Hallmarking of gold may soon be made mandatory
The government will make it mandatory for all jewellers to sell hallmarked gold items by January, ‘08, said a top official of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The government will make it mandatory for all jewellers to sell hallmarked gold items by January, ‘08, said a top official of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). “This mandatory provision is to ensure purity of gold,” BIS director general SP Sharma told reporters here on Tuesday.
BIS now extends licence to gold hallmarking centres at easy terms, he said and hoped a total 72 such such centres would come up by end of the year.
At present, 35 assessing centres are there while 35 more would come up by the end of this year. A total of 1,783 jewellers are being certified by BIS for selling hallmarked gold jewellery across the country.Mr Sharma said gold trade is valued at Rs 100,000 crore with an average shortage in purity stands at 11%, valued at Rs 11,000 crore. “This impurity level in gold has to be minimised as far as possible to protect consumer’s interest,” he said.
A conservative estimate puts the number of jewellers, retailers and manufacturers at around three lakh, while the number of big firms stands at 100 or so, YP Singh, additional director of BIS, said. Annual gold consumption is pegged at 800 tonne, he added.
BIS launched gold hallmarking in April ‘00, while silver hallmarking was introduced in December ‘05. Those who have a licence to sell hallmarked gold jewellery need not take a separate licence for silver hallmarking, Mr Sharma said.
Jewellers should accept that the hallmarking is a reality, which has come to stay, GS Pillai, secretary general of Jewellers Forum, said.
BIS now extends licence to gold hallmarking centres at easy terms, he said and hoped a total 72 such such centres would come up by end of the year.
At present, 35 assessing centres are there while 35 more would come up by the end of this year. A total of 1,783 jewellers are being certified by BIS for selling hallmarked gold jewellery across the country.Mr Sharma said gold trade is valued at Rs 100,000 crore with an average shortage in purity stands at 11%, valued at Rs 11,000 crore. “This impurity level in gold has to be minimised as far as possible to protect consumer’s interest,” he said.
A conservative estimate puts the number of jewellers, retailers and manufacturers at around three lakh, while the number of big firms stands at 100 or so, YP Singh, additional director of BIS, said. Annual gold consumption is pegged at 800 tonne, he added.
BIS launched gold hallmarking in April ‘00, while silver hallmarking was introduced in December ‘05. Those who have a licence to sell hallmarked gold jewellery need not take a separate licence for silver hallmarking, Mr Sharma said.
Jewellers should accept that the hallmarking is a reality, which has come to stay, GS Pillai, secretary general of Jewellers Forum, said.
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