An Act to make fresh provision for the composition, assaying, marking and description of articles of, or containing, precious metals, and as to agencies for the implementation and enforcement thereof; and for purposes connected with those matters.
Citation
1973 c. 43
Territorial extent
United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent
25 July 1973
Other legislation
Amends
Customs Consolidation Act 1876
Revenue Act 1883
Revenue Act 1884
Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1890
Finance Act 1907
Forgery Act 1913
Common Informers Act 1951
Customs and Excise Act 1952
Repeals/revokes
Standard of Silver Plate, etc. Act 1696
Assay of Plate Act 1702
Plate Duty Act 1719
Plate (Offences) Act 1738
Gold and Silver Thread Act 1741
Plate (Offences) Act 1772
Gold and Silver Thread Act 1788
Silver Plate Act 1790
Gold Plate (Standard) Act 1798
Plate Assay (Ireland) Act 1807
Plate (Scotland) Act 1836
Customs Act 1842
Gold and Silver Wares Act 1844
Gold and Silver Wares Act 1854
Wedding Rings Act 1855
Hall-marking of Foreign Plate Act 1904
Assay of Imported Watch-Cases (Existing Stocks Exemption) Act 1907
Hall-marking of Foreign Plate Act 1939
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the yes as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
The Hallmarking Act 1973 (c. 43) makes up the bulk of modern law regarding the assaying and hallmarking of metals in the United Kingdom. Hallmarking is a way to guarantee the purity of precious metals. Metals are tested and, if they meet a certain minimal purity requirement, are marked with a specified seal. In the United Kingdom, this is done by the assay offices in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Edinburgh. The act made business transactions involving unmarked metals illegal. Trading Standards departments are responsible for enforcing the act.
Another notable consequence of the act was the formation of the British Hallmarking Council (BHC). This council is responsible for advising the Secretary of State in matters of hallmarking, making certain the UK has acceptable hallmarking facilities, and overseeing the assay offices so they follow the legal hallmarking standards. The council has made many important contributions concerning UK hallmarking procedures. In 1992, the European Commission proposed a directive meant to cover hallmarking. The BHC examined the document and found multiple areas of ambiguity and deficiency.[citation needed] When the European Parliament voted on the council's recommendations, many were approved.
The Hallmarking Regulations 1998 and the Hallmarking Order 1998 caused the legitimisation of hallmarks of other member states (those countries that ratified the Convention on the Control of Articles of Precious Metals of 1972). The council was responsible for clearing up ambiguous statements in the regulations and for extending its definition to deal with other problems in the hallmarking law. Some of these changes include seven additional standards of fineness, a change in the standard mark, and the dropping of the date requirement on marked metals.[citation needed]
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