Decree-Law No. 23 of 1980 on the Supervision and Control of Precious Metals and Valuable Stones

Decree-Law No. 23 of 1980
on the Supervision and Control of Precious Metals and Valuable Stones

Chapter One
Definitions

Article 1

For the purposes of this Law, the following terms shall have the meanings set out opposite each of them:
1 – Precious Metals: gold, silver and platinum, whether in the form of wrought articles, semi-wrought articles, or unwrought articles and bullion.
2 – Standard of Fineness: the number of parts by weight of the pure precious metal in every 1000 parts by weight of the alloy.
3 – Precious Metal Articles: every wrought piece of a precious metal whose standard of fineness is not less than the minimum of the legal standards determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law, including gold coins that are no longer legal tender.
4 – Plated Articles: articles of non-precious metals plated with precious metals.
5 – Clad Articles: articles of non-precious metals or otherwise, clad with sheets of precious metals.
6 – Inlaid Articles: articles of non-precious metals or otherwise, inlaid with precious metals and valuable stones, or with either of them.
7 – Valuable Stones: natural precious and semi-precious stones.
8 – Hallmarking: the process of stamping precious metals and the other articles referred to in Clauses 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article with official distinctive marks or recognised marks indicating in particular the type of the precious metal and its legal standard.
9 – Improper Alteration: making an addition, change, replacement or repair to articles or other items after they have been hallmarked, or altering them in any other way, such as adding unhallmarked parts of the same standard.

Chapter Two
Powers of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Legal Standards of Precious Metals

Article 2

1 – The Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall supervise and control the trade, manufacture and import of precious metals and their articles, and of plated, clad and inlaid articles, as well as valuable stones, and shall in particular have the following powers:
a – Examining, assaying, hallmarking and monitoring precious metal articles, plated, clad or inlaid articles, and products in which precious metals or valuable stones are used.
b – Assaying and numbering unwrought precious metals, or their mixtures or bullion, submitted for examination.
c – Examining and monitoring valuable stones.
2 – The Minister of Commerce and Industry may issue a resolution specifying the types of articles made of precious metals that are exempted from the provisions of this Law.

Article 3

The legal standards of fineness of precious metals whose articles are licensed for circulation shall be as set out opposite each of them below:
a – Gold:
Standard (22 carats) means 916.6 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Standard (21 carats) means 875 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Standard (18 carats) means 750 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Pure (fine) gold shall be deemed to be of the standard (24 carats), or 1000 parts per thousand.
b – Gold Bullion:
Gold bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 999.9 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Gold bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 999 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Gold bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 995 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
c – Silver:
925 or parts per 1000 parts.
800 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
d – Silver Bullion:
Silver bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 99.9 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Silver bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 999 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
Silver bullion of the standard (24 carats) means 995 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
e – Platinum:
950 shares or parts per 1000 parts.
The Minister of Commerce and Industry may determine the permitted tolerance in fractions of a share when articles are examined at the Ministry.

* Replaced by Article 1 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Article 4

The legal standards of fineness of the solder used for articles shall be as follows, according to their type:
a – If the article is made of gold, the solder shall be of gold, as follows:

Standard of the gold	Standard of the solder
Standard (22 carats) 916.6 shares	not less than 840 shares
Standard (21 carats) 875 shares	not less than 750 shares
Standard (18 carats) 750 shares	not less than 750 shares

b – If the article is made of silver, the solder shall be of silver, and its legal standard shall not be lower than the standard of the article.
c – If the article is made of platinum, the solder shall be of gold, silver, platinum or palladium, or an alloy of two or more of them, and the fineness of the solder shall not be less than 950 parts per 1000 parts.
d – Articles shall be cut for assay from parts other than the soldered area, unless it is necessary to assay the solder.

* Replaced by Article 1 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Chapter Three
Hallmarking, Sale, Possession and Display

Article 5

Every piece of the articles, whether single or composed of several joined or soldered pieces, shall be hallmarked if it is of the same legal standard, which is not lower than the minimum of the legal standards, and is fully finished, with no improper alteration made to it in the course of preparing it for sale, other than what the rules of the craft require, provided that the hallmarking is done in a technical manner that causes no serious damage or change to the shape of the article.
If, after assay, it becomes evident that the standard of the articles – whether a single piece or a sample from a group of identical articles – is lower than the standard declared by the person concerned, he shall be notified of the result of the assay, and he may, within the period set by the competent department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, request that they be hallmarked with the lower legal standard closest to the result, or that they be re-exported if they are imported. If it becomes evident that the articles are below the prescribed standards, they shall be returned to him, and liability shall lie with the owner of the local manufacturing workshop where the workshop’s mark is on the article at the time the violation occurs, and the shop owner shall not bear the consequences of the violation unless the contrary is proven.
If the act is repeated within one year:
1 – If the articles are locally manufactured, they shall be marked with the lower legal standard closest to the result and returned to him.
2 – If the articles are imported, the person concerned shall be notified of the result of the assay and required to re-export them or have them marked with the lower standard closest to the result.
In all cases, if the act is repeated a second time within three years, the articles shall be broken up if they are locally manufactured, and re-exported if they are imported.

* Replaced by Article 1 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Article 6

Silver articles plated with gold or rhodium shall be hallmarked with the silver stamp, whereas gold or platinum articles plated with rhodium shall be hallmarked with the stamp of the precious metal corresponding to the metal of the article itself.

Article 7

1 – If more than half of the article by weight consists of a particular precious metal and the remainder of the article consists of another precious metal of higher value, the article shall be hallmarked with the stamp of the precious metal that makes up the larger proportion of the article by weight.
2 – If the article is made of a precious metal accompanied by a precious metal of lower value, or by precious stones or semi-precious stones, the seller shall state in the sales invoice the weight of the precious metal in the article.
As for the metal of lower value and standard, and the precious and semi-precious stones, they shall be included in the weight of the article, provided that the type of the metal of lower value or standard and of the stones accompanying the article is stated.

* Replaced by Article 1 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Article 8

The competent customs authority or the postal depots shall, after notifying the person concerned, send the parcels containing precious metal articles, valuable stones or other articles subject to the provisions of this Law that are imported from abroad for trade purposes to the competent department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for examination, assay and hallmarking, or to verify that they are hallmarked with a recognised stamp.
When parcels are submitted directly for examination and hallmarking, the person submitting them shall prove that they entered the country lawfully; otherwise, the competent department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall, before the examination and hallmarking procedures, report the matter to the competent authorities, seize the contents of the parcels as a precaution and establish the identity of the person submitting them, pending their disposal by the competent authorities.

Article 9

It is prohibited to use any name or description indicating that an article is made wholly or partly of precious metals, and it is also prohibited to sell precious metal articles and clad, inlaid or plated articles, offer them for sale or possess them for the purpose of sale, unless they are hallmarked as follows:
a – Precious metal articles shall be hallmarked according to their standard with one of the licensed legal standards.
b – Clad and inlaid articles shall be hallmarked with a number indicating the proportion of pure precious metal they contain in parts per thousand, together with a statement of its type.
c – Plated articles shall be hallmarked with the word “plated”. If the size of the clad, inlaid or plated articles does not permit hallmarking as aforesaid, each piece shall be accompanied by a tag bearing the said particulars, together with the name of the shop owner in Arabic.

Article 10

As an exception to the provision of the preceding Article, the hallmark of another State may be accepted as sufficient, provided that the Minister of Commerce and Industry issues a resolution approving its recognised stamp.

Article 11

Precious metal workshops may, by a resolution of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, be required to use hallmarks to identify their articles, to be registered with the Ministry.

Article 12

It is prohibited to sell valuable stones, offer them for sale or possess them for the purpose of sale unless they are accompanied by a written declaration from the person concerned stating the name, type, weight and colour of the stone, its quality grade in terms of clarity, its properties and its freedom from fractures and scratches, and specifying any other defects.

Article 13

Exhibitions of precious metal articles, valuable stones and other articles subject to the provisions of this Law shall be held under a temporary licence issued in accordance with the conditions and procedures determined by the Minister of Commerce and Industry in agreement with the Minister of Finance.
The licence may exempt the exhibits from hallmarking or from the procedures provided for in Article (12) if they are intended for display only; if they are displayed for the purpose of sale, the procedures provided for in this Law shall be followed.

Chapter Four
Penalties

Article 14

Whoever violates the provisions of this Law or the regulations implementing it shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding five thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties.

Article 15

Whoever makes a material alteration to articles or other items after they have been hallmarked that renders them non-conforming to the standard with which they are hallmarked, and whoever sells them, offers them for sale or deals in them with knowledge of what was done to them after hallmarking, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than six months and not exceeding one year and a fine of not less than five thousand dinars and not exceeding ten thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties.

* Replaced by Article 1 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Article 16

The seized items shall be ordered to be broken up and returned to the persons concerned upon the commission of any of the offences provided for in this Law.
The shop owner, together with its manager or the person in charge of its management, shall be liable for every violation of the provisions of this Law or the regulations implementing it.

Article 17

The penalty shall be doubled in the event of recidivism in committing any of the offences provided for in this Law within five years from the date of the final judgment in the previous offence, and the seized items shall be ordered to be confiscated, and the shop shall be temporarily closed for a period of not less than six months and not more than two years.
In the event of a second recidivism within the period referred to in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the court may order the permanent closure of the shop, the withdrawal of its licence and the disqualification of the offender from practising the profession.

Article 18

The court may in all cases order the publication of the judgment, in full or in summary, in the newspapers and magazines it designates, or its posting in the places it specifies, at the expense of the person concerned.

Article 19

A resolution of the Minister of Commerce and Industry shall be issued appointing the officials competent to monitor the implementation of the provisions of this Law and the resolutions issued pursuant thereto. They shall have the right to enter and inspect shops, stores, warehouses and all places used for making, selling or pawning jewellery, in order to take samples for examination, testing and assay, to record violations and to draw up the necessary reports.
The seized articles shall be sealed and kept until the case is finally decided.

Article 19 bis

The Public Prosecution shall be responsible for the investigation, disposition and prosecution of all violations arising from the application of the provisions of this Law.

* Added by Article 2 of Law No. 5 of 1995 (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue No. 195, 19 February 1995).

Article 20

The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall issue the resolutions and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Law, which shall in particular include the following:
a – Determining the official hallmarks for the legal standards of precious metals, their articles and other articles subject to the provisions of this Law.
b – Approving the recognised hallmarks of other States.
c – Determining the fees payable for examination, assay, hallmarking, numbering and the issuance of certificates.
d – The conditions and procedures of hallmarking.
e – The methods of examining, assaying and hallmarking precious metals or their mixtures, precious metal articles, clad, inlaid or plated articles, and products in which precious metals and valuable stones are used, as well as the methods of examining valuable stones.

Article 21

The Prime Minister and the Ministers, each within his competence, shall implement this Law, which shall come into force six months after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, except for the preceding Article, which shall come into force from the date of its publication.