Rajahmundry: As part of implementation of ‘Ease-of-Doing-Business,’ the AP government is computerising the legal metrology department on the lines of Maharashtra and Karnataka states to ensure transparency and better services to traders besides earning good revenue to the exchequer by addressing lapses in remittance of various forms of fee.
The primary task of the department is to verify several kinds of weights and measures including the electronic ones being used by various trades in order to calibrate them and issue a verification certificate once in a year.
Normally, electronic weights are verified once for every two years while weights and measures of traditional nature will be verified once a year. Legal metrology inspectors visit the establishments and verify weights and measures and issue a verification certificate. Based on the nature of trade, the trader has to pay the fee and the inspectors issue a receipt. Verification fee ranges from a minimum of Rs 10 to a maximum of Rs 5,000.
Once computerisation process is completed, the inspector will visit the establishments and verify the weights and measures and issues a receipt with serial number and barcode to the trader. The inspector will upload all the observations made on weights and measures on a specially developed software application. This information can be accessed by all designated officers of the department. The trader has to pay the requisite fee at Mee-Seva centre and submits details of receipt number and its barcode. Accordingly, the trader will get verification certificate within 15 days.
In the event of any malfunctioning of weights, only government approved technicians are supposed to carry out necessary repair work and issue a receipt explaining the nature of repair, rectification and charges collected. When an inspector arrives for verification for an establishment, the receipt issued by the technician is mandatory.
Earlier, the government-approved technicians used to collect huge amount from the traders for repair works and used to issue a receipt for less amount. Computerisation will address this lapse.
Collection of compounding fee from the traders for a series of offences is also getting computerised wherein the trader who flouted the norms and was booked had to pay the compounding fee at Mee-Seva centre and obtain a receipt. The state government has specified compounding fees for several varieties of offences and the Mee-Seva receipt will specify the nature of offence.
District legal metrology assistant controller M.N.S. Madhuri said, “All the data related to our department is getting computerised all over the state at present and new services to commence in a month.”
Checks and balances
- Over 10 lakhs establishments exist involved in doing 43 varieties of trades by earning revenue to the tune of Rs 30 crore to the state exchequer per annum.
- Computerisation checks illegal practices.
- Though the computerisation of legal metrology department is supposed to be over by August 31, some technical glitches caused the delay.
