In the wake of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the central government has extended the deadline for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts till June 15. ?In view of Covid, Government accepted the request of stakeholders to give jewellers some more time to get prepared for implementation and resolve issues,? the ministry said in a statement.
Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal.?India must have the world?s best standards in gold jewellery,? said union minister Piyush Goyal.?The hallmarking of jewellery/artefacts is required to enhance the credibility of gold jewellery and customer satisfaction through third party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold, consumer protection. This step will also help to develop India as a leading gold market center in the world,? he further added.
According to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the mandatory hallmarking will protect the public against lower caratage and ensure consumers do not get cheated while buying gold ornaments and get the purity as marked on the ornaments.
Union minister Piyush Goyal revi progress made in the implementation of mandatory Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery in India at a webinar and conference organized by Bureau of Indian Standards, Department of Consumer Affairs. The meeting was attended by various associations of Bullion trade, Hallmarking centers, Jewellers from across the country, trade and export bodies of gold business besides officials of department of consumer affairs and BIS.
A committee, headed by BIS director general Pramod Tewari, has been formed to ensure proper coordination and resolve the implementation issues. The committee would also comprise Nidhi Khare, additional secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs and representatives of jewellers associations, trade and hallmarking bodies, among others. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said
From June 15, jewellers will be allowed to sell only 14, 18 and 22 carats of gold jewellery. The BIS has been running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since April 2000. Around 40% of gold jewellery is being hallmarked currently.
The Cntre said there has been 25% increase in assaying and hallmarking centers to 945 from 454 in the last five years. At present, 940 assaying and 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.
India imports 700-800 tonnes of gold annually. Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Tuesday said it has sought clarification from the government on certain issues pertaining to exports under the mandatory hallmarking provisions.
GJEPC said while the hallmarking order excludes exporters, the authorities should explicitly clarify that jewellers having transactions only in the export stream are completely excluded from the purview of this order. GJEPC chairman Colin Shah said operational challenges brought on by the fact that all exporters maintain common inventory for both export and domestic streams.
(With inputs from agency)
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