Hallmarking of gold jewellery must from Jan 15: Paswan

A notification in this regard will be issued on January 15 next year and the decision will come into effect after a year, making it compulsory for all the jewellers to register with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and sell only hallmarked gold jewellery and artefacts.

Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and is voluntary in nature at present. The BIS is already running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since April 2000 and around 40 per cent of gold jewellery is being hallmarked currently.

“We are making hallmarking for gold jewellery and artefacts mandatory in the country. We will issue a notification on January 15 next year. One year period will be provided for implementation. From January 15, 2021, this will become mandatory,” Paswan told reporters here.

“Jewellers and retailers will be given one year time to exhaust their existing stocks,” he added. Paswan said the decision has been taken to protect consumers interest, mainly in small cities and villages, and ensure that they purchase pure gold jewellery.

“We are not touching gold jewellery lying with consumers,” the minister clarified. Old jewellery is generally recycled by jewellers.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated standards for hallmarking gold jewellery in three grades -- 14 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat. Paswan said the government may make it mandatory for retailers to display prices of these three quality grades at their shops.