Measuring law for trade

New law for regulating national measurement standards

The Parliament approved a law regulating the establishment of a National Measurement System. The system aims at regulating measurement practice in all fields, which would improve trade and consumer protection.

The new law, which will be effective starting February, states that the country would exclusively use the measurement units applied by the International System of Units (Metric system, i.e. meter, kilogram, etc.), adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.

According to the law, the Ministry of Economy and Trade would establish a National Measurement Council chaired by the Minister of Economy and Trade. The council will be tasked with conducting an extensive study of the measurement requirements, in order to draw the guidelines for a national policy for measurement standards.

The law assigned the Consumer Protection Directorate to control and monitor the production and importation of measurement tools and devices. It also stated that the Minister would determine, after consulting with the National Measurement Council, the specifications for precious metal products prior to introducing them to the market.

The law stated the application of a fine on any shopkeeper, or merchant caught using measurement tools that do not comply with the national measurement standards. Any supplier caught selling forged measurement tools and devices would be fined.