Nagpur: Jewellers’ one-day strike against new gold hallmarking norm tomorrow

NAGPUR: Jewellers in the city affiliated to Nagpur Sarafa Association will be holding a day-long strike on Monday against hall marking unique ID (HUID) system, a recent addition to the gold hallmarking norm. The jewellery shops will remain shut as a mark of protest.
The jewellers have already filed a petition in the Jabalpur high court against the rule. Hallmarking is a system of certifying the purity by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
HUID calls for hallmarking of each individual ornament, details of which have to be maintained by the jewellers. Even each of the purchasers’ details have to be uploaded. The move has left the jewellers ruffled.
The ministry of commerce had made it mandatory to get the gold jewellery hallmarked from June 16 this year. This was followed by another order on HUID.
Traders said that HUID, which calls for uploading the details of each and every ornament on the portal, has only made the process slow. It takes almost 10 days to get the piece back from the hallmarking agency after the process is over, they said.
“This holds up the stock in trade at the hallmarking centres and the jewellers are not able to meet their commitment to buyers of delivering in time,” said Rakesh Rokde, secretary of Sarafa Association.
Rokde said that if the government does not accept their demands, the agitation may be intensified.
The jewellers had agreed to the hallmarking norm insisting that it should be allowed in the centres where the facility is available. “Initially, bulk jewellery in terms of weight was hallmarked, which was a smooth process. However, HUID has slowed down the procedure, due to which the stock remains held up at the hallmarking centre,” said Rokde.