Govt Launches Online Registration & Renewal Of Gold Hallmarking Centres

On Friday, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan launched an online system for registration and renewal of licence of gold assaying and hallmarking centres. The online mode will bring ease-of-doing-business for both the jewellers and entrepreneurs who have established hallmarking centres or wish to do so.

Currently, gold hallmarking is voluntary but the government had earlier announced that it will be made mandatory from June 2021.

The "hallmarking" system for gold, as well as silver jewellery sold in India, helps in certifying the purity of the metal as per a set of standards laid by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards organization of India.

Presently, there are 921 hallmarking centres located in 234 districts.

"With hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts becoming mandatory, the number of jewellers coming forward for registration is expected to go to 5 lakh from the present level of about 31,000," Paswan told reporters after the virtual launch.

The online system will ensure that applications to set up a new centre or renew the existing licence can be submitted online. The online system of an audit will also facilitate expeditious disposal of complaints regarding Malpractices in the hallmarking of jewellery items.

The entire process of recognition, which involves the audit of the centres, submission of audit reports and grant of recognition or renewal, has been automated, he said.

"Not only the applicant will have all the information available with him, but it will also be possible to do real-time basis monitoring of the processing of applications," he added.

BIS is also working on a module to automate the work-flow of the assaying and hallmarking centres, which is expected to be ready by December 20, he added.

The government's focus is to set up at least one hallmarking centre in each district.