Legal Metrology Act, 2014 (Act No. 9 of 2014)

1. Definitions

Purchase

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

"Chief Executive Officer"

means the Chief Executive Officer appointed in terms of section 6 of the National Regulator for Compulsory Speciﬁcations Act;

"correct"

in relation to any measuring instrument, means compliance with any prescribed accuracy requirements;

"distinctive mark"

means the mark that is placed on a product or measuring instrument to indicate that such product or measuring instrument complies with the requirements of the relevant voluntary scheme introduced in terms of section 37;

"importer"

means an importer deﬁned in section 1(1) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No. 91 of 1964);

"initial veriﬁcation"

means veriﬁcation of a new measuring instrument that has not been previously veriﬁed;

"item"

means an individual article or unit;

"legal metrology technical regulation"

means a document which lays down product and measuring instrument characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory;

"manufacture"

includes produce, assemble, alter, modify, adapt, convert, process or treat;

"market surveillance inspector"

means a market surveillance inspector appointed in terms of section 6;

"measuring instrument"

(a)	means any appliance, equipment, instrument, software or apparatus or any combination thereof by means of which a measurement of physical quantity, expressed in any measurement unit or a mathematical function of measurement unit, may be made; and

(b)	includes any appliance, equipment, instrument, software or apparatus or any combination thereof by means of which a grading or counting in connection with the measurement of any physical quantity or a counting by means of gravitation may be effected;

"measurement unit"

means any unit published in terms of section 2 of the Measurement Units and Measurement Standards Act, 2006 (Act No. 18 of 2006), and includes the units, the appropriate symbols and the rules of the International System of Units;

"Minister"

means the Minister of Trade and Industry;

"National Regulator"

means the National Regulator for Compulsory Speciﬁcations of South Africa established by section 3(1) of the National Regulator for Compulsory Speciﬁcations Act;

"National Regulator for Compulsory Speciﬁcations Act"

means the National Regulator for Compulsory Speciﬁcations Act, 2008 (Act No. 5 of 2008);

"person responsible for repairs"

means any person registered in terms of section 10 to repair a measuring instrument in terms of section 27;

"physical quantity"

in relation to measuring, means any concept capable of being measured and of which the magnitude can be expressed in terms of a measurement unit;

"premises"

means any land or any building or other structure, and includes any train, boat, ship, aircraft or any other vehicle;

"prescribe"

means prescribe by regulation;

"prescribed purpose"

means such purpose as may be prescribed in relation to—

(a)	the use, possession, manufacture or import of any measuring instrument;

(b)	the manner and result of measurement in the ﬁelds of trade, health, safety and environment and any other measurement of a legal nature; and

(c)	the expression of the quantity of any product;

"regulation"

means any regulation made in terms of section 38 or a legal metrology technical regulation made in terms of section 15;

"repair"

in relation to any measuring instrument, means any work carried out on, or any adjustment made to, such measuring instrument in order to service, restore or maintain it in a certiﬁable condition, but does not include work carried out on, or adjustment made to, a measuring instrument if such work or adjustment does not in any way change the metrological characteristics or the accuracy of such measuring instrument;

"repair body"

means a body designated as repair body in terms of section 9;

"SABS"

means the South African Bureau of Standards referred to in section 3 of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 8 of 2008);

"SANS"

means a South African National Standard approved by the SABS in accordance with the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 8 of 2008);

"sell"

includes to offer, advertise, keep, expose, transmit, convey, deliver, manufacture for sale or prepare for sale, or to exchange or to dispose of for any consideration whatsoever, or to transmit, convey or deliver in pursuance of a sale, exchange or disposal as aforesaid;

"subsequent veriﬁcation"

in relation to any measuring instrument, means veriﬁcation following the initial veriﬁcation, and includes—

(a)	veriﬁcation done after repair that affects the current veriﬁcation status; and

(b)	veriﬁcation at the request of the user;

"this Act"

includes any regulation;

"trade"

includes—

(a)	the making, effecting or concluding of any contract, bargain, sale, purchase or transaction, sale of land, or any payment in connection therewith;

(b)	any payment for services rendered;

(c)	the collection of tolls, rates, taxes, ﬁnes or other fees; and

(d)	any measurement of a legal nature in connection with which any measuring instrument is used;

"type approval"

means a decision that a type of measuring instrument complies with the relevant requirements of this Act and is suitable for use for a prescribed purpose in such a way that it is expected to provide reliable measurement results over a deﬁned period of time;

"unauthorised measurement unit"

means a measurement unit other than a measurement unit permitted by this Act;

"unveriﬁed"

in relation to a measuring instrument that has to be veriﬁed or subsequently veriﬁed under this Act, means not so veriﬁed or not so subsequently veriﬁed;

"veriﬁcation body"

means a body—

(a)	accredited in terms of section 22 of the Accreditation for Conformity Assessment, Calibration and Good Laboratory Practice Act, 2006 (Act No.19 of 2006), to verify measuring instruments and designated in terms of section 7 of this Act to verify measuring instruments; or

(b)	designated in terms of section 7 of this Act to verify measuring instruments without accreditation contemplated in paragraph (a) where no accreditation scheme is available;

"veriﬁcation mark"

means a mark that—

(a)	is as far as is possible indelible;

(b)	indicates that a measuring instrument has been veriﬁed; and

(c)	has been authorised in terms of section 37;

"veriﬁcation officer"

means a person appointed as veriﬁcation officer in terms of section 8;

"verify"

in relation to a measuring instrument, means the procedure of examination and issuing of a veriﬁcation certiﬁcate and, if required, marking with a veriﬁcation mark, that ascertains and conﬁrms that the measuring instrument complies with a legal metrology technical regulation, and includes initial veriﬁcation and subsequent veriﬁcation.