Duties and responsibilities of the Legal Metrology Service
The Legal Metrology Service carries out its activities within the scope of legal metrology. This is the discipline of metrology that occupies itself with units of measurement, methods and measuring instruments that are used in trading transactions.
Should the settlement be effected on the basis of a quantity, trading transactions are realised by means of measuring techniques and measuring instruments that are recognised at a national level as conforming to law.
The proper measurement of goods when buying and selling is one of the basic pre-conditions in the case of trading transactions. Legal metrology therefore fulfils important duties and responsibilities regarding market regulation for the purposes of checking unfair competition, for guaranteeing correct quantification and protection of end-users.
In Italy, the National Legal Metrology Service, including private recognised weights and measures offices, is set up by local weights and measures offices of the Chambers of Commerce responsible for the district.
In addition, the Legal Metrology Service stipulates the technical features that measuring instruments must show so that they can be legally graded, i.e., conform to law, as well as to the inspection process.
The most important duties and responsibilities of the Legal Metrology Service are:
- Initial and subsequent verifications of measuring instruments that require legal control (scales, volumetric flowmeters for mineral oil products, milk etc.)
- Monitoring filling capacity of prepackeged products at producers and importers
- Competence of measuring instrument producers to implement initial verification of measuring instruments with domestic type approval
- Competence of private laboratories to carry out subsequent verification of measuring instruments
- General supervisory duties regarding the obligation to use legal measuring instruments
- Monitoring use of correct units of measurement
- Monitoring compliance of the regulations regarding the new European guideline for measuring instruments (Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) 2004/22/EC
- Monitoring compliance of selling according to net weight
Additional areas of responsibility:
- Issuing digital tachograph cards for new digital tachographs
- Supervising workshops that are empowered to control and calibrate digital tachographs
- Maintaining a register of holders of identification tags for precious metals and monitoring the alloy standards of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium)