. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/ITA/11 
6 August 2009  
 (09-3810) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  ITALY
  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  The Italian Parliament - Roma 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above :   
Ministry for economic development  
Department for Enterprise and Internationalization  General Directorate  for Market, Compe tition, Consumer, Vigilance and Technical 
Standardization Office VII - Technical standardization – ex DGVNT  00187 Rome I – Via Sallustiana, 53   
Tel: +39 06 4705 5430 
Fax:+39 06 4821 702  Email: tbt.Italia@sviluppoeconomico.gov.it  vincenzo.correggia@sviluppoeconomico.gov.it    European Commission TBT Enquiry Point  ec-tbt@cec.eu.int 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicab le, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):  Products made from 
precious metals 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Draft law setting out 
new regulations governing hallmarks on precious  metals - Text combining A.C. 326 and 
amendments A.C. 1010 and A.C. 2032. (18 pages, Italian).  
6. Description of content:  The notified draft consists of fo rty two articles sub-divided into 
fourteen Headings regarding:  
I- Definitions (definitions used in the application of the measure),  II - Hallmarks for precious metals (establish es and regulates the obligation to indicate the 
fineness and the identification mark on ra w materials and on objects manufactured from 
precious metals for sale on Italian territory);  
III - List of holders of an identification mark  (chambers of commerce, industry, crafts and 
agriculture are obliged to keep a lis t of identification mark holders);  G/TBT/N/ITA/11 
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  IV - Identification mark (defines the met hods and procedures for assigning the mark to 
requesting undertakings);  
V - Traditional manufacturers' marks (allows , under defined conditions, the use of 
traditional manufacturers' marks, collective marks and other specific indications, in addition to those set out in the law);  
VI - Optional analysis by a third party (allows  hallmarks of raw materials, semi-finished 
and finished products to be analysed by laboratories specified in Article 29)  
VII - Plated, gold-plated, silver-plated, and reinforced objects or objects of mixed 
manufacture (contains provisions to  be applied to these products);  
VIII - Responsibility (identifies the subjects r esponsible for compliance at each phase of the 
process of manufacturing, commercial release and sale);  
IX - Monitoring (defines the monitoring systems set in place);  X - Analysing laboratories (defines requi rements and operational methods of the 
laboratories authorised to perform analyses in the sector concerned);  
XI - Conformity certification (allows the produ cer or his representative to have recourse to 
authorised laboratories to certify the conformity  of his own products to the provisions of the 
law);  
XII - Sanctions (defines a system of sanctions);  XIII - National Committee on precious metals (a  consultative committee is established for 
the transposition of the law);  
XIV - Transitional and final provisions (sets time frames for compliance imposed on 
holders of identification marks pursuant to legislative decree no 251/88; provides for the 
issue of a regulation to implement the law, th e repeal of current provisions and the entry 
into force of the law sixty days after its publication in the Official Journal). 
7. Objective and rationale, including the natu re of urgent problems where applicable:  
The notified draft law meets the requirement for better market regulation in the precious 
metals sector, by reinforcing consumer prot ection measures, simplifying certain procedures 
designed to guarantee proper competition betw een the various economic operators and by 
reorganising the monitoring system and the system of sanctions for infringement  
8. Relevant documents:   -   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:      October 2009  
  December 2009 
10. Final date for comments:  7 October 2009 
11. Text available from: National enquiry point [ X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   [X] - see box 2 
Text on line at:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris/index_it.htm   
And can also be downloaded here