Shillong, May 23: Officials from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Guwahati branch office conducted a search and seizure operation at a jewellery shop in Guwahati following complaints regarding the alleged misuse of BIS Hallmark and unauthorized sale of gold jewellery items without BIS hallmarking registration.
The operation was carried out on May 22 at Shree Sainath Jewellery located near Happy Montessori School in Basistha Chariali, Guwahati. Officials found that the jewellery store displayed the BIS hallmark logo prominently on various banners and walls, despite lacking valid authorization to do so. This led to serious concerns as the establishment was reportedly engaged in the sale of gold jewellery articles featuring counterfeit BIS hallmarks, violating the provisions of the BIS Act, 2016.
According to the BIS enforcement team, any violations of the BIS Act can lead to severe penalties, including imprisonment of up to one year or fines starting at Rs. 1 lakh, which can escalate up to five times the value of goods sold with unauthorized hallmarking.
The government has mandated hallmarking for gold jewellery to assure purity and protect consumers.
In light of this, BIS officials stated that they regularly carry out such operations to uphold consumer interests and have encouraged the public to report any misuse of BIS hallmarks to the Guwahati Branch Office via email at ghbo@bis.gov.in, assuring that the identity of informants will be kept confidential.
