Fifth Schedule explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Fifth Schedule, referred to in rule 19, tells the inspecting officer how many packages to pick from a lot and how to pick them. It also carries the correction factor and the allowed number of over-error packages that the lot approval test in rule 19(6) relies on.
The Schedule has four paragraphs and a table. The table in its amended form (2017, in force 1 January 2018) gives for each inspection lot size the sample size (n), a correction factor (C) and the number of packages allowed to show an error above the maximum permissible error but below twice that error. Samples must be picked at random, from different positions in the stack, or from the filling line using marked empty containers.
What the Schedule does
Rule 19(1) says the officer draws samples from the lot "in such manner and in such number as are specified in the Fifth Schedule". The Schedule therefore fixes three things: how many packages are tested, how they are chosen, and two numbers used in the pass or fail decision. A "lot" is defined in rule 2(c): for stored packages, the total number stored; for packages on or at the end of the packing line, the maximum hourly output of packages.
If you want to check how your own lot would be treated, our legal consultation service can walk through the table with you against a batch record.
The sample-size table
The Schedule prints two tables one after the other.
First table (lot size and sample size only):
| Lot size | Sample size |
|---|---|
| Less than 4000 | 32 |
| More than 4000 | 80 |
Second table (the one with the correction factor):
| Serial | Inspection lot size | Sample size (n) | Correction factor (C) | Number of packages showing an error more than the maximum permissible error but less than twice that error |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 to 500 | 50 | 0.379 | 3 |
| 2 | 501 to 3200 | 80 | 0.295 | 5 |
| 3 | More than 3200 | 125 | 0.234 | 7 |
A footnote beneath the second table says "Substituted/ amended vide GSR 629(E) dated 23rd June, 2017, came into force w.e.f. 1.1.2018". The footnote sits between the second table and paragraph 2, so the consolidation does not say in so many words which table it replaces. The second table is the one that has a "column 4" and a correction factor, and rules 19(4), 19(6) and 20(1) refer to "column 4 of the Table in the Fifth Schedule", so read the second table as the current one for those rules. The text does not state a sample size for a lot smaller than 100 packages, and it does not say what happens at exactly 4000 in the first table. Check the gazette text if your lot is in either gap.
How the numbers are used
- Sample size (n) is the number of packages to select. The Explanation at the end of the Schedule says "sample size" means the number of packages to be selected as sample.
- Correction factor (C) feeds paragraph 10 of the Sixth Schedule: the corrected average net quantity is the average plus the standard deviation multiplied by C. See the Sixth Schedule article.
- Column 4 is the tolerance on the number of "over-error" packages. Rules 19(4), 19(6) and 20(1) compare the count of packages with an error in deficiency exceeding the maximum permissible error with this number. A package showing an error above twice the maximum permissible error is treated separately in the rules and is not covered by the column 4 allowance.
Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: picking the samples
Paragraph 2: the sample "shall be selected at random" in the manner set out in paragraphs 3 and 4.
Paragraph 3 (stored packages): where samples are taken from stock kept by the manufacturer or packer in a warehouse, godown or any other place, the sample is selected at random from every lot and "shall be picked out from the top, bottom, center, right, left, front and rear of the stocks" so that the samples adequately represent the lot.
Paragraph 4 (filling in progress): where samples have to be taken from the place where the package is being filled, they are selected from packages already filled. Alternatively the requisite number of empty containers may be taken over, each adequately marked for identification, the tare weight of each accurately noted, and the marked containers introduced at random in the packing process, so that after filling the net quantity can be determined. The Sixth Schedule, paragraph 3(5), repeats this procedure in detail for destructive testing.
| Situation | How samples are chosen |
|---|---|
| Stock in a warehouse or godown | Random, from top, bottom, centre, right, left, front and rear of the stock |
| Packages already filled at the line | Picked from those already filled |
| Filling at the line, using empties | Marked empty containers, tare noted, fed in at random |
What the Schedule does not say
- It does not set the order of picking, or who chooses the packages. Paragraph 3 and 4 say the sample must be representative, not that the manufacturer may choose.
- It does not reduce the sample if the pack is expensive or hard to test. The Sixth Schedule, paragraph 3(4), deals with one case: where the tare weight of the container exceeds the limits and net contents cannot be found without opening all packages, "the size of the sample to be examined shall be restricted to that indicated in column (2)" for the lot.
- It does not say how small lots (below 100) are treated.
Practical examples
Example 1. A packer has 2,000 packages of a product in stock and the lot is tested under the second table. The row "501 to 3200" applies: 80 packages are sampled, with a correction factor of 0.295, and up to 5 packages may show an error above the maximum permissible error but below twice that error. A sixth such package, or one above twice the error, fails the lot under rule 19(6).
Example 2. An officer visits a godown where 400 packages of the same batch are stacked. Under paragraph 3 the 50 packages (row 1) are drawn from the top, bottom, centre, sides, front and rear of the stack, not only from the front row.
Need help with sampling and lot size questions?
Sample size, lot definition and the correction factor can change the outcome of an inspection. Our legal consultation service can help you read the Fifth Schedule against your packing records before or after an inspection.
Key takeaways
- The Fifth Schedule governs how many packages are drawn and how they are picked.
- The amended table (2017) gives sample size, correction factor and the column 4 allowance for lot sizes of 100 to 500, 501 to 3200 and more than 3200.
- Sampling is random and must represent the whole lot, including top, bottom and sides of a stack.
- For filling lines, marked empty containers with noted tare can be fed into the process.
- The text does not address lots below 100 packages.
- The Rules are as amended up to March 2022; check later amendments.
Read next
- Rule 19 of the Packaged Commodities Rules, 2011: Inspection at manufacturer or packer premises
- Rule 20 of the Packaged Commodities Rules, 2011: Action after inspection
- Rules 22 and 23: maximum permissible error and deceptive packages
- Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011: overview
Disclaimer: Based on the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 (as amended up to March 2022; check later amendments), read with the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (Act 1 of 2010), as on 30 September 2026. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (in force only from the date the Central Government notifies) amend the Act's penalty and procedure sections, not the Fifth Schedule. State Legal Metrology rules, later amendments and notifications change; verify the current position before acting.