NEW DELHI: After years of rhetoric on the subject of mandatory gold hallmarking, the central government is finally set to notify the new regulation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a week's time.
Being a signatory to WTO, India is required to notify the trade body before introducing any mandatory regulation but plans to implement it by January 1, 2020 are unlikely to fructify given the lack of infrastructure, say officials.
“Even if hallmarking is made necessary, the process could take at least two years to be implemented across the country as there aren’t enough hallmarking centres,” said Anantha Padmanabhan, chairman, All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC). Its committee of hallmarking recently met senior officials of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and has proposed the roll-out happens in a phased manner so that the industry is not faced with any disruption in business.
Meanwhile, the government plans to set up 861 hallmarking centres to help more jewellers register themselves for the licence but this is currently in the pipeline. Harshad Ajmera, an advisory committee member of Indian Association of Hallmarking Centres (IAHC) said, there are about 70-75 hallmarking centres around the existing manufacturing zones in India.
"But there are 2.7 lakhs jewellers who have not yet taken the hallmarking licence from BIS that accounts for 50 per cent of the total gold jewellery production,” he said, adding “...it takes only 1-2 months to set up a new centre so once there is a requirement, IAHC will cater to it,” he said.
BIS has also roped in Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to help digitise the hallmarking process where customers will be able to see the details of manufacturers and hallmarking centres. “This will happen in the next one year and will increase consumer confidence, thereby prompting more jewellers to adopt the standard hallmarking,” Padmanabhan noted. At present, 14-carat, 18-carat and 22-carat gold jewellery are required to be hallmarked.