Govt extends deadline for mandatory hallmarking of Gold Jewellery till June 15

On Monday, the Centre further extended the deadline for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts by a fortnight till June 15 in view of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal.

In Nov 2019, the Govt had announced that hallmarking of gold jewellery & artefacts would be made mandatory across the country from Jan 15, 2021. However, the deadline was extended for four months till June 1 after jewellers sought more time in view of the pandemic.

Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal & is voluntary in nature at present.

"In view of Covid, the government accepted the request of stakeholders to give jewellers some more time to get prepared for implementation & resolve issues," an official statement said.

Hallmarking of gold jewellery is set to begin from June 15. Earlier, it was expected to be implemented from June 1, 2021, it added.
A committee, headed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Director General Pramod Tewari, has been formed to ensure proper coordination & resolve the implementation issues.

The committee would also comprise Nidhi Khare, additional secretary, department of consumer affairs & representatives of jewellers associations, trade & hallmarking bodies, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said "India must have the world's best standards in gold jewellery."

The hallmarking of jewellery/artefacts is required to enhance the credibility of gold jewellery & customer satisfaction through third party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold , consumer protection, he said.

He added that "This step will also help to develop India as a leading gold market center in the world".

From June 15, jewellers will be allowed to sell only 14, 18 & 22 carats of gold jewellery.

The BIS has been running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since April 2000. Around 40 per cent of gold jewellery is being hallmarked currently.

The Govt said there has been 25% increase in assaying & hallmarking centers to 945 from 454 in the last five years. Presently, 940 assaying & hallmarking centres are operative. Out of this 84 centres have been set up under the government subsidy scheme in various districts.

About 14 crore articles can be hallmarked in a year with the existing capacity of these centres, it added.

India has around 4 lakh jewellers, out of which only 35,879 have been BIS certified, as per the World Gold Council.

According to BIS, the mandatory hallmarking will protect the public against lower caratage & ensure consumers do not get cheated while buying gold ornaments & get the purity as marked on the ornaments.

India imports 700-800 tonnes of gold annually.

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