Lok Sabha Question No. 208 (STARRED), answered on 2018-01-02
Subject: Mandatory Hallmarking of Jewellery
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: VIJAY KUMAR S.R., BALKA SUMAN

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

## Government of India Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *208 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.01.2018

## MANDATORY HALLMARKING OF JEWELLERY

*208.  SHRI S.R. VIJAYA KUMAR: SHRI SUMAN BALKA:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  made  the  hallmarking  of  14  carat,  18  carat  and  22  carat jewellery  along  with  carat  count  mandatory  from  January,  2018  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  World  Gold  Council  (WGC)  has  submitted  a  report  on  'Mandatory Hallmarking: Global practices and road map for India' to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and if so, the details thereof along with the main recommendations made by the WGC in this regard;
- (c) whether  jewellers  have  opposed  the  recommendations  of  the  WGC,  if  so,  the  details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the response of the Government thereto;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  received  representation  regarding  implementation  of hallmarking  of  20  carat  gold  jewellery  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the corrective measures taken/being taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) whether the Government is also working on bringing hallmarking regulations under the new BIS Act, 2016 and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h ¼Jh jke foykl ikloku½

## THE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)

(a) to (e) :

A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.*208  FOR  02.01.2018  REGARDING MANDATORY HALLMARKING OF JEWELLERY.

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- (a)  : The BIS Act, 2016 has enabling provisions for making hallmarking of precious metal articles mandatory by the Central Government. However, Central Government is yet to take a final decision in the matter.

(b)  : World Gold Council (WGC) has not submitted any such report to BIS. However, on the website of  WGC  a  report dated 7th December,  2017 is available in which the key recommendations include:

- i. BIS should plan to introduce mandatory hallmarking in a phased manner.
- ii. Credibility of hallmarking may be raised through tighter enforcement and a technology solution to eliminate counterfeit hallmarking, etc.
3. (c) : No  representation  has  been  received  by  the  Government  so  far  from  jewellers  on  the recommendation of WGC report.
4. (d) : A  number  of  representations  have  been  received  from  jewellers,  various  stakeholder associations wherein they have requested for inclusion of 20 carat grade also under hallmarking.

Based  on  the  recommendations  of  the  BIS  technical  committee,  three  grades,  namely 14k,  18k  and  22k,  for  manufacturing  gold  jewellery/artefacts  under  the  Indian  Standard  1417 have  been  notified  w.e.f.  1 st January,  2017.  The  technical  committee  had  observed  that  since primary demand in gold jewellery/artefacts was under these three grades it will be prudent to keep these three grades only for hallmarking gold jewellery/artefacts in consumer interest.

- (e) : The hallmarking regulations under the new BIS Act, 2016 are under finalization.

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