Silver Hallmarking Likely To Become Mandatory In 3-6 Months; BIS To Assess Implementation

Silver jewellery and artefacts may soon require mandatory hallmarking. During a BIS Foundation Day event on January 6, 2025, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi directed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to explore the implementation of mandatory hallmarking. BIS is an autonomous organisation tasked with establishing quality standards for products and services. Currently, hallmarking for silver items is available, but it is voluntary. Therefore, the minister asked BIS to consider making it mandatory, stating, “There is a demand from consumers for mandatory hallmarking of silver. You (BIS) can deliberate and take a call".

Why Hallmarking?

Hallmarking makes it easy for customers to check the purity of the item. Otherwise, they can easily be cheated by unscrupulous sellers to sell sub-standard, impure silver items to unbeknownst customers. However, the mark (Hallmark) guarantees the purity of the item on which it is inscribed.

It is beneficial to prevent fraudulent practices where sellers could cheat people by selling lower-purity items at the price of a pure item. So, with the mandatory hallmarking, buyers can be sure of getting the standard and unadulterated item for their money.

Silver hallmarking started around 20 years back in 2005. The Indian Standard (IS) silver hallmarking ‘IS 2112: 2014’ is currently used for silver jewellery and artefacts but on a voluntary basis. The IS specifies six alloy grades, that are 990, 970, 925, 900, 835, and 800, as per their purity level.

BIS To Explore Implementation:

The minister has asked BIS to gather feedback from the consumers, ornament dealers, and other stakeholders. While BIS is contemplating the implementation of mandatory hallmarking for silver, reportedly, stakeholders are in favour of it, but several of them from different states, including Gujarat and Karnataka have requested to extend starting the mandatory hallmarking of silver.

BIS Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari said that the mandatory hallmarking could start in the next 3-6 months, reported PTI. It cited Tiwari as saying, “Several rounds of discussions were held with stakeholders, and they are in favour of it. The discussion on printing a unique six-digit alphanumeric code is going on".

Note that for gold, mandatory hallmarking has already started in June 2021.