New Hallmarking Guidelines to Boost Gold Trade in India

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The new notification making hallmarking mandatory for gold jewellery and artefacts was published by India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution last week.

As per the notification, a gold retailer will be prohibited from selling non-hallmarked gold jewellery or artefact starting 15^th January next year. The jewellers and retailers in the country are granted a period of one year for clearing their old stock and getting themselves registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

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Accordingly, gold will be sold only in three purity grades- 14 karat, 18 karat and 22 karat, instead of ten grades earlier. The authenticity of the jewellery or artefact will be determined based on four symbols. First is the BIS logo. The second symbol comprises of karat and fineness number to denote the purity of gold. A mark of 22K916 corresponds to 22 karat purity, 18K750 to 18 karat purity and 14K585 to 14 karat purity. The third symbol corresponds to the identification number of the assaying or hallmarking centre. Finally, it will also contain the jeweller’s identification number.

The jewellers who sell non-hallmarked jewellery after January 15, 2021 will face punishment under the provisions of the BIS Act, 2016.