You can consider the import license as an enigma. And because it is a prominent business certificate and various authorities issue it, people seem to know about it less and less. As a result, there is a lot of confusion around the purpose of this license. For example, can one use it to import anything? Or will you need special import registration for different types of products?
This blog is here to answer these questions that have plagued you for a long time.
What is an Import License in India?
If we have to put the least complex terms to its definition, the importer registration is a legal permit to import certain products for sale. Depending upon the nature of the products, the authorizing body changes:
- Central Drug Standard Control Organization is the issuing authority for drugs and cosmetics import.
- If you want to import a weight or measuring product, the legal metrology registration for an importer is a requirement.
- To import food products, you need the FSSAI license.
Import Certificate by Legal Metrology Department – the Most Critical Import Permit in India
Be it cosmetic products, food products, or weights and measuring products, import certificates that the legal metrology department issues will always be necessary. The reasons are as follows:
- These products come in packages. And, when there are packages, there are regulations of legal metrology packaged commodities to uphold.
- Quantifying the products in terms of their weight, length, and other dimensions is crucial, requiring an import registration certificate.
That brings our need to discuss the critical points about the registration to import by the LM Department.
You need to understand this because it is the license you will probably need in the future. It is especially important if your business is anywhere related to importing products.
Facts about the LMD license for import
Here are some of the mildly interesting facts about import registration:
- There is no online procedure to obtain this certificate: Considering that we now live in the digitization age, it is easy to mistake that we have just entered through the gate. There are still business licenses and registrations that follow the old offline approach. The import license in India is one of them.
- The display pane is the most crucial document: The information provided on the product’s package is its most important aspect. Therefore, to obtain the license, provide a copy of the display pane.
- You can no longer consider the date of import as the date of manufacturing: For a long time, foreign manufacturers have gotten away with selling old products on the Indian subcontinent. They exploited an old loophole in the legal metrology laws by swapping the manufacturing date with the importing date. It caused people to think of a years-old product as a new one. However, the recent amendments have patched that loophole. Now, the importer must put the date of import and date of manufacturing in separate columns of the display pane.
- You must obtain the license within 90 days of starting the import business: To ensure that your business runs on time, get the certificate of import within ninety days before commencing business.
Conclusion
You must obtain the legal metrology department-issued import license to import all types of packaged products. However, the weights and measuring products require special consideration here. Regardless of your need, call the legal metrology experts for assistance.
For more articles about Registration and Licenses, visit PostingAt regularly.
