The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : 126 jewellers booked for violations

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

126 jewellers booked for violations

Special Correspondent

Shops charging extra price of 11 to 14 per cent
Ornaments, coins found to weigh less than figure mentioned in bill

HYDERABAD: ‘Akshaya Tritiya’, the festival on May 7 and 8 that has come to be associated with gold purchases, turned sour for several jewellers across the State as officials of the Legal Metrology department cracked down on 126 shops and booked cases for various irregularities in the sale of gold and silver jewellery besides gold coins.

In the State capital alone, cases were booked against 25 shops located in Abids, Somajiguda, Chikkadpally, Dilsukhnagar and Secunderabad, said a press release issued here on Monday by Tejdeep Kaur Menon, Controller, Legal Metrology.

Officials found that certain shops were charging an extra price of 11 to 14 per cent on the ground that there was wastage while making gold ornaments and they were using weighing machines that showed weight exceeding the limits of permissible error. In several cases, the weighing machines were not re-verified.

Ornaments and coins were found to weigh less than the figure mentioned in the bill or the estimate slip.

According to the release, the law states that the weight should not include that of diamonds and precious stones at the time of sale along with ornaments.

Jewellers need to charge only for the gold in the ornament. The cost of diamonds/precious stones should be shown separately in terms of weight and cost.

Cases were also booked against shops in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Proddatur, Kadapa, Anantapur, Tirupati, Chittoor, Suryapet, Tenali, Narsaraopet, Guntur, Bhimavaram, Eluru, Jangareddygudem, Nellore, Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Khammam, Kakinada, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Kurnool, Nandyal, Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Kamareddy, Gudiwada and Ongole.

The department has launched a helpline 1-860-425-3333 which will be open on all working days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is hosting information on website www.apcolm.gov.in. Complaints and suggestions can be lodged on the website or mailed to apcolm@gmail.com.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh