New Delhi: The Department of Consumer Affairs has awarded 12 Government Approved Test Centre – GATC certificates to 11 private entities, marking a major milestone in strengthening India’s legal metrology verification ecosystem through a structured public–private partnership model.
The initiative enhances verification capacity, improves regulatory efficiency, and supports accurate trade practices across sectors.
The GATC certificates were formally presented on 24 December 2025 by Pralhad Joshi, Union Cabinet Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Minister of New & Renewable Energy, in the presence of B L Verma, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment.
The move represents a significant reform in the country’s legal metrology system by expanding verification and re-verification capabilities beyond government laboratories and enabling qualified private entities to participate in India’s verification network.
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The initiative aims to ensure higher accuracy in weights and measures used in trade and consumer transactions, while improving ease of doing business and service delivery.
GATC Certificates Enable Private Participation in Legal Metrology
The issuance of GATC certificates follows the amendment of the Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013, notified on 23 October 2025.
The amended Rules expanded the scope of Government Approved Test Centres, allowing eligible private laboratories and industries that meet prescribed technical criteria to conduct verification and re-verification activities in line with international standards.
18 Categories of Instruments Covered Under Amended GATC Rules
Under the revised framework, GATC recognition now covers 18 categories of weighing and measuring instruments, reflecting the Government’s response to evolving technological and sectoral needs. These include:
- Water meters, energy meters and gas meters
- Flow meters and moisture meters
- Sphygmomanometers and clinical thermometers
- Breath analysers and vehicle speed meters
- Multi-dimensional measuring instruments
- Automatic rail weighbridges
- Tape measures and non-automatic weighing instruments
- Load cells, beam scales and counter machines
- Weights of all categories
To support transparent and time-bound approvals, the Department of Consumer Affairs launched a dedicated online portal for processing applications for GATC certificates.
The application window remained open until 30 November 2025, enabling faster processing and improved accessibility for eligible private entities.
The recognition of private GATCs is expected to improve access to verification services, reduce turnaround time and support timely compliance for manufacturers, traders and service providers.
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Regular and decentralised verification of consumer-facing instruments such as weighing scales, water meters and energy meters will help minimise inaccuracies and enhance consumer trust in everyday transactions.
This public–private partnership initiative aligns with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision by leveraging domestic technical expertise and enabling private entities to contribute to India’s expanding verification infrastructure within a uniform and regulated framework.
The continued recognition of Regional Reference Standard Laboratories (RRSLs) and National Test House (NTH) laboratories as deemed GATCs ensures a strong nationwide verification ecosystem.
By decentralising verification activities, the reform also enables State Legal Metrology Departments to focus more effectively on inspection, enforcement and consumer grievance redressal.
Through these measures, the Government reinforces its commitment to a scientific, technology-driven and future-ready legal metrology system that strengthens consumer confidence, regulatory efficiency and fairness in trade.
