In an announcement on Tuesday, the central government has made it mandatory, effective from June 1, 2021, for all gold jewelry and artifacts to have hallmarks.

Share Market Live

NSE

The move aims to prevent customers from getting scammed because of irregular purity in precious metals. It will also bring the Indian jewelry industry in line with global standards.

As per the new rules, if jewelry or an artifact made of 14, 18, or 22-carat gold is sold without the BIS hallmark, the jeweler could be penalised five times the cost of the object or imprisoned for up to one year.

India is the largest importer of gold in the world, importing nearly 800 tonne each year.

The government had announced, in November 2019, that mandatory hallmarking of jewelry would become effective from January 1, 2021. The deadline was extended by four months after jewelers asked for more time to comply with the new standards in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, there is no new extension, and the government intends to apply the new regulations on time. So far, gold hallmarking was a voluntary process. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has appealed to the customers only to buy hallmarked jewelry in the coming months.

What you should know before buying gold

BIS is the body responsible for hallmarking jewelry. BIS has a hallmarking scheme in place since the 2000s

Around 40 percent of the gold jewelry in circulation bears the hallmark.

Hallmarking certifies the purity of the gold being sold by a jeweler.

From June 1, 2021, jewelers will only be allowed to sell gold in the following caratages; 14, 18 and 22.

The new policy will protect customers from getting duped when buying lower caratages of gold.

It will also prevent customers from getting cheated when selling jewelry as well.

The registration process for jewelers is an automated online process.

BIS is expecting the registration of nearly 1 lakh to 2 lakh jewelers before the deadline.

(Edited by : Jomy)

First Published:Apr 14, 2021 6:52 PM IST