The India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) has urged the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to permit mandatory self-hallmarking of silver products by jewellers, instead of relying solely on hallmarking centres. The association warned that current logistics and operational costs linked to hallmarking silver items could burden jewellers and eventually consumers.

In a letter dated July 18, IBJA’s national secretary Surendra Mehta highlighted the impracticality of transporting bulky silver artefacts like utensils, furniture, and idols to hallmarking centres, which could significantly raise operational costs. Smaller silver items such as jewellery and silverware, though lightweight and typically priced under Rs.3,000 could also become costlier due to hallmarking overheads.

“To carry out hallmarking of these small items may be expensive affair for jeweller and consumer as well. Further hallmarking agency may not be able to handle so much volume of small silver items/jewellery,” Surendra Mehta wrote.

India currently has 1,622 hallmarking and assaying centres, but IBJA emphasized that these may be insufficient to handle the growing volume of silver products. The letter proposed a self-hallmarking system wherein jewellers assign a unique code to each silver item and include it in invoices, ensuring traceability and transparency.

IBJA also called for a review of the existing rules and penalties related to gold hallmarking, suggesting amendments that could apply similarly to silver.

With silver prices now retailing at Rs.14,252 per kg and rising consumer interest in silver jewellery over gold, concerns around authenticity and quality have increased.

“We have found that more and more consumers are now opting for silver jewellery and bypassing gold jewellery purchase. However, silver jewellery and artefacts hallmarking are not mandatory in nature and these leaves ample room for consumers to be cheated by jewellers,” the IBJA letter noted.

Chirag Sheth, principal consultant (South Asia) at Metals Focus, a London-based precious metals consultancy, echoed these concerns.

“Payal that women wear on their feet is the most sold silver jewellery product in India. They control 50% of the silver jewellery market that stood at 2,700 tonnes in 2024. It is well known in the industry circles that many a time jewellers use silver alloys in this product, which customers are unable to find out. So hallmarking is definitely required for silver items. Also, the demand for silver jewellery is increasing among the young crowd because of the affordability of the product and they are asking for hallmarking.”

Silver jewellery consumption in India has surged from 900 tonnes in 2010 to 2,700 tonnes in 2024, with the country heavily reliant on imports to meet this growing demand.