Officers of the Weights and Measures Unit (SDT), Industry and Business Ecosystem Division (IBE) under Ministry of Finance (MOFE) and Economy conducted spot checks on 17 supermarkets and grocery stores on August 4.
The visits were part of a routine enforcement exercise to ensure weighing and measuring machines used for business purposes are registered and verified.
During the inspection, SDT officers inspected 175 units of weighing machines. From the inspection, two units have failed to comply with the Weights and Measures Act, 1983 Chapter 151 and the stipulated guidelines under the Act.
The company was issued a Reminder Notice and is required to report to the Weights and Measures Unit Office within seven working days from the date the notice was issued.
According to Director of IBE Allen On, over the past seven months, SDT has inspected business premises such as supermarkets, grocery stores, cafés, restaurants, cake houses and pastries, tailor shops, textiles and hardware shops. Inspections were also conducted at industrial sites such as food processing factories, bricks, recycled materials, workshop and roadside stalls.
SDT has conducted spot checks in 70 areas, checking 1,308 units of weights and measures machines used for business activities.
Traders and users of weights and measuring machine are required to comply as stipulated in the Weights and Measures (Verification) Regulations, 1994 under section 3(2); Every person using or has in possession for use for trade any weight, measure or instrument for weighing not stamped as required by the regulation is guilty of an offence.
The penalty for such offence is a BND1,000 fine or imprisonment for three months or both and the instrument for weighing shall be liable to be forfeited.
Any contract, bargain, sale or dealing made by such weight, measure or instrument for weighing shall be void.
For enquiries, the public can contact Weights and Measures Unit, MoFE via email at sdt@mofe.gov.bn.