Malaysia Publishes New Order on Marking Quantity on Pre-Packaged Goods

SG 26/24

Malaysia issued the Trade Descriptions (Marking of Quantity for Pre-Packaged Goods) Order 2023, effective June 4, 2024. This Order replaces the existing Trade Descriptions (Marking of Pre-packaged Goods) Order 2023.

On September 21, 2023, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living issued the Trade Descriptions (Marking of Quantity for Pre-Packaged Goods) Order 2023. This order, which comes into operation on June 4, 2024, will replace the existing Trade Descriptions (Marking of Pre-Packaged Goods) Order 2023 that took effect on September 1, 2023.

Below are the main changes made in the latest order:

1. Interpretations of pre-packaged goods and related measurements have been combined into one clause under paragraph 4 “Declaration of quantity for pre-packaged goods.”
2. Wholesaler, manufacturer, importer or producer is now required to declare the quantity of pre-packaged goods in a package
3. Marking requirements for appropriate indication of goods and name and address of manufacturer and importer have been removed

Besides the above differences, the contents of the latest order remain the same as the previous version.

All markings on pre-packaged goods shall:

1. Be legible
2. Use clear words in the national language or national language and any other language if the pre-packaged goods originated from Malaysia
3. Use clear words in the national language or English language if the pre-packaged goods originated outside Malaysia
4. Be stamped or printed in a color that is clearly different from the background color of the pre-packaged goods
5. Have a minimum height (between 2 – 6 mm) as specified in the second schedule

The average value of the actual quantity determined in the sample of pre-packaged goods inspected shall not be less than the nominal quantity, with no pre-packaged goods allowed to have a negative error twice the tolerable deficiency specified in the table below:

For pre-packaged goods declared in length, the tolerable deficiency allowed is 2% of the nominal quantity, while for pre-packaged goods declared in area, the tolerable deficiency allowed is 3% of the nominal quantity.

For pre-packaged goods declared in counts up to fifty, the actual quantity shall not be less than the nominal quantity. When the declared count is more than fifty, the actual quantity shall not be less, on average, of the nominal quantity and, the negative error is one piece for each of the beginning hundred.

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