Legal Metrology Rules for Your Shopify Store in India
If you sell packaged products from your own Shopify store in India, the label on the pack is not the only place the law cares about. Since 2018 the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules have expected the same mandatory declarations to appear where the customer buys online. This guide explains which declarations apply, what changed in January 2024, what the government has proposed since, and how to put this information on Shopify product pages so it stays correct across hundreds of products and variants.
Legal details are from Press Information Bureau releases of the Department of Consumer Affairs (29 June 2017, 16 July 2022, 14 July 2024 and 10 November 2025), the Department's Lok Sabha answer of 7 August 2024, and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 in the Gazette of India. Shopify details are from the Shopify Help Centre. All checked on 9 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your own obligations with your legal adviser or the Legal Metrology department in your state.
Do Legal Metrology rules apply to your own Shopify store?
Yes, if you sell pre-packaged commodities to consumers. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 set out what must be declared on a pre-packaged product meant for retail sale. When the Department of Consumer Affairs announced the 2017 amendments, its press release said: "Goods displayed by the seller on e-commerce platform shall contain declarations required under the Rules like name & Address of the manufacturer, packer and importer, name of the commodity, net content, retail sale price, consumer care complaint, dimention etc." Those amendments came into force on 1 January 2018.
Some founders assume this only bites marketplaces such as Amazon or Flipkart. Your own website counts too. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 define an "inventory e-commerce entity" as one "which owns the inventory of goods or services and sells such goods or services directly to the consumers", and say this "shall include single brand retailers and multi-channel single brand retailers". A D2C brand selling its own products on Shopify fits that description. Rule 7(1)(b) of the same rules requires every inventory e-commerce entity to display "all mandatory notices and information required by applicable laws". Legal Metrology declarations are exactly that kind of information.
There are exclusions. The Department's July 2024 release described the rules as applying to all pre-packaged commodities except packages of more than 25 kilogram or 25 litre, cement, fertilizer and agricultural farm produce sold in bags above 50 kilogram, and packaged commodities meant for industrial or institutional consumers. In the same release the Department proposed widening the rules to cover retail packages above 25 kg as well. We could not find a final notification of that change, so if you sell large retail packs, check the current position before relying on the exclusion.
Which declarations must appear on your product page?
The short answer: the same set of declarations your pack must carry, shown where the customer can read them before buying. The Department's answer in the Lok Sabha on 7 August 2024 listed the mandatory information as "name and address of the manufacturer/ packer/ importer, country of origin, common or generic name of the commodity, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP, Unit Sale Price, best before/ use by date in case of commodity become unfit for human consumption, consumer care details etc."
Here is what each one means in practice for a Shopify listing, and where we would store it.
| Declaration | What the customer should see | Where it usually lives in Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer, packer or importer name and address | The full name and address of whoever is responsible, and the importer for imported goods | Product metafield, or a metaobject if many products share one manufacturer |
| Country of origin | Where the product was made, especially for imported goods | Product metafield (single line text or a metaobject reference) |
| Common or generic name | What the product actually is, not only the brand name | Product title or a product metafield |
| Net quantity | Weight, volume, length or number in the pack | Variant metafield when pack sizes differ by variant |
| Month and year of manufacture | When it was made or packed | Product or variant metafield, updated when stock batches change |
| MRP (retail sale price) | Maximum retail price, inclusive of taxes | Variant price or compare-at price, kept consistent with the pack |
| Unit sale price | Price per standard unit of quantity, such as per kg or per litre | Variant metafield, or calculated in the theme from price and quantity |
| Best before or use by date | Required where the product can become unfit for human consumption | Product or variant metafield |
| Consumer care details | Who to contact with a complaint about the product | Shop-wide setting or a metaobject shown on every product page |
The "etc." at the end of the official list matters. Some product categories carry extra requirements, such as dimensions, and food products follow labelling rules that the 2017 release said were harmonised with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Use the table as a starting point and check the rules for your category.
What changed on 1 January 2024?
Two declarations became more prominent. According to the Department's Lok Sabha answer, the rules were amended "vide GSR 722 (E) dated 6th October, 2023 for declaration of unit sale price in addition to retail sale price (MRP) and declaration of month and year of manufacture. The rules came into foce w.e.f. 1st January, 2024."
For an online store this has two practical effects:
- Unit sale price needs a home. Shopify shows the variant price by default, not a price per kilogram or per litre. If your theme does not display a unit price, the information exists on the pack but not on the listing. As an example, a 250 g pack priced at Rs 300 would show a unit price worked out per the rule's unit for that quantity. Check the rule text for which unit applies to your pack size.
- Manufacture date changes with every batch. A month and year that was right for last quarter's stock may be wrong for this month's dispatches. Whoever receives new stock needs a step to update the value on the store, or the listing will drift away from the pack.
Photo: Nicola since 1972 via Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Does the pack still need the full label if the website shows it?
Yes. Showing declarations on your website does not replace the label. The rules exist to regulate pre-packaged commodities, and the Department's 2024 answer describes the declarations as required "on all pre-packaged commodities in the interest of consumers". The online display is an additional duty, so the customer sees the information before buying and finds the same information on the pack when it arrives.
That makes consistency the real risk. If the product page says 500 g and the pack says 450 g, or the MRP on the site is different from the MRP printed on the pack, you have created a mismatch a customer can screenshot. Treat the pack artwork as the source of truth and copy from it, rather than writing listing copy first and hoping the label agrees.
What about electronics and QR codes?
Electronics got a partial relaxation. A 16 July 2022 release said the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022 "allowed the electronic products to declare certain mandatory declarations through the QR Code for a period of one year, if not declared in the package itself." The release listed declarations such as the manufacturer, packer or importer address, the common or generic name, size and dimension, and customer care details "except the telephone number & e-mail address".
Two cautions. The relaxation was for a stated period, and we have not confirmed what applies now, so check the current rule before relying on it. It is also about the physical package. It does not reduce what your product page should show, because the customer buying online cannot scan the QR code on a box they have not received yet.
What is the proposed country of origin filter?
It is a draft, and it would affect stores selling imported products. On 10 November 2025 the Department of Consumer Affairs released the Draft Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) (Second) Amendment Rules, 2025. The draft would insert into rule 6(10): "Provided that every e-commerce entity selling imported products shall provide a searchable and sortable filter for the country of origin, with their product listings." Comments were invited up to 22 November 2025.
We could not confirm on 9 October 2026 whether this has been notified as a final rule. If you sell imported goods, it is still worth preparing, because the work is the same either way. Store country of origin in a structured field, not inside the description text. Shopify's Search and Discovery app can then use it. Shopify's help page says product metafield filters "are based on product metafields that are assigned to all products in the store", and supports types including single line text and metaobject references. A store can have up to 25 filters in total.
How do you show these declarations on a Shopify product page?
Use metafields, not the product description. Shopify describes metafields as a way to "extend an existing platform data model, such as products, customers, and orders with your own custom data." The setup has three steps, which Shopify's help centre also lays out: create metafield definitions in the admin, fill in the values, then connect them to the storefront.
- Create definitions. In Settings, under Custom data, add product metafield definitions such as Manufacturer, Country of origin, Net quantity, Month and year of manufacture and Consumer care. Use variant metafields for anything that differs between pack sizes.
- Fill the values. For a small catalogue you can type them into each product. For larger catalogues, our guide to editing products in bulk without breaking them covers doing this safely.
- Connect them to the theme. In the theme editor, add a block to the product template and use the connect dynamic source icon to pick the metafield. Shopify's help page says that if the icon shows a plus sign, "you can search for and add up to 20 metafields in a single template."
Older themes, or themes without dynamic source support for the block you need, require a small code change. Shopify's own advice is to edit theme code "only if you have coding experience". Variant-level values are a common case: a block that reads a product metafield will not change when the shopper switches from 250 g to 1 kg, so the theme needs to read the selected variant instead.
If you are new to the difference between metafields and metaobjects, our explainer on metafields and metaobjects covers when to use each. A metaobject works well for manufacturer and importer details that many products share, because you update the address once and every product page changes.
Where should these declarations sit on the page?
Somewhere a customer will find them before paying, without needing to open the image gallery. The E-Commerce Rules ask for information displayed "in a clear and accessible manner". In practice we place a short block near the price for MRP, unit sale price and net quantity, and a "Product details" or "Legal information" section further down for manufacturer, country of origin, manufacture date and consumer care.
Two things to avoid. Do not put declarations only inside product images, because the text cannot be read by search engines or screen readers, and it is easy to forget to update. And do not hide them in a collapsed tab that some themes collapse by default on mobile without a clear label. Our guide to product page layout covers where information sits on a page that still converts.
What do the E-Commerce Rules add at store level?
Store-wide details, separate from each product. Rule 4(2) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 requires every e-commerce entity to display its legal name, the principal geographic address of its headquarters and all branches, the name and details of its website, and contact details for customer care. Rule 7(1) adds, for inventory e-commerce entities, information on returns, refunds, exchanges, warranty, delivery, payment methods, grievance redressal and the total price with a breakup of charges.
On Shopify these usually live in the footer, the contact page and the policy pages, plus the cart and checkout for the price breakup. Check them once at launch and again whenever your registered address or support contacts change.
What usually goes wrong on Indian Shopify stores?
These are the patterns to check for on your own store:
- Declarations only on the pack photo. The information exists, but only as pixels in a gallery image.
- One value for all variants. Net quantity or unit price written for the smallest pack and shown for every size.
- Importer missing. Imported products listing the overseas manufacturer but not the Indian importer.
- Stale manufacture date. A month and year typed in at launch and never updated as new batches arrive.
- Listing and pack disagree. MRP or net quantity edited on the site after a pack change, or the other way round.
- Consumer care left out. A support email in the footer, but no consumer care details tied to the product.
Most of these come from storing compliance text as free-form description copy. Moving it into structured fields fixes the root cause rather than one product at a time. If you are building a food, wellness or personal care brand, our guide to launching a wellness D2C brand on Shopify covers the wider launch steps for regulated categories.
Want your product pages checked for Legal Metrology declarations?
Free product page declarations check. Get in touch or email hello@exactwhy.com with the subject "Legal Metrology Product Pages" and your store URL. Tell us your product category, whether you sell imported goods, and roughly how many products and variants you have. We reply within 4 hours with a list of declarations missing or inconsistent on a sample of your product pages, and how we would structure them in Shopify.
If you go ahead. We create the metafield and metaobject structure for your declarations, bulk-fill values from your pack artwork data, add variant-aware blocks to your product template, and set up a country of origin filter if you sell imported products, so new products follow the same pattern from the day they are added.