UK Act of Parliament 1973 United Kingdom

Hallmarking Act 1973

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.

Enforced by
Trading Standards
Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Imprisonment 2 of 20 obligations carry a criminal penalty. 1 carries different penalties and 17 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person8 Trader1 Director or Officer1 Manufacturer1

Plus 9 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Trader — also bound by 825 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 429 other Acts
Manufacturer — also bound by 502 other Acts

What it requires

Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

s.003 Sponsors’ marks. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Register and strike a sponsor's mark on articles before hallmarkingManufacturer
s.004 Approved hallmarks. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay offices must strike approved hallmarks on qualifying precious metal articlesStatutory regulator
s.005 Alterations to hallmarked articles. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Do not alter hallmarked articles without assay office consentAny Person
s.007 Treatment by assay offices of unauthorised marks. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Submit articles with unauthorised hallmark-like marks to assay office before supplyAny Person
s.009 Enforcement of Act. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Trading Standards must enforce hallmarking rules in your areaLocal authority
s.010 Treatment of articles following convictions. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay office must return articles delivered under court order to the entitled personStatutory regulator
s.011 Dealers to exhibit notices as to hallmarks. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Display approved hallmarks notice in your premisesTrader
s.013 The British Hallmarking Council. (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • British Hallmarking Council must supervise hallmarking and enforce the lawStatutory regulator
17 other provisions — procedural and definitional
s.004 Assay office carrying on business outside the United Kingdom
Schedules

Schedules

12 of 85 shown
s.sch002 (1) This paragraph applies to the striking of hallmarks other... Regulated
  • Strike hallmarks correctly on precious metal partsAny Person
s.sch002 (1) If the person who submits the article to the... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay office must strike requested additional hallmark marksStatutory regulator
s.sch002 A mixed material article with only a single precious metal... Regulated
  • Ensure mixed material items have the precious metal part hallmarkedAny Person
s.sch002 (1) The person who submits the article to an assay... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay office must comply with request to strike marks on a specific metal partStatutory regulator
s.sch002 (1) This paragraph applies if— (a) an assay office have... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay offices must comply with Council direction on hallmark refusalStatutory regulator
s.sch003 A person guilty of an offence under this Act for... Imprisonment
  • Breach hallmarking regulations with no specific penaltyAny Person
s.sch003 (1) Where an offence under this Act which has been... Regulated
  • Director or officer liable for corporate hallmarking offenceDirector or Officer
s.sch003 Where the commission by any person of an offence under... Regulated
  • Cause a hallmarking offence through your act or defaultAny Person
s.sch004 (1) The expenses of the Council (which may include reasonable... Regulated
  • Assay offices must pay annual contributions to Council expensesAny Person
s.sch004 (1) The Council shall keep proper accounts of all sums... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Council must keep proper accounts and send them for auditCrown / Minister / Government department
s.sch005 (1) Upon receipt of any article submitted to an assay... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Assay office must examine submitted articles and either hallmark or return themStatutory regulator
s.sch005 (1) Each assay office shall be responsible both for the... Regulated
  • Safely keep and dispose of hallmarking diesAny Person
73 other schedules
s.sch001 Any article which— (a) is wholly or mainly of gold...
s.sch001 Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any musical instrument, where the...
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA and subject to the provisions...
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
s.sch001 Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any article , except an...
s.sch001 Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any article which is of...
s.sch001 (1) Subject to paragraph 14AA and subject to the provisions...
s.sch001 Paragraphs 11 to 14A above do not apply to any...
s.sch001 Exempted Articles
s.sch001 The following articles of gold, if manufactured before 1st January...
s.sch001 (1) Subject to the exceptions below, the following articles of...
s.sch001 Articles of gold or silver manufactured before 1st January 1975,...
s.sch001 Where under this Part of this Schedule an exemption depends...
s.sch001 Any article which has been used, or is intended to...
s.sch001 Any battered article fit only to be remanufactured.
s.sch001 Any article of gold silver, or palladium thread.
s.sch001 Any raw material (including any bar, plate, sheet, foil, rod,...
s.sch001 Any manufactured article which is not substantially complete, and which...
s.sch001 Any article which is wholly or mainly of platinum, and...
s.sch001 Any article which is wholly or partly of palladium, and...
s.sch002 Assay office mark Assay office Assay office mark (1) (2)...
s.sch002 Any small working parts contained within an article which for...
s.sch002 Where any article of gold, silver , platinum or palladium...
s.sch002 Where any article of silver , platinum or palladium is...
s.sch002 For the purposes of this Part and Part 3—
s.sch002 (1) A mixed material article shall not be hallmarked unless,...
s.sch002 A mixed material article comprised of two or more precious...
s.sch002 For the purposes of this Part— (a) “ base metal...
s.sch002 Standard mark Precious metal Standard of fineness Standard mark (1)...
s.sch002 Each of the marks comprising the approved hallmarks shall be...
s.sch002 Optional pictorial mark Precious metal Standard of fineness Pictorial mark...
s.sch002 Optional date letter Such distinct variable letter of the alphabet...
s.sch002 Optional additional mark Such mark (if any) as may be...
s.sch002 An article comprised of two or more precious metals shall...
s.sch002 The article shall be struck with— (a) the assay office...
s.sch003 (1) No prosecution for an offence under this Act shall...
s.sch003 In proceedings for an offence under this Act committed by...
s.sch003 In any proceedings for an offence under section 1 of...
s.sch004 The Council shall consist of not less than sixteen nor...
s.sch004 A person retiring from or resigning office as the chairman...
s.sch004 The powers of the Council or any committee thereof may...
s.sch004 Questions arising at any meeting of the Council or of...
s.sch004 The chief executive of an assay office and any other...
s.sch004 (1) The Council may in any standing orders made by...
s.sch004 The Council may appoint a technical committee and one or...
s.sch004 The Council may make standing orders for regulating the proceedings...
s.sch004 (1) The Council shall be a body corporate with perpetual...
s.sch004 (1) Ten of the members of the Council shall be...
s.sch004 The Council may pay to the chairman of the Council...
s.sch004 The Council shall appoint a secretary and such other officers...
s.sch004 (1) Six of the members of the Council shall be...
s.sch004 Members shall be appointed under the preceding provisions of this...
s.sch004 (1) Not more than two members of the Council may...
s.sch004 A person wholly or mainly employed by an assay office,...
s.sch004 The first meeting of the Council shall be held on...
s.sch004 (1) A member of the Council may at any time,...
s.sch004 (1) The Council shall elect a person to serve as...
s.sch005 An assay office may refuse to assay or mark any...
s.sch005 (1) Her Majesty’s Mint may at any time and from...
s.sch006 Before making application for an order under subsection (1)(b) of...
s.sch006 In this Part of this Schedule “the Gazette” means in...
s.sch006 In relation to any order under section 16(2) of this...
s.sch006 On application for any order to which this Part of...
s.sch006 Not later than the date on which the said notice...
s.sch006 The applicants shall also publish in the Gazette a notice...
s.sch006 The applicants shall, at the request of any person interested,...
s.sch006 The Secretary of State may make an order in the...
s.sch006 If, before the expiration of the twenty-eight days referred to...
s.sch006 On the making of an order to which this Part...
s.sch006 The costs incurred by the Secretary of State in connection...

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

1 more guide that reference this instrument

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.