Mumbai: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Mumbai Branch Office-II conducted search and seizure operation on Wednesday in Thane District and seized 251.390 grams of gold jewellery with spurious hallmark symbols.

During the Search and seizure operation at Jay Bhawani Jewellers, Badlapur East, Thane. 251.390 grams of gold jewellery worth approx Rs 21 lakhs, marked with spurious Hallmark symbols and without Hallmark Unique Identification Digit (HUID) were seized by the BIS Mumbai Branch Office – II team.

As per Gazette Notification Order no. 1047(E) dated 03 rd March 2023, Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts (Amendment) Order, 2023, no jeweler shall sell gold jewellery without a valid HUID mark which is unique for each gold jewellery after March 31, 2023.

According to Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, action would be taken to file a criminal complaint against the aforementioned jeweler. The Act provides for imprisonment for a term which may extend up to one year or with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees, but may extend up to five times the value of goods or articles produced or sold or offered to be sold or affixed or applied with a Standard Mark or with both as decided by the court.

In order to prevent manufacturers or retailers from distributing fake goods and mislead the wider populace, Bureau of Indian Standards is initiating search and seizure operations based on information of misuse.

Consumers before purchasing a product, should confirm the status of the license through BIS Care App; if it is found to be Suspended/Deferred/Expired/Cancelled, then they may register a complaint. Any information on the misuse of the BIS Standard Marks on any products may be provided to the Bureau through email or letter or BIS CARE app (downloadable from Google Play Store and App Store). The details of complainant will be kept confidential.