Lok Sabha Question No. 4536 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-30
Subject: Hallmark Jewellery
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Keshari Devi Patel, Kanakmal Katara

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4536

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2022

## HALLMARK JEWELLERY

4536.  SHRIMATI KESHARI DEVI PATEL: SHRI KANAKMAL KATARA: (OIH)

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

- (a) the steps taken by the Government to check the purity of jewellery without hallmarks;
- (b) the procedure in place for getting the purity of jewellery checked;
- (c) the State-wise details of jewellery purity testing centers; and
- (d) whether any time limit and fee has been fixed for the testing centres for issuing test reports after checking the purity of jewellery and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h (श्री अश्विनी क ु मार चौबे)

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a)   :   From  24  December  2021,  Government  has  allowed  consumers  to  get  his/her  non-hallmarked jewellery/sample  tested  from  any  of  the  BIS  recognized  Assaying  &  Hallmarking  Centres  (AHCs),  on chargeable basis. The software for consumer gold testing has been launched on 02 March 2022.
- (b)  :    Consumers  can  bring  one  or  multiple  pieces  of  jewellery  lying  with  them  for  testing  to  BIS recognized AHC.

Testing  of  the  gold  jewellery  is  to  be  carried  out  as  per  the  procedure  mentioned  in  the  Indian Standard IS 1418:2009. The lot brought by the consumer upto 10 pieces may be considered as a mixed lot and tested as per the provisions of mixed lots mentioned in the IS 15820: 2009 - General Requirements for Establishment  and  Operation  of  Assaying  and  Hallmarking  Centres.  The  guidelines  on  testing  of  nonhallmarked gold lying with the consumers are at Annexure-I .

- (c)  : State-wise details of jewellery purity testing centers (AHCs) are at Annexure-II .
- (d) : As  per the provision of the relevant Indian Standard, the centre shall ensure that the jewellery/artefacts that are assayed and hallmarked, are delivered to the client maximum within 48 hours.

AHC  shall  charge  Rs.  45  per  gold  jewellery  article  for  testing  from  consumer,  however  the minimum charges for one lot shall be Rs 200.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4536 TO BE ANSWER ON 30-03-2022 REGARDING HALLMARK JEWELLERY.

## Guidelines on Testing of old gold lying with the consumers from BIS recognized AHC

- a. Consumer  can  bring  one  or  multiple  pieces  of  jewellery  lying  with  them  for  testing  to  BIS recognized Assaying and Hallmarking centre (AHC).
- b. The lot brought by the consumer upto 10 pieces may be considered as a mixed lot and tested as per the provisions of mixed lots mentioned in the IS 15820: 2009.
- c. The jewellery brought by the consumer shall be weighed in presence of the consumer.
- d. Each article shall be tagged with a serial number for identification.
- e. Each jewellery piece should be individually checked by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) for purity of gold and also for the absence of prohibited elements such as Iridium, Ruthenium, Cadmium and Osmium.
- f. Sampling should be done in such a way that there is minimum damage to the jewellery. The consent for the sampling method shall be obtained from the consumer beforehand.
- g. If  desired by consumer the report may be issued for the jewellery tested only based on the XRF however in the report it should be specifically mentioned that XRF gives gold content of surface only and the purity checked by XRF may vary by ±5 ppt.
- h. After  testing  by  fire  assay  a  test  report  should  be  issued  to  the  consumer  by  the  AHC  in  the prescribed  format.  The  photograph  and  weight  of  the  jewellery  shall  also  be  mentioned  in  the report.
- i. The jewellery along with cornets and remnants, if any, should be returned to the consumer on the same day.  If  due  to  any  reason  the  fire  assay  could  not  be  done  on  the  same  day,  the  jewellery should be returned to the consumer after XRF and only the sample retained by the AHC which shall be tested and cornet returned to the consumer the next day.
- j. The AHC shall be responsible for the purity tested by him and thus if the AHC has any doubt about the jewellery being hollow, wax filled or made of mixed metals etc. the same shall be mentioned in the report.
- k. AHC shall charge Rs 45 per article for testing from consumer, however the minimum charges for one lot shall be Rs 200.
- l. Before testing, the following should be informed to the consumer and also displayed at a prominent position in AHC that is easily visible to the consumer:
- That the purity of gold shall be tested by two methods - a) XRF method b) Fire assaying method.
- XRF method is a non-destructive, preliminary method and gives gold content of surface only. It may and may not represent average purity of the gold article. Purity certificate cannot be issued on the basis of XRF test only.
- Fire assaying method is a destructive method. It is, however, most widely used and accurate method for gold content globally.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4536 TO BE ANSWER ON 30-03-2022 REGARDING HALLMARK JEWELLERY.

## State wise/UT wise list of AHCs as on 28 March 2022

| Sl No   | State/UT         |   No. of AHC |
|---------|------------------|--------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh   |           57 |
| 2       | Assam            |           11 |
| 3       | Bihar            |           37 |
| 4       | Chandigarh       |            6 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh     |           10 |
| 6       | Delhi            |           42 |
| 7       | Goa              |            2 |
| 8       | Gujarat          |           88 |
| 9       | Haryana          |           25 |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh |            3 |
| 11      | Jammu &Kashmir   |            4 |
| 12      | Jharkhand        |           10 |
| 13      | Karnataka        |           67 |
| 14      | Kerala           |           85 |
| 15      | Madhya Pradesh   |           27 |
| 16      | Maharashtra      |          130 |
| 17      | Odisha           |           24 |
| 18      | Pondicherry      |            2 |
| 19      | Punjab           |           30 |
| 20      | Rajasthan        |           44 |
| 21      | Tamil Nadu       |          123 |
| 22      | Telangana        |           36 |
| 23      | Tripura          |            2 |
| 24      | Uttar Pradesh    |           70 |
| 25      | Uttarakhand      |            5 |
| 26      | West Bengal      |          138 |
|         | Grand Total      |         1078 |

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