Govt sets ball rolling for more approved test centres under metrology rules

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) The Centre’s Department of Consumer Affairs on Thursday announced that it has invited online applications from eligible industries, laboratories, engineering colleges, polytechnics, ITIs and testing facilities for recognition as Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) under the Legal Metrology Rules.

With the application window currently open, eligible organisations are encouraged to submit their applications through the Department’s online portal emaap.gov.in/gatc before the deadline of 31 August 2026, up to 5:00 PM. The portal provides a completely digital process for submission of applications, payment of fees, tracking of application status and communication with applicants, making the process simpler, transparent and business-friendly, according to an official statement.

The GATC initiative is aimed at expanding India’s verification ecosystem by enabling technically competent private sector institutions to participate in the verification and re-verification of specified weights and measures used in trade and commerce. More verification capacity will lead to faster services and better consumer protection, the statement said.

As on date, 51 GATCs have already been recognised. The Department is now further expanding the network so that businesses have greater access to verification facilities closer to their locations, reducing turnaround time and facilitating faster compliance, according to the statement.

The initiative will also complement the efforts of State Legal Metrology Departments. With more approved centres available for verification services, State Legal Metrology Officers can focus more on market surveillance, enforcement and consumer grievance redressal.

Following recent amendments to the GATC Rules, recognised GATCs can undertake verification and re-verification of 23 categories of weights and measures covering important sectors such as healthcare, energy, transport, retail, manufacturing and infrastructure. These include: water meters, sphygmomanometers, clinical thermometers, automatic rail weighbridges, tape measures, non-automatic weighing instruments, load cells, beam scales and counter machines.

Weights of all categories, gas meters, energy meters, moisture meters, vehicle speed meters, breath analysers, multi-dimensional measuring instruments and flow meters are the other categories in the list.

Besides, the inclusion of petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, LNG and hydrogen dispensers is part of the recent expansion of the GATC framework. This will help strengthen verification capacity for fuel dispensing systems and support accurate measurement and transparency in fuel transactions, the statement said.

The expansion of GATCs is an important Ease of Doing Business reform. Instead of relying only on limited departmental facilities for verification, manufacturers, traders and users can increasingly access approved technical facilities through the expanding GATC network.

The digital application system further simplifies the process by enabling applicants to apply online, make payments digitally and track their applications without the need for repeated physical visits to Government offices.

Eligible organisations are required to have the prescribed testing and calibration equipment traceable to national standards, qualified technical personnel and the infrastructure specified under the GATC Rules, the statement added.

–IANS

sps/pk