Jewellery industry hails government’s decision of mandatory hallmarking

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Dec 2, 2019

The jewellery industry has hailed the government’s decision to make hallmarking of gold jewellery mandatory across the country from January 15, 2021.
 

The industry feels that the move will restore consumer trust, boost sales of jewellery in the country and also make exports easier.
 
Last week, the government announced that hallmarking will be mandatory from next year. It has given the jewellers one year to clear their existing stalks.

The government will also scale up the hallmarking centres across the country to meet the hallmarking requirements from jewellers.
 
Commenting on the move, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council vice-chairman Shankar Sen in a statement said, “Even though hallmarking was not mandatory, most jewellery manufactured in India [is] usually hallmarked going with the consumers' demand. This move will not only create transparency and acceptance for consumers. This will also create a global appeal for Indian jewellery.”
 
Kalyan Jewellers chairman and managing director T S Kalyanaraman told PTI, “This move will propel the growth of the organised jewellery sector. Currently, BIS certification centres are only present in bigger cities and towns. It will be a challenge to effectively manage this aspect so that retailers in smaller towns can also make the shift to hallmarked jewellery.”
 
Hallmarking gold to certify purity is currently optional for jewellery businesses in India and is far more common in the organised section of the market compared to the unorganised section.