Hallmarked Gold Now Compulsory: 4 Critical Checks You Should Do Before Buying Gold!

Gold is an essential commodity. It holds an even more important place in an Indian family. You see, gold is considered as a commodity of investment among the Indian households, since a very long time.

This piece of article is an interesting and informative one, especially for the ones who invest in gold, or like to purchase one regularly. It turns out that buying gold in India will soon be very safe, without an ounce of doubt whether or not the gold you’ve purchased is counterfeit.

Starting January 15, 2020, the government has announced to make hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts mandatory across the nation. As of now, hallmarking of gold is optional and can be voluntarily opted for by jewellers. This way if you’re purchasing gold which isn’t hallmarked, the possibility of buying impure gold is high.

Hallmarking of Gold Made Compulsory Since 15^th Jan, 2020

In a step towards making expensive and essential commodities like gold safer for common man, the government has declared to essentially hallmark gold jewellery and artefacts from January 15, 2020. This way if one purchases a non-hallmarked gold product, they must know that it might not be pure.

Jewellers shall be given a year’s time, prior to the date of notification by the government regarding the implementation of the whole process. With the rule coming into effect, hallmarking of jewellery will become mandatory in India from January 2021 and this move will propel the growth of the organised jewellery sector.

This means that by January 2021, the registration process of jewellers will have to complete, giving them a window of a year’s time to clear their existing stock. Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) is authorised to carry out the hallmarking of gold jewellery and any jewellery can apply for license before getting their jewellery hallmarked from them.

The hallmarking sign will provide the buyer of the purity and authenticity of the gold. So, if you are buying 18-carat gold which is hallmarked, it will actually mean that 18/24 parts are gold and the rest is alloy.

Hallmarking Signs Everyone Should be Aware of

The afore mentioned hallmarked gold shal come in 4 hallmark signs or symbols.

BIS Mark

Purity in Carat (any one)-

• 22K916: Equal to 22 Carat

• 18K750 – Equal to 18 Carat

• 14K585 – Equal to 14 Carat

Identification Mark or Number of the Hallmarking Centre

Identification Mark or Number of the Jeweller

The Role of Bureau of Indian standards

Speaking of the BIS, the BIS Act 2016 has enabled provisions under Section 14 & Section 16 for making hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts mandatory by the Central Government. There are 877 Assaying and hallmarking centres spread in 234 district locations across the country and so far 26,019 jewellers have taken BIS registration.

Since the government has already set a fixed timeline to sell only hallmarked gold, it will be important for gold buyers to buy only hallmarked from today. There will be a probability of jewellers in selling non-hallmarked gold at a bargain or discounted price in order to clear the existing stock.

However, the buyers need to be aware that only hallmarked gold will fetch them the right market price for gold in future. This step is seen as a positive development in the direction of consumer protection in the country.