Department of Consumer Affairs has expanded the scope of Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) by adding five new categories of fuel dispensing systems under the Legal Metrology framework, a move aimed at strengthening consumer confidence and supporting India’s clean fuel infrastructure.
Under the amended Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013, the following five categories have now been brought under the GATC verification and re-verification framework:
- Petrol/Diesel Dispensers
- CNG Dispensers
- LPG Dispensers
- LNG Dispensers
- Hydrogen Dispensers
With the latest additions, GATCs can now verify and re-verify a total of 23 categories of weights and measures across the country.
Push for clean fuel ecosystem
The department said the inclusion of CNG, LNG and hydrogen dispensers comes at a time when cleaner fuels are witnessing increased adoption in India.
The move is expected to improve transparency and ensure accurate fuel delivery across fuel retail networks while strengthening consumer trust in fuel measurement systems.
States get flexibility to notify more categories
The amended rules also empower State Governments to notify additional categories of weights and measures that can be verified through GATCs under their respective rules.
The Centre said this flexibility would help states expand verification services based on local industry and consumer requirements.
Further, officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above have been authorised to exercise powers under relevant provisions of the Rules to enable faster processing of approvals and related matters.
Verification fees notified
Under the revised framework, verification fees for petrol and diesel dispensers have been fixed at Rs 5,000 per nozzle. For CNG, LPG, LNG and hydrogen dispensers, the verification fee has been set at Rs 10,000 per nozzle.
Public-private participation to boost capacity
Government Approved Test Centres are authorised facilities equipped with technical expertise and infrastructure to undertake verification and re-verification of specified weights and measures under the Legal Metrology Act.
The department said involving qualified private laboratories and industries under the GATC framework would help expand India’s verification capacity, improve service delivery and reduce delays.
The reforms are also expected to allow State Legal Metrology Departments to focus more on inspection, enforcement and consumer grievance redressal.
Existing categories under GATC framework
Before the latest amendment, 18 categories were already covered under the GATC framework, including water meters, energy meters, gas meters, load cells, weighing instruments, vehicle speed meters, moisture meters, breath analysers and flow meters.
The Centre said the reforms support technology-driven governance, transparency in trade practices and the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat while aligning India’s metrology ecosystem with global best practices and standards recommended by the International Organization of Legal Metrology.