THE
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS
(HALLMARKING OF PRECIOUS METAL ARTICLES) REGULATIONS, 2006
G.S.R. ----------------- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 38
of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 (63 of 1986), the Executive
Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards, with the previous approval of the
Central Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely:
1. Short Title and Commencement - (1) These regulations may be
called the Bureau of Indian Standards (Hallmarking of Precious Metal Article[b1]s) Regulations, 2006.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official
Gazette.
2. Definitions - In these regulations, unless the context
otherwise requires -
a) "Act" means the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 (63 of 1986);
b) "Rules" means the Bureau of Indian Standards Rules, 1987;
c) “Hallmarking” means the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in precious metal articles.
d) Standard Mark as defined in Section 2(t) of
BIS Act, 1986 shall be called “Hallmark” for Precious Metal Article(s) and as defined in
respective Indian Standard(s) for precious metal article(s).
e)
[b2] “Precious metals” are platinum, gold,
palladium and silver. Platinum is the most precious metal followed by
gold, palladium and silver.
f)
“Precious metal alloy” is a solid solution
containing at least one precious metal.
g) “Precious metal article” is any item of jewellery, artefacts (includes medallions, utensils & coins),[b3] goldsmith's, silversmith's or watchmaker's ware or any other object made entirely or in part from precious metals or their alloys.
h) “Fineness” is the content of the named precious metal(s) measured in terms of parts per thousand by mass[b4] of alloy.
i)
“Assaying” – The
method of accurate determination of the precious metal content of the sample
expressed in parts per thousand.[b5]
j)
“Assaying and Hallmarking Centre” – Laboratory recognized by Bureau for assaying and
hallmarking of precious metal articles.[b6]
k)
all other words and expressions used in
the regulations and not defined but defined in
the Act or the Rules shall have the meanings respectively assigned to
them in the Act and the Rules.
3. MANNER, CONDITION AND FEES FOR GRANT
AND RENEWAL OF LICENCE FOR HALLMARKING OF PRECIOUS METAL ARTICLES
A. Application for Licence
(a) Every application for the grant of licence for Hallmarking shall be made to the Bureau in the Form as decided by the Director General.
(b) Every application shall be signed by the proprietor, partner or the Managing Director of the applicant firm or by any person authorized to sign declaration on behalf of the firm.
(c) The application along with application fee, certification fees and other necessary documents submitted by the applicant shall be verified by the Bureau, and if it is in order, shall be acknowledged and numbered by the Bureau in the order of priority according to the date of the receipt. The application fee shall be non-refundable.
(d) Bureau may call for any supplementary information or documentary evidence from any applicant in support of or to substantiate any statement made by him in his application, within such time as may be decided by the Bureau.
(e) (i) Bureau may reject the application if the application is incomplete or without requisite fee and/or without relevant documents.
(ii) Before rejecting any application, the Bureau shall give a rejection notice and reasonable opportunity to the applicant of being heard within 14 days from the receipt of the notice[b7], either in person or through a representative authorized by him on his behalf, and may take into consideration any fact or explanation urged on behalf of the applicant.
(iii) The decision of the Bureau together with the grounds for arriving at such decision shall be communicated in writing to the applicant by Registered/Speed post and the decision only shall be put on the Bureau’s website. In the event of rejection of application, the certification fee shall be refunded.[b8]
(f) An Applicant[b9], who has been convicted under section 33 of the Act, shall not be eligible to apply for a period of six months from the date of such conviction. The period of disqualification beyond six months, if any, shall be determined by the Bureau having regard to the facts and circumstances of each case and it shall in no case [b10]exceed a period of one year.
B. Grant
of Licence
(a) Based on the application submitted with all
relevant documents and requisite fees, the licence shall be granted for a
period as decided by the Director General of the Bureau. The licence shall be
granted for authorizing the licensee to use Hallmark, as gazetted, by getting
the precious metal article(s) hallmarked from any Assaying & Hallmarking
Centre .
(b) The licence shall be granted in Form I.
(c) Bureau may alter, during the period of the validity of the licence, by giving one month's notice to a licensee any term and condition of the licence.
(d) Where a licence to use Hallmark has been granted, it shall be hosted on the Bureau’s website specifying the particulars of the licence.
(e) Particulars of all licences issued by the Bureau under these regulations in connection with the use of Hallmark shall be maintained suitably in a database.
C. Conditions of a Licence
(a) Only such grades and varieties of the precious metal article for which the licence has been granted shall be submitted for hallmarking.
(b) When a Hallmark has been specified in respect of an Indian Standard for a [b11]precious metal article, no person other than the licensee in possession of a valid licence shall make any public claim, through any advertisement, sales promotion leaflets, price-lists or the like, that his precious metal article conforms to the relevant Indian Standard or carries the Hallmark.
Explanation - For the purpose of this sub-regulation, a claim as to conformity of one's precious metal article to an Indian Standard in reply to a specific query or in a tender addressed to any individual customer shall not be deemed to be a public claim.
(c) If, at any time, the Bureau has sufficient evidence that the precious metal article carrying the Hallmark is not conforming to the Indian Standard, the licensee shall be directed to stop submitting the precious metal article for hallmarking and all the Assaying and Hallmarking centres shall be directed not to Hallmark. Such evidence is not limited to, but may include one or more of the following situations:
(1) non conformance of precious metal articles established after independent testing
(2) non-implementation of the provision(s) of the Scheme for Certification
(3) relocation of manufacturing or retail premises without intimation to the Bureau
(4) submitting precious metal articles other than those included in the licence for hallmarking.
The re-submission of precious metal articles for hallmarking [b12]shall be permitted by the Bureau after satisfying itself that the licensee has taken necessary corrective actions.
(d) When an Indian Standard is withdrawn and not superseded by any other Indian Standard, any licence granted[b13] in respect thereof shall be deemed to have been cancelled from the date of withdrawal of such Indian Standard and any such licence shall be surrendered to the Bureau by the licensee forthwith. In the case of such cancelled licence, certification fee already paid by the licensee, shall be refunded to the licensee in proportion to the unexpired period of the licence[b14],
(e) Consumer Protection :
(i) Any consumer who purchases precious metal articles with Hallmark, or his/her authorized representative, can get the same tested from an Assaying & Hallmarking Centre on payment of applicable charges. The centre[b15] shall test and issue test report for the precious metal article tested.
(ii) In case precious metal article with Hallmark brought by the consumer for testing is found to be of lesser fineness [b16]than that marked,
a) The testing charges shall [b17]be refunded to the consumer by the centre which had hallmarked the precious metal article, and
b) The licensee shall be obliged to satisfy the consumer through replacement free of cost.
(iii) The final authority to judge conformity of the hallmarked precious metal articles to the declared fineness as per Indian Standard shall be with the Bureau[b18].
(f) In the event of any claim being filed by the consumer / purchaser against the Hallmarked article and not “conforming to” the declared fineness as per the relevant Indian Standard, BIS shall not be liable in any manner.[b20]
D. Renewal
of Licence
(a) Bureau may, on an application made by a licensee at least one month before the expiry of the period for which the licence has been granted, renew the same for a period as decided by the Director General.
(b) A licence, unless renewed or its renewal is deferred by the Bureau shall expire at the end of the period for which it is granted.
(c) The renewal of a licence may be deferred for a stipulated period [b21], if, the licensee :
(i) doesn’t apply for renewal in time or requisite fees or other details are not enclosed with renewal application
(ii) based on performance of the licence, needs to take corrective measures
(d) Where a decision has been taken to defer the renewal of a licence, the licensee shall be communicated the decision through e-mail/fax/ speed/registered post and directed to stop submitting the precious metal article for hallmarking till such time a decision is taken to renew the licence and all the Assaying and Hallmarking centres shall be directed not to Hallmark precious metal articles of such licensee. [b22]
E. Cancellation/Suspension of Licence
(a)
Any licence granted by the Bureau may be cancelled, if it is satisfied that the
-
(i) precious metal article(s) hallmarked under a licence does not
comply with the related Indian Standard or Standards; or
(ii) licensee failed to provide reasonable facilities to
any Inspecting Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau to
enable him to discharge the duties imposed on him which may include visits for
complaints and other investigations; or
(iii) licensee has failed to comply with any of the terms and
conditions of the licence.
(iv)
licensee has
not taken corrective actions as advised within stipulated period[b23]
(i) natural calamities such as flood, fire,
earthquake etc;
(ii) a lock out declared by the licensees’ management;
(iii) closure of operations directed by a competent court or statutory authority.
[b24](c) (i)
Before the Bureau cancels any licence, it shall give the licensee not less than
14 days' notice of its intention to cancel the licence.
(ii) On the receipt of such notice, the
licensee may submit an explanation to the Bureau within 14 days from the
receipt of the notice. If an explanation
is submitted, Bureau may consider the explanation and give a personal hearing
to the licensee, if sought, within 14 days from the date of receipt of such
explanation or before the expiry of the notice whichever is longer.
(iii)
If no explanation is submitted, the Bureau may, on the expiry of period
of the notice, cancel the licence.
(iv)
The decision of the Bureau together with the grounds for arriving
at such decision shall be communicated, in writing to the licensee by
Registered/Speed post within three weeks of the personal hearing, failing which
the proceedings for the cancellation of licence shall be deemed to be closed.
(d) Where a licence has been suspended or
cancelled or not renewed on the expiry of the period of its validity, the
licensee shall discontinue forthwith the use of the Hallmark notwithstanding
the pendency of any appeal before the Central Government under section 16 of
the Act and if there be, with the licensee or his authorized representative,
any precious metal articles in stock which have been improperly marked, the
licensee or his authorized representatives as the case may be, shall take
necessary steps to get the Hallmark on such precious metal articles either
removed, defaced or erased.
(e) In cases of
cancellation/non-renewal due to misuse of Hallmark, Bureau shall impose waiting/cooling
period not exceeding one year depending
on gravity of misuse while issuing
the cancellation/non renewal order.
[b25](f) When a licence has been suspended or cancelled, the Bureau shall host the particulars of the licence so suspended or cancelled on the Bureau’s website.
(g) The complete licence document shall be returned to the Bureau in the event of its being surrendered, not renewed or cancelled.
F. Fees - (a) The application fee, certification fee, renewal application fee for grant/renewal of licence for each precious metal[b26] article shall be determined by the Director General from time to time.
(b) The certification fee for grant of licence [b27]shall be paid in advance by the applicant at the time of grant and renewal of licence. No such fee or part thereof shall be refunded except under the clause (d) of sub-regulation (C) of the regulation 3 and clause (e) (iii) of sub-regulation (A).
G.
Use of Bureau’s Hallmark
(a) Licensees under Hallmarking scheme shall submit their precious metal articles to any of the Assaying and Hallmarking Centres for hallmarking.
(b) The Assaying & Hallmarking centres shall be recognized as per a defined criteria as laid down by the Director General.
(c) The fees for recognition and operation of Assaying & Hallmarking centres shall be determined by the Director General from time to time.
(d) The recognition to the assaying and hallmarking centers shall be granted for a period as decided by the Director General. The recognition may further be renewed for a period as decided by the Director General.
(e) The recognized centre shall be authorized to Hallmark the Precious metal articles received from licensees under the scheme after testing as per relevant Indian Standards and laid down criteria.
(f) (i) Licensees under the hallmarking scheme shall pay hallmarking charges to the Assaying and Hallmarking centre for hallmarking of the precious metal article on per article basis.
(ii) The
Assaying and Hallmarking centres shall pay to the Bureau a part of the
Hallmarking charges collected per article as decided by the Director General
from time to time.
H. Surveillance
and Review
(a) Regular surveillance of recognized Assaying & Hallmarking Centres shall be done by the Bureau. The frequency and scope of surveillance shall be as determined by the Director General.
(b) Market Surveillance of the licensees shall be done by the Bureau based on consumer feedback as well as random sampling as per guidelines issued by the Director General from time to time.
(c) The Inspecting
Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau may take samples of
precious metal articles marked with the Hallmark from the sales outlet or any
such premises of the licensee in
such a manner as decided by the Bureau[b28].
The
remnants of the samples shall be returned to the licensee after completion of
testing and other actions.
(d) The following procedure shall apply in the case of investigation[b29], if required, in respect of any precious metal article where a licence for the use of Hallmark in respect of that precious metal article has been issued, -
(i) If during an investigation[b30], an Inspecting Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau is required to take one or more samples of any precious metal article, material or substance, he shall do so in the presence of the licensee or a responsible person belonging to the establishment of the licensee ;
(ii)
The Inspecting
Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau shall take a sample
of the precious metal
article by dividing it into two parts.
The part of the sample to be sent for testing shall be without
Jewellers’ or Centres’ Identification mark. The other part (called counter
sample) duly sealed and signed shall be given to the licensee or his authorized person;
(iii)
[b31]The
Inspecting Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau shall
place each such sample in a covering and seal each sample. In the case of samples drawn by the Inspecting Officer or authorized
representative or agent of the Bureau which cannot be so sealed, such samples
shall be marked with certain identification to establish their identity;
(iv)(i)
(iv)
(v) The Inspecting Officer or authorized representative or agent of the Bureau shall give a receipt for sample or samples taken and retain a duplicate copy of the receipt duly signed by the person in whose presence the sample was taken.
[b32](e) Detailed guidelines for operation of the hallmarking scheme in accordance with the regulations including investigation [b33]shall be issued by the Director General of the Bureau from time to time.
(f) Director General of the Bureau may also review the scheme as required from time to time based on the feedback from consumers, licensees, assaying and hallmarking centers, government and other stakeholders.
I. Misuse of Bureau’s Hallmark
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS
FORM - I
[ See Hallmarking of Precious Metal Articles,
Regulations 3 B (b) ]
Licence for HALLMARK
LICENCE NO.
CM/L- _________________
1. By virtue of
the powers conferred on it by the BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS ACT, 1986 (63 of
1986), the BUREAU hereby grant to
________________________________________________________________________
(Hereinafter called 'the licensee') this licence for Hallmark set out in the
first column of the Schedule hereto, upon the article set out in the second
column of the said Schedule which shall be tested by assaying and hallmarking
centre recognized by the Bureau for conformity to the related Indian Standard
referred to in the third column of the said Schedule as from time to time
amended or revised and hallmarked.
SCHEDULE
|
HALLMARK |
ARTICLE
|
INDIAN STANDARD |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
|
|
|
|
2. This licence
carries the rights and obligations stipulated in the Regulations made under the
above mentioned Act. In pursuance of his obligations, the licensee shall
maintain to the satisfaction of the Bureau the Scheme for Certification a copy
of which is attached hereto.
3. This licence
shall be valid from ____________________ to ____________________ and may be
renewed as prescribed in the Regulations.
Signed, Sealed and Dated
this ______________day of ________________
two thousand ____________________________________
for BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS