Yogesh K Porwar
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) conducted search and seizure operations at two jewellery establishments in Bengaluru and Ramanagara on June 25,seizing around 4,100 grams of gold ornaments for alleged violations of hallmarking regulations under the BIS Act, 2016.
The raids were carried out at AAI Matha Jewellery in JP Nagar,Bengaluru,and Shanti Jewellers on M.G.Road in Ramanagara as part of BIS’s regular enforcement drive against misuse of the BIS Standard Mark and violations of mandatory hallmarking norms.
According to BIS,the ornaments seized were either without the mandatory Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) or carried the old hallmarking system without HUID.
Officials also found that both establishments were operating without valid BIS jeweller registration,which constitutes a violation of the BIS Act,2016.
The operation at the JP Nagar outlet was supervised by P.Jayachandra Babu,Scientist-E and Director,while the Ramanagara operation was led by Vinodini Kishore, Scientist-E and Director.
The enforcement team included senior BIS officials Vijay Kumar,Krishna Sudheendran,Manish Raj,Piyush Kumar Gupta and other officers.
BIS said legal proceedings under the BIS Act,2016 are being initiated against the establishments based on the findings of the raids.
The bureau said it will continue conducting enforcement operations based on credible inputs to prevent misuse of the BIS Standard Mark and ensure compliance with hallmarking regulations.
It added that the action is aimed at protecting consumer interests, preventing deceptive trade practices and curbing the circulation of substandard and counterfeit products.
Consumers have been advised to verify the authenticity of hallmarked gold jewellery using the BIS Care App and report any suspected violations.
