New Rule:The number of BIS certified jewelers has tripled since hallmarking became mandatory

The number of BIS registered jewelers has tripled since the government made hallmarking mandatory on jewelery in mid-June this year. The number of jewelers registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has increased by 187% till mid-November.

According to data from the Gems and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the number of BIS certified jewelers rose from 43,153 in June to 1,24,034 by November 15. The number of Assessing and Hallmarking Centers (AHCs) has increased by 3% from 948 to 978.

The effect of making hallmarking mandatory has also been felt in the retail industry, as consumer confidence in buying gold jewelery has increased. According to Colin Shah, chairman of GJEPC, a large number of jewelers have registered for BIS.

From industry data, we expect to hallmark about 120 million pieces of jewelry annually. This will change the attitude of consumers and strengthen their confidence in gold. A total of 3.89 crore jewelery has been hallmarked between July 1 and November 15.

Hallmarking timing reduced due to technology upgrades The
time required for jewelery hallmarks to be upgraded by Assessing and Hallmarking Centers has been reduced by 63%. Earlier, it took 96 hours to hallmark jewelery in July, which has come down to 36 hours in November. The process of implementing automation modules has become easier, including the use of barcodes in AHC’s software.

More than 4 lakh jewelers in
India There are an estimated 4 lakh jewelers in India. Out of which only 35879 jewelers are BIS certified till June. India imports 800 tonnes of gold annually. Only 40 to 50 percent of gold jewelry is hallmarked. In the last five years, the number of Assessing and Hallmarking Centers has increased by 25% to 945 from 454. In which 84 centers were set up under government subsidy scheme.

Purchase of Sovereign Gold on RBI Direct Portal
Sovereign Gold Bonds can be purchased through RBI Retail Direct Portal. The 8th series of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2021-22 will be held till December 3. Which can be subscribed from https://rbiretaildirect.org.in. So far, bonds have been purchased through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India, Post Office, NSE and BSE. But under the RBI Retail Direct scheme launched last month, investors will be able to buy treasury bills, dated securities, sovereign gold bonds and state development loans directly.