Guidelines for Diamond Labelling and Certification

On 19th Nov 2024, Government announced that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is preparing to release comprehensive guidelines aimed at improving transparency in the diamond sector by mandating labelling and certification, specifying diamond origins, and prohibiting misleading terms for lab-grown products.

Key Points

Stakeholder Consultation: CCPA Chief Commissioner chaired a meeting with industry stakeholders and experts to discuss consumer protection in the diamond sector.
Proposed Guidelines: The guidelines aim to mandate explicit labelling and certification of all diamonds, specifying their origin and production method.
The use of misleading terms like “natural” or “genuine” for lab-grown diamonds will be prohibited.
Regulation of Diamond Testing: Accreditation systems will be introduced to regulate and standardize diamond testing laboratories, ensuring that unregulated entities are curbed in the industry.
Legal Framework: The Legal Metrology Act, 2009, ensures standardized measurements for diamonds in the industry, using carats as the unit of mass.
Synthetic diamonds cannot be labelled as “diamonds” without clear qualification.
Synthetic Diamonds Disclosure: According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), synthetic diamonds must be explicitly labelled as such, and they cannot be graded alongside natural diamonds.
Tax and Custom Regulations: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has reinforced these regulations, mandating the declaration of whether a diamond is natural or lab-grown, along with the production method for lab-grown diamonds.