New Gold System: So far, hallmarking has been made mandatory only on gold jewellery, coins and other artefacts sold to the customer. Now there are preparations to make hallmarking mandatory on gold imported as well as gold purchased by jewellers and bullion from anywhere within the country.
New Gold System: To ensure the high purity of gold, the government is going to make hallmarking mandatory on all types of gold. This means that hallmarking will be mandatory on gold imported or gold purchased by jewelers and bullion traders dealing in gold. This system is set to be implemented from January 2025. An agreement has almost been reached between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the concerned parties regarding this.
Actually, till now hallmarking has been made mandatory only on gold jewellery, coins and other artefacts sold to the customer. This enables the customer to get the correct information about the quality of gold. Now the government wants to ensure purity in every process of buying and selling of gold, hence there are preparations to make hallmarking mandatory on gold imported as well as gold purchased by jewellers and bullion from anywhere within the country.
Monitoring of gold trade will become easier
Experts say that while this system will ensure high purity, the government will be able to keep a complete watch on the gold trade. The government wants to bring the gold coming to India under the purview of rules under standards. This will stop any kind of adulteration in gold, while smuggling will also be curbed.
The government will have accurate information about how much gold has been purchased by a jeweler or businessman. Then, based on its stock, it will be possible to find out how much of the purchased gold has been sold. All types of gold will be available in the government records after BIS hallmarking.
BIS submitted the report
A sub-committee of BIS has submitted the report on hallmarking, after which the further process has been started. According to sources, under the new rules, the jewellery or artwork prepared by the jeweler for his own use can be excluded from the mandatory rules of hallmarking.
Many problems with hallmarking
Under the current rules, it is mandatory to have hallmark on the jewellery sold to the customers, but at present there is no hallmarking centre in all parts of the country. Due to this, jewellery without hallmark is still being sold in many parts. Yogesh Singhal, Chairman of All Bullion and Jewellers Association, says that the government only wants to increase revenue and monitoring in the name of hallmark.
Currently, more than Rs 52 is being charged per piece. Apart from this, there is no hallmark facility in about half of the districts of the country yet. He says that the government should first set up hallmark centers, after that hallmark should be made mandatory on the purchase of all types of gold.
The rule is already applicable here
The process of certifying the purity and fineness of gold is called hallmarking. The Bureau of Indian Standards has already made hallmarking mandatory on jewelry and artifacts made of 14 carats, 18 carats, 22 carats, 23 carats and 24 carats. This rule is applicable from the year 2022. This step has been taken to make gold purchases safe and protect customers from fraud.
Purity grades in hallmarking
22 karat (916): 91.6% pure gold
18 karat (750): 75% pure gold
14 karat (585): 58.5% gold
– Mark of hallmarking centre
– Mark of jeweller
How many carats is pure gold?
The purest form of gold is 24 carats. It is very soft. This is the reason why gold jewellery cannot be made from it. Usually 14 to 22 carat gold is used to make gold jewellery and other items, which contains a maximum of 91.6% gold. Apart from this, metals like silver, copper and zinc are added to gold jewellery to give it strength. So always check the carat before buying gold.
