New Delhi: The Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) Bill, passed by the Indian Parliament, empowers the government to make hallmarking of gold and silver mandatory and provides for jail up to two years and fine up to 10 times of the goods’ value in case of violation related to misuse of standards. The Parliament, on 8 Mar, passed a bill to replace the 30 year- old BIS Act.

In case of offence committed by any company, every director, manager and secretary responsible for the conduct of the business would be liable, irrespective of the fact that the offence has been committed with or without their consent or connivance.

The Bill would help consumers to get quality products and would also help in preventing import of sub-standard products. The new law would give a boost to the government’s Make in India programme.