Reconsider decision on hallmarking charges: BCCI

Manama : The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has expressed discontent on the abrupt decision of the Precious Metals and Gem Testing Directorate of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism to charge BD1 per item instead of 30 fils per gram.

The Chamber called the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism to reconsider the decision, which will yield additional burden on goldsmiths and consequently the consumers, and inevitably have a reverse effect on the market and its competitiveness.

The hallmarking charges for one gram of gold was only 30 fils per gram earlier but with the new revised system gold merchants have to shell out BD1 per piece for local items and BD1.5 for imported items for hallmarking.

The hike in charges had dampened the consumer sentiment, affecting gold and silver sales in the Kingdom, according to traders.

The Ministry reinstated the importance of consulting it prior to enforcing decisions related to the private sector.