Compulsory Hallmarking Likely To Be Effective From January 2018

- AOJ's Bina Thakur

The much-awaited Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act for making hallmarking mandatory has come into effect from October 12 with a provision to bring more services and products like jewellery under the mandatory standard regime. The government plans to make the Hallmarking regulations compulsory for all gold jewellery sold in the country from next year. 

Parliament had in March 2016 passed the law to replace the BIS Act of 1986. The consumer affairs ministry finalised the rules for the new law recently. As per the new law, the government has empowered the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to make hallmarking of jewellery compulsory. This can only be in 14, 18 and 22 carat. When diamond studded jewellery is made, usually 18 carat is the maximum purity preferred.

The act actually establishes the BIS as the National Standards Body of India with much wider coverage apart from jewellery. The Act enables Centre to appoint any authority/agency, in addition to the BIS, to verify the conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate of conformity.

Coins and bars will also have to be hallmarked compulsorily but that can be done only by refineries. Jewellery hallmarking will be hallmarking centres’ domain.

 Though, this time too, most of the attention is on how the infrastructure for assaying gold and silver jewellery will be expanded in the country, the trade somewhere is in unison with the government. Industry players say the rule will bring discipline in the jewellery industry.

Surendra Mehta, national secretary, Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association said, “The transitional period for jewellers to move to the compulsory selling of hallmarked jewellery has started.”