Hallmarking means gold can now be resold at standard rates and there will be uniform gold valuation against the hallmark.
To ensure the purity of gold and standard rates for customers, the government has made hallmarking of gold jewellery a must from today. According to the government, the plan will be implemented in a phased manner in 256 districts at the first go.
Gold hallmarking is a purity certification that has been voluntary so far. Hallmarking means gold can now be resold at standard rates and there will be uniform gold valuation against the hallmark. Only around 40% of gold jewellery was hallmarked until now.
With the introduction of the new norm, from today jewellers will be allowed to sell only 14, 18 and 22 carats of gold jewellery. Gold of 20, 23 and 24 carats will also be allowed for hallmarking.
The government has said that hallmarking is needed "to enhance the credibility of gold jewellery, customer satisfaction and consumer protection". The previous January deadline was deferred by four months as jewellers sought more time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, some have been exempted from mandatory hallmarking as of now. These include jewellers with an annual turnover below Rs 40 lakh. Hallmarking will not be mandatory for gold used in watches, fountain pens and Kundan, Polki and Jadau jewellery, the government said.
Those who export and reimport jewellery under the trade policy, jewellery meant for international exhibitions and for government-approved B2B domestic exhibitions will also be kept out of the scheme for now.
The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) has been running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since 2000.
India has around 4 lakh jewellers, out of this only 35,879 have been BIS certified. According to the World Gold Council, India imports 700-800 tonne of gold annually.
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