NewsLink : Mandatory Gold Hallmarking Implemented from June 16 – By ND News Desk
The first announcement from the Centre, insisting on mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts came in November 2019. It also gave a deadline of January 15, 2021 to comply with the rule.
Further, it got extended again to June 01 after jewellers sought more time due to the C O V I D -19 pandemic.
Following that, the Centre on Tuesday said mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts will come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. Also, initially it will be implemented in 256 districts of the country.
The final decision in this matter was taken after a meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal with industry stakeholders.
Until now, gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and has been voluntary in nature so far.
Mandatory hallmarking is a great benefit to the customers. The move intends to ensure that customers do not get cheated. According to the rule, the jewellers will now be able to sell gold jewellery of only 14, 18, or 22-carats.
In April 2000, the Bureau of Indian Standards (B I S) introduced the hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery.
Bureau of Indian Standards (B I S) Director-General Pramod Kumar Tiwari said it is a very important move to protect the interest of consumers. Â Also, mandatory hallmarking of 20, 23, and 24 carats gold jewellery will be implemented in a phased manner, for which B I S is framing quality standards, he said.
A hallmarked gold jewellery includes the following four components:
- The B I S Mark,
- Purity in carats and fineness,
- Assaying/hallmarking centre’s identification mark/number
- Jeweller’s identification mark/number.
Exemptions on gold hallmarking
There are exceptions to some items namely, watches, fountain pens and special types of jewellery viz. Kundan, Polki and Jadau from the mandatory gold hallmarking.
Also, the government exemptions apply to jewellers with annual turnover up to Rs 40 lakh from mandatory gold hallmarking.
Currently, around 40 per cent of gold jewellery is having hallmarking. As per official reports, India has around 4 lakh jewellers, out of this only 35,879 have been B I S certified.
What happens if a Jeweller does not comply with the rule?
As a relief to jewellers, the Centre said no penalty risk till August on those who do not comply with the mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery.
However, action will be taken on consumer complaints as per the law. The consumers can file their complaints on the B I S CARE APP or consumer engagement portal of the Union consumer affairs ministry.
What happens to the old gold jewellery?
As per the new guidelines, Jewellers can buy back old gold jewellery without hall mark from the consumer. If the jeweller is willing, hall marking can be done on the old jewellery as it is. Otherwise, it is possible after melting and making new jewellery, the government said.
Mandatory Gold Hallmarking Implemented from June 16
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