The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced the commencement of mandatory hallmarking of gold from June 16. Hallmarking acts as proof of the purity of gold. In the first phase plan. Nationwide mandatory gold hallmarking will first be imposed on 256 districts.
As per the new guidelines released, jewellers across the nation can sell gold items of only 14, 18 and 22 carats. Manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers of gold jewellery will have time till August end to comply with the order and get pieces of jewellery assessed by the gold hallmarking centres.
However, gold watches, fountain pens, special types of jewellery including Kundan, Polki, and Jadau will be exempted from the mandatory hallmarking.
Currently, only 40 percent of the gold jewellery sold in India is being hallmarked. Only 35,879 of India’s approximately 4 lakh jewellers are currently BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certified – said a DNA report.
India is the largest importer of gold in the country imports nearly 700-800 tonnes of gold annually. The implementation of this new rule may significantly shift the buying behaviour of the consumers.