The Hallmarking (Hallmarking Act Amendment) Regulations 1998

• Citation: S.I. 1998/2978
• Sections: 10

Section 1 Citation and Commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Hallmarking (Hallmarking Act Amendment) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st January 1999.

Section 2 Amendment of the Hallmarking Act 1973

(1) The Hallmarking Act 1973 shall be amended as follows.

(2) In section 2, there shall be inserted after the words “United Kingdom is a party” in paragraph (c) of subsection (1), the words—

, or

(d) marks struck in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom, being marks which—

(i) have been struck by an independent body in accordance with the law of that State; and

(ii) provide information which is equivalent to the information provided by the marks mentioned in section 4(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of this Act and which is intelligible to consumers in the United Kingdom.

(3) In section 2, there shall be inserted at the end of subsection (2), the words—

, and marks within subsection (1)(d) above are in this Act called “EEA hallmarks”.

(4) In section 2, after subsection (2), there shall be inserted—

(2A) In this section “EEA State” means a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993.

(5) In section 2, for the words “such convention or treaty” in subsection (3) there shall be substituted “convention or treaty falling within subsection (1)(c) above”.

(6) In section 2, after the words “bears a convention hallmark” in subsection (5)(c) there shall be inserted the words “or an EEA hallmark”.

(7) In section 4, in subsection (1)(a), for sub-paragraph (iii), and the word “and” immediately preceding it, there shall be substituted—

(iii) the pictorial mark, or one of the pictorial marks, specified in paragraph 3 of the said Schedule as respects an article of the precious metal specified opposite thereto in column (1) of the said paragraph assaying to a standard of fineness specified in column (2) of the said paragraph and also so opposite;

(iv) the date letter directed pursuant to paragraph 4 of the said Schedule; and

(v) the mark (if any) directed pursuant to paragraph 5 of the said Schedule;

(8) In section 4, for subsections (1A) and (2) there shall be substituted—

(2) Each of the approved hallmarks mentioned in subsection (1)(a)(iii), (iv) and (v) above shall be struck by an assay office on an article only if a request to that effect is made by the person who submits the article to the assay office; but the absence of any such approved hallmark on an article by virtue of this subsection shall not in itself render the article unhallmarked for the purposes of this Act.

(9) In section 4, after the figure “916.6” in subsection (3)(b)(i)(a), there shall be inserted the words “or above”.

(10) In section 4, for the figure “950” in subsection (3)(b)(iii) there shall be substituted “the standard of fineness of the article”.

(11) In section 4, subsection (4) shall be omitted.

(12) In section 22(1), there shall be inserted after the definition of “dealer”—

“EEA hallmark” has the meaning given by section 2 of this Act;

(13) In section 22(1), in the definition of “minimum fineness” (contained within the definition of “fineness”), for the figure “925” there shall be substituted the figure “800” and for the figure “950” there shall be substituted the figure “850”.

(14) In section 22(1), in the definition of “sponsor’s mark” there shall be inserted after the words “as a sponsor’s mark for the purposes of this Act” in paragraph b(ii)—

; or

(c) a mark struck on an article in an EEA State which indicates the manufacturer or sponsor of the article;

(15) For Part I of Schedule 2 there shall be substituted—

ARTICLES COMPRISED OF A SINGLE PRECIOUS METAL

(1) Assay office mark

(2) Standard mark

(3) Optional pictorial mark

(4) Optional date letter

Such distinct variable letter of the alphabet to denote the year in which the article is marked as may be for the time being directed in writing by the Council.

(5) Optional additional mark

Such mark (if any) as may be for the time being directed in writing by the Council.

Section 3 Consequential Amendments

The Schedule to this Order which contains consequential amendments to The Hallmarking (International Convention) Order 1976 has effect.

Section 1

In article 3(1)(a), before “925” in paragraph (ii) there shall be inserted “800 or”.

Section 2

In article 5(2), for sub-paragraph (d) there shall be substituted—

(d) in subsection (2) the reference to subsection (1)(a)(iii) were omitted;

Section 3

In article 5(2), in sub-paragraph (e), for “950” there shall be substituted “the standard of fineness of the article”.

Section 4

In article 6(1), “800 or” shall be omitted.

Section 5

In article 6(2), in sub-paragraph (a), for “numbers 800 and 830” there shall be substituted “number 830”.

Section 6

In article 6(2), sub-paragraph (b) shall be omitted.

Section 7

In article 6(3), “800 or” shall be omitted.