The Indian government has been working hard to make hallmarking of gold and silver jewellery mandatory. A hallmark lets you know how much gold or silver is actually in a priceless object you buy that is composed of precious metals like gold or silver. In India, a certification procedure called BIS Hallmark is used to verify the purity of gold or silver jewellery being sold. The jewellery is examined and appropriately tagged in Assaying and Hallmarking Centres certified by BIS that are dispersed throughout India. BIS has established the procedures for approving requests, suspending licenses, renewing licenses, and withdrawing recognition of assaying and hallmarking centres. In this article, we will discuss Assaying and Hallmarking Centre.

What are Assaying and Hallmarking?

Individual pieces of jewellery are tested by Assaying and Hallmark Centres (AHCs) to make sure that correct standards were followed in their production. The hallmarked goods do include guaranteed amounts of gold and silver. The purity of gold jewellery made of 22k, 18k, and 14k as well as silver jewellery, gold coins, and medallions made of 24k gold will be certified by Assaying and Hallmark Centres. The article can only be confirmed as pure after being assayed and given a hallmark by the assaying and hallmark centre.

Importance of Assaying and Hallmarking

These facilities check to make sure the jeweler’s sold gold or silver items have the specified carat weight. The time and date are recorded beginning with the receipt of the gold or silver article at the Assaying and Hallmarking Centres to the dispatch of the hallmarked piece when the jeweller registers and submits their articles for hallmarking online. This is done in an effort to make it easier for everyone to track the goods.

Documents required for Recognitions Assaying and Hallmarking

The Recognitions of Assaying and Hallmark Centre needs the following important documents:

For establishing the business or organisation

·         Registrar of Companies’ grant of Certification of Registration (CoR) coupled with MoA;

·         If there is a partnership firm, submit the registered partnership deed;

·         If the applicant is a proprietorship firm, an original certificate from a CA (Chartered Accountant) should be provided.

For Address Validation of a Firm

·         Income Tax Assessment Order;

·         A certificate of GST registration;

·         Agreement for Sale or Lease;

·         Property tax receipts; Registration with a State Government department trade license;

·         Rent agreement.

For proof of applicant:

·         Either e-signature or Aadhar verification

·         Aadhar Card, Driver’s License, Voter ID, Passport, PAN Card, or ID Certificate with picture approval from a Gazetted Officer, any of which can be self-certified.

·         From the closest landmark, plot the position of the property.

·         Affidavit seed project.

·         Based on the Generic Quality Manual supplied by BIS^[1], the Assaying and Hallmarking Centers’ purity manual was created.

Procedure

The following is the procedure for Assaying and Hallmarking:

1.  The application form must first be filed and submitted electronically, together with all the previously indicated documentation;

2.  They will proceed with the BIS testing after you have submitted all the necessary forms and papers;

3.  BIS Officers will then review the application and verify the supporting documentation;

4.  The officials will award Assaying and Hallmark Centre Registration if they are satisfied with all the paperwork and applications in the format specified.

Conditions of Assaying and Hallmarking to Get Rejected

The following are the Conditions for Assaying and Hallmarking to get Rejected:

1.  As soon as it was discovered that the applicant had violated Sections 14 or 15 of the BIS Act, 2016, or had otherwise misused Hallmark, the applicant filed the application;

2.  The individual or the application under Section 29 of the BIS Act is the subject of, or the process of beginning, a prosecution case before the trial court.

Jewellery items cannot be tested under Assaying and Hallmarking

The following are the Jewellery items that cannot be tested under Assaying and Hallmarking:

·         Items that weigh less than 2g;

·         Any exportable product that satisfies the requirements of international purchasers;

·         Jewellers having annual sales of under Rs. 40 lakhs;

·         Jewellers who use the Polki, Jadaau, and Kundan processes are exempt from having their pieces hallmarked.

BIS Assaying and Hallmarking Centre Guidelines for Establishing On-Site Centre

The BIS-recognized Assaying and Hallmarking Centre will need to follow these fundamental principles in order to establish an On-Site Centre (OSC):

·         One A&H Centre may not have more than five On-Site Centres attached to it and an On-Site Centre may not be located more than 100 kilometers from the parent Assaying and Hallmarking Centre. These rules and conditions must be followed by an AHC before it can establish an On-Site Centre in any district. AHCs must set up an OSC or A&H Centre in one untapped district if they hallmark, on average, at least 500 items per day.

·         An On-Site Centre will undertake all A&H Centre tasks established under BIS for the hallmarking of gold and silver jewellery, with the exception of fire assay, and will have all the resources as an AHC.

·         The parent AHC will be responsible for conducting the fire assay of the jewellery received at an On-Sire Centre.

·         Following the completion of all necessary preparations, the Assaying and Hallmarking Centre may submit an application to the Regional Office of BIS for authorization for off-site workings with all the information necessary for an A&H Centre, as well as the methodology for the transfer of samples from the On-Site Centre to the parent AHC, the receipt of Assay Test Report, and any leftover testing by the OSC from there.

·         The A&H Centre will be required to submit applications in the required format and through the portal, per the Bureau’s directive.

·         With the exception of the staff required for the fire assay method, the On-Site Centre will feature testing personnel that includes a Quality Manager, as required for the A&H Centre. However, the Manager of the parent AHC will be the responsibility for both the On-Site Centre and the AHC overall.

·         The Regional Office of the Bureau, which has regional jurisdiction over the Assaying and Hallmarking Centre, should be contacted if an On-Site Centre is proposed in a region other than the one in which the AHC is situated.

·         With the exception of the equipment needed for the fire assay process, the On-Site Centre must have all testing equipment required for AHC.

Conclusion

By the end of last year—on December 31, 2023—about 1.30 lakh jewellers had signed up with BIS to offer hallmarked jewellery while adhering to the BIS Hallmarking Regulations. In India, there are currently 1004 BIS Recognized Assaying & Hallmarking (A&H) Centres. 4.49 billion rupees worth of jewellery were marked offline last year, while 5.5 billion rupees worth of jewellery were marked physically and using the automated computerized procedure that was implemented the year before. Seek professional advice for Assaying and Hallmarking Centre. You can also reach Bizadvisors.io for more information.

Read our article:How to get BIS certificate in India?