Govt slashes gold hallmarking fees for jewellers in small towns

It has been slashed by 87.5% from Rs 20,000 for three years to just Rs 2,500

In a bid to boost sale of pure quality gold, the central government today slashed the licensing fee for acquiring a hallmark from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)  by 87.5% from Rs 20,000 for three years to just Rs 2,500 for jewelers in small towns and cities.

This will help in spreading the sale of hallmarked jewellery in small towns. It also started a process of granting a unique identification number for ornaments with purity certification to ensure traceability.

Announcing the measures today, consumer affairs minister K.V. Thomas said that after today's reduction, the licence fee will be Rs 2,500 for three years for jewelers in small towns with a population of less than three lakh and for jewelers located in towns having a population of 3-10 lakh, the fee is Rs 5,000 for three years.      

The license fee has been drastically reduced to promote hallmarking of gold, which is voluntary in nature at present.   Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of precious metals. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is the administrative authority of hallmarking.

"Hallmarking of gold is not compulsory at present. We have reduced the licence fee because jewelers from smaller towns were not coming forward to take licence for hallmarking due to high fee," Thomas said.     

 He said BIS would introduce a unique identification number on each gold jewellery weighing more than 10 grams to protect consumers from unscrupulous jewelers.     

This would help ensure traceability of jewellery and take action against those who are misusing the purity certification, he added. 

THe BIS grants licence to jewelers. The BIS certified jewelers can get their hallmark from 250 assaying centres across the country.

At present, sale of hallmarked gold jewellery is highest in south India with a percentage of 70-80%, while it is not so popular in north India with only 15-20% of total sales comprise of gold hallmarked products.     

Sale of gold hallmarked jewellery in eastern India is 30%, while it is 50% in west India, he added. 

BIS has decided to set up a separate cell to promote trade for the benefit of industry and exporters.