Jewelers will no longer be able to sell fake jewellery or adulterated gold jewellery in 11 states of the country. The government has now made hallmarking mandatory in these states.
The sale of jewellery without hallmark has now been banned in 18 districts of these 11 states. The government has made hallmarking mandatory on gold jewellery from June 23, 2021. Since then, hallmarking is being implemented in a phased manner across the country.
The government on Thursday launched the fourth phase of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and gold artefacts. Additional 18 districts of the country have been included in the fourth phase. The work of mandatory hallmarking started on June 23, 2021. Since then, more than 40 crore gold jewellery has been hallmarked with unique identification (ID). This step has ensured more trust and transparency for consumers.
The fourth phase started from November 5.
A government statement said that the fourth phase has come into effect from November 5. The fourth phase includes 18 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. With the implementation of the fourth phase, the total number of districts covered under mandatory hallmarking has now increased to 361.
So far 1.94 jewelers have been included
Due to the initiative of the government, the number of registered jewelers has increased from 34,647 to 1,94,039 and the number of assaying and hallmarking centers has also increased from 945 to 1,622. Consumers can verify the authenticity of hallmarked gold jewelery using the ‘BIS Care Mobile App’ and can lodge complaints regarding the quality of the product or misuse of the BIS mark.
Why is hallmarking necessary?
The government had introduced mandatory hallmarking on all gold jewellery to prevent adulterated jewellery and tax evasion. Under this, hallmark is applied on every jewellery, which not only guarantees the purity of gold, but also gives proof of where and when this jewellery was made. This step has been successful in stopping the sale of adulterated jewellery from small cities to villages and towns.