Skip to main content

BIS proposes compulsory registration for selling hallmarked jewellery

By

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has movedastep closer to mandatory selling of hallmarked jewellery.
Two weeks earlier, it issued draft rules which propose compulsory registration for jewellers with the BIS.
Sources say it has been decided that “once jewellers´ registration with BIS is done, the next move will be to mandate that only hallmarked jewellery can be sold”.
However, this would kill the business of online jewellery sales, as the BIS registration is given to physical premises.
Various trade and industry bodies have made representations on this, including the Indian Association of Hallmarking Centers.
There have been assurances that some way will be found to allow online sale of hallmarked jewellery.
At present, 25,000 jewellers havealicence from BIS for selling jewellery.
If the Draft BIS Hallmarking Regulations are implemented in the proposed form, “over 300,000 jewellery retailers/stores will have to individually register with BIS and  pay an annual fee”, said an industry representative.
Earlier BIS had asked hallmarking centres to put their stamp on only jewellery, of certain categories.
Bars and coin hallmarking have to be done by gold refineries.
Sanjeev Agarwal, chairman of the gems &jewellery committee of business chamber Ficci, said: “The proposed regulations in the current form will not help achieving the  purpose of making more and more jewellers selling hallmarked jewellery.
For example, the rules specify the responsibility of the ´Certified Jeweller´ to pay compensation toaconsumer for any shortage in purity (as specified by Bureau).
The rules do not anywhere specify the specific liability of the hallmarking centre for incorrect certification.” There had, he said, to beamuch stronger and specific  penalty on the hallmarking centre for any incorrect markings by them.
This should be clearly mentioned in the BIS rules.
He mentioned other objections to the proposed rules.
Other observers have points, too, in this regard.
The Union ministry of consumer affairs is considering all these and expects to takeadecision soon.
And, once the new regulations are notified, the accompanying procedures will also be announced soon.
The Business Standard New Delhi, 28th April 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Household debt up, but India still lags emerging-market economies: RBI

By
  Although household debt in India is rising, driven by increased borrowing from the financial sector, it remains lower than in other emerging-market economies (EMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report. It added that non-housing retail loans, largely taken for consumption, accounted for 55 per cent of total household debt.As of December 2024, India’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at 41.9 per cent. “...Non-housing retail loans, which are mostly used for consumption purposes, formed 54.9 per cent of total household debt as of March 2025 and 25.7 per cent of disposable income as of March 2024. Moreover, the share of these loans has been growing consistently over the years, and their growth has outpaced that of both housing loans and agriculture and business loans,” the RBI said in its report.Housing loans, by contrast, made up 29 per cent of household debt, and their growth has remained steady. However, disaggregated data sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

External spillovers likely to hit India's financial system: RBI report

By
  While India’s growth remains insulated from global headwinds mainly due to buoyant domestic demand, the domestic financial system could, however, be impacted by external spillovers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its half yearly Financial Stability Report published on Monday.Furthermore, the rising global trade disputes and intensifying geopolitical hostilities could negatively impact the domestic growth outlook and reduce the demand for bank credit, which has decelerated sharply. “Moreover, it could also lead to increased risk aversion among investors and further corrections in domestic equity markets, which despite the recent correction, remain at the high end of their historical range,” the report said.It noted that there is some build-up of stress, primarily in financial markets, on account of global spillovers, which is reflected in the marginal rise in the financial system stress indicator, an indicator of the stress level in the financial system, compared to its p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Retail inflation cools to a six-year low of 2.82% in May on moderating food prices

By
  New Delhi: Retail inflation in India cooled to its lowest level in over six years in May, helped by a sharp moderation in food prices, according to provisional government data released Thursday.Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation eased to 2.82% year-on-year, down from 3.16% in April and 4.8% in May last year, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. This marks the fourth consecutive month of sub-4% inflation, the longest such streak in at least five years.The data comes just days after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%, its third straight cut and a cumulative reduction of 100 basis points since the easing cycle began in February. The move signals a possible pivot from inflation control to supporting growth.Food inflation came in at just 0.99% in May, down from 1.78% in April and a sharp decline from 8.69% a year ago.A Mint poll of 15 economists had projected CPI ...
Post a Comment
Read more