NEW DELHI: Gold buyers' hopes of purchasing hallmarked jewellery and ornaments this marriage season have been dashed with the government planning to defer the implementation of compulsory hallmarking in the four metros from January 1.

"The government has deferred the implementation of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Hallmarking Act, which was proposed to be mandatory from January 1," an official source told PTI.According to official sources, the government is working on the draft of the notification and vetting the legal issues."As and when the draft gets ready, the public will be informed well in advance," they said.However, Delhi-based PP Jewelers' head Pawan Gupta said, "The government under pressure from the gems and jewellery industry has postponed its decision."

In order to protect gold buyers from mischievous jewelers, the government had decided to introduce hallmarking of gold jewellery in three phases.A market analyst said lack of security provisions, coupled with inadequate infrastructure and lukewarm response from jewelers, has put the government decision into uncertainties.

According to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which issues the hallmark certifying the purity of gold, only around 400 tonnes of the precious metal have been assayed since it launched voluntary hallmarking in 2000, whereas annual consumption was about 3,900 tonnes during these years.