Mandatory hallmarking for gold came into force in June 2021. Before that, it was very difficult to buy pure gold. Many times fake gold was sold to customers in the name of pure gold. Now the same problem is seen in buying silver.

In fact, there has been a sharp rise in the prices of silver in the last few months. It had also crossed one lakh per kg. This also increased the cases of selling fake silver. The government is preparing to make silver hallmarking mandatory to stop this.

Government's stand on silver hallmarking

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi says that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) should consider implementing mandatory hallmarking for silver and silver artifacts after the demand of consumers.

He said at the 78th BIS Foundation Day celebrations on Monday, "There is a demand from consumers for hallmarking of silver. BIS should take an appropriate decision after deliberating on this." The government believes that making silver hallmarking mandatory will reduce cases of fraud in the sale of silver.

Hallmarking of gold is mandatory.

The government has currently made hallmarking mandatory only for gold jewelery and artifacts. Its purity is divided into 24, 22, 18, and 14 carats. 24-carat gold is considered the purest. The purpose of hallmarking is to protect consumer interests and ensure the authenticity of the product.

The existing hallmarking system includes a unique six-digit alphanumeric code (HUID), which certifies the purity of gold. If hallmarking of silver is made mandatory, it will help a lot in ensuring its quality.

What is the problem with the hallmarking of silver?
The government has been wanting to make hallmarking of silver mandatory for a long time, but there is a problem with it. Actually, silver does not have carats like gold. Due to this, the hallmarking of silver is not easy.

This is the reason why BIS has not yet taken any concrete steps regarding the hallmarking of silver. However, after the recent stance of the government, BIS may start considering all the aspects related to the hallmarking of silver. This will likely lead to the start of silver hallmarking soon.

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