Shillong, Jun 18: Officials of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Thursday detected an illegal Assaying and Hallmarking Centre (AHC) in Guwahati during an ongoing operation to investigate suspected violations of the BIS Act, 2016.
An AHC is a centre to scientifically test and certify the purity of gold and silver jewellery.
BIS in a statement said the Ganesh Hallmarking Centre at Lakhtokia, Guwahati was operating in illegal hallmarking activities. The firm was found to be using a laser marking machine for marking jewellery without authorisation and issuing spurious gold hallmarks bearing fake BIS logos.
The laser marking machine was sealed and the spurious gold hallmarks were also seized during the raid.
The BIS said that gold jewellery products must comply with the mandatory hallmarking order issued by the Government of India. Violators are liable to face severe penalties, including potential imprisonment for up to one year or fines that could reach five times the value of the counterfeit goods.
The BIS has urged citizens to report suspicions of non-certified products or any unauthorised use of the BIS mark.
