"; subsequent offences the fine "shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees" |
What changed in practice
- The floor went in 2023. The original minimum fine of Rs 2,000 is gone for sections 34 and 35; the amended text says only "which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees". (Section 33, by contrast, keeps its Rs 2,000 floor; see section 33.)
- The minimum imprisonment went in 2023. The earlier repeat-offence term of at least three months is gone; the repeat steps are now fines.
- The 2026 Act would then replace the first offence with a warning by improvement notice and restate the amounts, leaving a floor of Rs 50,000 for third and later offences.
For the improvement-notice machinery (section 15(6) and (7)), see our article on section 15. The 2026 Act applies only from the date the Central Government notifies it.
Compounding
Sections 34 and 35 fall within sections 27 to 39 for the Director (section 48(2)) and within sections 33 to 37 for the Controller (section 48(3)). The sum cannot exceed the maximum fine for the offence. The rule 32A table (Packaged Commodities Rules, as amended up to March 2022) lists sections 29 and 36 only; for sections 34 and 35 the sum is whatever the rules in force prescribe, and our sources do not give it. See compounding of offences and our article on section 48.
The 2023 Act also adds section 41 to the compoundable offences, but that does not affect sections 34 and 35.
Comparison of the adjacent sections
| Section | Conduct | First-offence fine after 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Manufacture or sale of non-standard weight or measure | Up to Rs 1 lakh |
| 28 | Transaction contrary to section 10 | Up to Rs 50,000 |
| 29 | Quotation or document contrary to section 11 | Up to Rs 50,000 |
| 30 | Short delivery or excess receipt | Up to Rs 10,000 (unchanged) |
| 33 | Unverified weight or measure | Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 (unchanged) |
| 34 | Sale or delivery by non-standard means | Up to Rs 25,000 |
| 35 | Service by non-standard means | Up to Rs 25,000 |
Whether an allegation is pleaded under section 28, 29, 34 or 35 depends on whether the complaint is about the unit quoted, the prescribed unit for the goods, or the means of sale. A notice often cites several sections; read each.
Practical points
- Where a class of goods must be sold by weight, measure or number under the rules, sell by the standard unit and use a verified instrument (section 24). Our general guide on the prohibition of non-standard weights and measures may help.
- For services priced by measure or count, use standard units in the contract, the rate card and the invoice.
- Which goods must be sold by which unit is for the prescribed rules; the Act itself does not list them.
Example 1. A fruit vendor sells by a heap priced at a flat amount where the prescribed mode for that class of goods is by weight. Section 34 is the likely provision, as the sale is by means other than the standard weight.
Example 2. A transporter charges for carriage by a container count that is not a standard unit for what is measured. The service is rendered in terms of a number or measure other than the standard, which section 35 addresses.
Need help with a notice under section 34 or 35?
If you have been served a notice or challan for selling or charging by non-standard means, the first tasks are to identify the section, the layer of the penalty and whether compounding is open. Our legal dispute resolution team can go through the papers with you. Bring the notice, your bills or rate card and any inspection memo.
Key takeaways
- Section 34 punishes sale or delivery of a commodity by means other than the standard weight, measure or number; section 35 does the same for services.
- After the 2023 Act: fines up to Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh for the first, second and later offences; the Rs 2,000 floor and the prison term are gone.
- The 2026 Act would begin with an improvement notice and set a Rs 50,000 floor for later offences; it applies only from the notified date.
- Both offences are compoundable under section 48.
- The prescribed units for particular goods are in rules, not the Act.
Read next
- Section 33 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Penalty for use of unverified weight or measure
- Section 36 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Penalty for non-standard packages
- Section 30 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Penalty for short delivery and excess receipt
- Offences Under Legal Metrology Act -- Complete List
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 changes to sections 34 and 35 apply 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.