Government's move to make BIS hallmarking mandatory for gold jewelery

Kolkata, Ta. 23 August 2019, Friday

The government is reactivating its plans to make Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmarking mandatory for gold jewelery. Of the three lakh jewelers in the country, only 1 percent of the jewelers have registered for BIS.

The Central Government is likely to announce new rules to the World Trade Organization within a week, said an official of the All India Gems and Jewelers Domestic Council. India has to inform the World Trade Organization before entering into any mandatory rules as the World Trade Organization has signed a contract.

Of the gold jewelery manufactured in the country, 5 percent of the jewelery is produced by around 1.5 lakh jewelers who have not obtained a hallmarking license from BIS.

In the last financial year, 1.5 crore jewelery containing 5 to 5 tonnes of gold was with Hallmark. However, the import duty on gold in the current financial year may be lower due to the impact on surplus sales, said an official of the Indian Association of Hallmarking Centers.

Demand for jewelery has dropped 5% in April this year due to high gold prices. There are many hallmark centers in the country with and without licenses that do not have proper trade practices. It is important to set the standard of purity to ensure equality and quality. The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, III provides for the provision of hallmarking. Now the government has become active in implementing it.