Why the rule is about characters, not labels
This trips up most people designing their first sticker. You look for "the MRP label size" and there isn't one, because the Rules regulate legibility rather than dimensions.
What that means in practice: a large carton gets a higher minimum character height than a small sachet, so the same nine declarations need a physically bigger sticker on the bigger pack. Shrinking the text to make everything fit on a small label is the one thing you cannot do.
The declarations themselves are covered in what an MRP label must legally show. This page is about fitting them onto a sticker.
The four sizes, and what each one holds
| Size | Roughly | Realistic content |
|---|---|---|
| 37 x 20 mm | 1.5 x 0.8 in | MRP and net quantity only. A price tag, not a compliant label |
| 38 x 25 mm | 1.5 x 1 in | MRP, net quantity, date, a short packer line |
| 50 x 25 mm | 2 x 1 in | The above plus a barcode, or a longer address |
| 50 x 38 mm | 2 x 1.5 in | All nine declarations plus a barcode, comfortably |
The jump that matters is from 38 x 25 to 50 x 38. Below that, something gets left off or shrunk, and what usually gets shrunk is the manufacturer address, which is also the declaration enforcement officers check first.
If you are printing a full label rather than an add-on sticker, a 4 x 6 thermal label gives you far more room than any of these and costs about the same per unit.
A layout that works on 50 x 38 mm
Read the sticker the way a shopper does, top to bottom.
The top line carries the product's common name. Not your brand, the generic name: "Turmeric Powder", not "Shakti Gold".
Under it, net quantity in standard units, then the MRP written in full as "MRP Rs 120 incl. of all taxes". The word "Maximum Retail Price" or "MRP" has to be there; a bare number is not a declaration.
The middle band holds the manufacturer, packer or importer name with a complete address. This takes the most room and is where small stickers fail. A city name is not an address.
The bottom band takes the month and year of packing, the consumer care number, and your barcode if you use one. Put the barcode here rather than the top, because scanners find it faster at a consistent edge and it keeps the reading order intact for a human.
Printing them: sheets or a roll
For small runs, buy pre-cut A4 label sheets in one of the four sizes and print with an ordinary laser or inkjet. This is how most sellers start, and the only setting that matters is printing at 100% scale rather than "fit to page". Fit to page shrinks the characters, and character height is the one thing the Rules actually specify.
For larger runs, a thermal roll printer is faster and cheaper per label. Zebra, TSC and Xprinter units all handle these sizes, and a direct thermal label needs no ribbon.
Either way, generate the labels in bulk from a spreadsheet rather than editing one at a time. If you sell 40 SKUs at different prices, one list produces 40 correct stickers.
Selling on Amazon or Flipkart
Marketplace listings add their own requirement on top of Legal Metrology. Amazon FBA in particular expects a scannable barcode on the unit, which is why the 50 x 25 and 50 x 38 sizes are the practical ones for FBA sellers: you need room for the code and the declarations on the same sticker.
You can generate the barcode separately if you already have a compliant MRP layout and only need the code added.