Mandatory gold hallmarking from June 1

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 13

The government today said it was prepared to implement mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artifacts from June 1. In November 2019, the Centre had announced that the hallmarking of gold jewellery and artifacts would be mandatory from January 15, 2021, giving jewellers more than a year to shift to hallmarking and register themselves with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

However, the deadline was extended by four months till June 1 after jewellers sought more time for implementation in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking to mediapersons, Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan today said no further extension had been sought. BIS Director-General Pramod Kumar Tiwari said, “From June, we are fully prepared to implement mandatory hallmarking. At present, we have received no proposal to extend the date.”

So far, 34,647 jewellers have registered with the BIS. The Centre expects the number to rise to about one lakh in the next one-two months.

The registration process is online.