Sri Lanka 's National Gems and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) is to crack down on unauthorized gold pawning business and low quality jewellery producers and sellers countrywide using its regulatory powers for the first time to upgrade the standard of the industry, a senior official of the NGJA said.
The Authority is now conducting a countrywide census to collect data on pawning centres, gems and jewellery producers and industrialists, sales outlets as well as artisans and persons who provide support services to the business.
All these pawning centres and gems and jewellery producers and industrialists, etc should register with the Authority by paying a sum of Rs.5000 per annum as licence fee, he said. Data of around 2,000 establishments has already been collected and documented.
The Authority also exercises regulatory functions such as issuing licenses to gem dealers, miners, and lapidaries, and also licenses for gem auctions and gem-land auctions.
Authority Chairman Anil Koswatte told the Business Times that they are receiving complaints from customers mostly foreign buyers and tourists about the sale of low quality gold and gem studded jewellery and this will affect the image of the country .
There are also complaints to the effect that even gem and jewellery outlets in certain tourist hotels also sell low quality jewellery items, he said adding that those who buy jewellery too should be knowledgeable on the standard of the jewellery they purchase.
He said the pawning businesses need the approval of the state and a bank guarantee is needed in addition to other requirements. He revealed that there are over 3,000 unauthorized businesses islandwide which are engaged in gold pawning business.
Apart from this certain individuals are operating various rackets promising the people to redeem their jewellery. People should not fall prey to such racketeers, he said. Mr Koswatte said that the Authority will conduct raids to crack down on unauthorized pawning centres and gems and jewellery sales outlets which sell low quality items. The new licensing system will help to tackle this problem, he added.
The census is now being carried out all districts covering Colombo, Kandy, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Gampaha, Kurunegala and several other areas except the North. Eighteen officials of the Authority have been deployed to conduct the survey, he said.
The Authority will also launch a service where customers could verify the quality of gems and jewellery free of charge. Under the first stage, such testing would be done at the Authority head office in Colombo, Mr.Koswatta., said. The gems and jewellery are tested for genuineness by a panel consisting of NGJA and Sri Lanka Customs gemologists. |
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