Govt hikes gold, silver hallmarking charges; here are the details of new charges

Getting gold, silver jewellery hallmarked has become dearer. This is because the government has hiked the charges of gold and silver hallmarking by Rs. 10 per piece in each case.

As per a notification issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on March 4, 2022, the hallmarking fee for gold jewellery and artefacts have been raised to Rs 45 per item from Rs 35 earlier. Similarly, hallmarking fee for silver jewellery and artefacts have been raised to Rs 35 per item, from Rs 25 earlier. However, the minimum consignment fee for hallmarking of gold and silver jewellery/artefacts have not been hiked.

The price of hallmarking a piece of jewellery is a flat charge irrespective of the weight of the gold jewellery.

Nishant Shah, Partner, Economic Law Practice says, “The Bureau of Indian Standards, under the Department of Consumer Affairs, has after the introduction of Hallmarking Regulations in 2018, for the first time revised the hallmarking charges for gold and silver articles. Such revision in hallmarking charges comes after almost 4 years of its introduction”.

Hallmarking of jewellery

Gold jewellery buyers should keep in mind that hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts have been made mandatory from June 1, 2022, irrespective of its purity. Hence, if you are buying gold jewellery now, then the jeweller cannot sell it you unless it is hallmarked. However, hallmarking of silver jewellery and artefacts is not mandatory. If a customer wants to buy hallmarked silver jewellery, then he/she can request the jeweller for the same at the time of buying.

Courtesy: Economic Times