Mandatory gold hallmarking to be rolled out in phased manner from June 16

Hallmarking on gold jewellery and related items is set to become mandatory from Tuesday after the government extended the earlier June 1 deadline in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the new guidelines, jewellers across India will now be allowed to sell gold items of only 14, 18 and 22 carats.

As per the government, hallmarking centres have grown by 25% in the last five years. With the existing capabilities at certification centres, India has the capacity to hallmark around 14 crore articles per year.

A committee, headed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) director general Pramod Tewari, has been formed to ensure proper coordination and resolve the implementation issues, according to sources. 

In November 2019, the government announced that hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts would be made mandatory across the country from 15 January 2021. But the deadline has been extended twice amid the Covid-19.

• Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the metal. While gold hallmarking is currently voluntary in India and not a requirement, the move by the government aims to ensure gold consumers are not cheated by sellers.
  
• As per the new rules, if jewellery or an artifact made of 14, 18, or 22-carat gold is sold without the BIS hallmark, the jeweller could be penalised five times the cost of the object or imprisoned for up to one year.
• It will become compulsory for all jewellers to hallmark gold jewellery so that customers who buy gold don't feel cheated and get pure ornaments.
• In order to ensure that the hallmarking on jewellery is genuine, it is important to notice purity in carat and fineness, BIS mark, identification mark or the number of hallmarking centre's and identification mark or the number of the jeweller.
• The registration process has been made online and automatic.