The Government of India has identified the Bureau of Indian Standard as the sole agency in India to operate the BIS Hallmarking Scheme. The BIS Hallmarking Scheme has been aligned with International criteria on hallmarking (Vienna Convention 1972). A Hallmark, consists of five components i.e. BIS Mark, the Fineness number (corresponding to given carratage), Assaying and Hallmarking Centre's Mark, Jeweller's identification Mark and year of Marking denoted by a code letter and decided by BIS (e.g. code letter `A' was approved by BIS for year 2000, `B' being used for the year 2001 and `C' for 2002 and 'J' for 2008). The marking is done either using punches or laser marking machine. Some manufacturers also issue Assay Certification which can be obtained through Assay Offices. Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals, in order to protect consumers. All coins and jewelry offered by SafeGold are BIS hallmarked.