Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Thursday said it has seized 804 grams of gold jewelleries in Chennai as the articles were not hallmarked and displayed for commercial sales.

Mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts was launched in June 2021. Hallmarking provides an official indication of the purity or fineness of precious metal articles.

According to an official statement, the BIS's Chennai Branch Office "seized 803.99 grams of non-hallmarked gold jewellery during an enforcement search and seizure operation at a jewellery shop in Ambattur, Chennai, on September 1, 2026."

The action was carried out under Section 28 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, after non-hallmarked gold jewellery was found displayed for commercial sale.

"The seized jewellery included 175 mangalsutras (thalis) weighing 671.50 grams, 12 children's bangles weighing 25.02 grams, 40 earrings weighing 86.14 grams and 10 pendants weighing 21.33 grams," it added.

The BIS officials found the jewellery in different designs and categories being offered for sale without the required hallmarking.

The articles were confiscated for detailed investigation and further legal proceedings.

S D Dayanand, Head of the BIS Chennai Branch Office, said, "BIS regularly undertakes market surveillance and enforcement activities to ensure that products covered under mandatory BIS certification and hallmarking requirements comply with the prescribed standards."

He mentioned that such enforcement actions prevent the sale of substandard products, check misuse of the BIS Standard Mark and hallmark.

Hallmarking, the BIS noted, offers an official guarantee of the purity or fineness of precious metal articles. Under the existing system, hallmarked gold jewellery carries the BIS logo, purity/fineness grading, and a six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number.

Courtesy: Daily Excelsior