The Gem and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) plans to issue unique biometric identity card for jewellers across the country. The jeweller identity card will facilitate the trade to move precious metals and gems from one State to another by providing basic details and help avoid lengthy scrutiny by the concerned authorities.

Mr Dinesh Jain, President, JID (Legal & Redressal Forum), said the biometric information of the cardholder in card that is tamper proof will be independently verified at all levels to provide comfort to the authorities that the card holder is a genuine trader.

“An independent committee consisting of eminent lawyers, retired IAS and IPS officers besides competent professionals set under the aegis of GJF to administer the issue of the card and the project as a whole,” he said.

The country has over 3,00,000 jewellers and employs over one crore people. An applicant for the card has to pay a fee of Rs 2,500 and an annual renewal fee of Rs 1,000 will be charged subsequently. Initially, the federation will issue 5,000 cards by the year-end. It targets to issue 20,000-25,000 cards next year.

“We expect to surpass our target easily as 650 jewellers picked up the form on Thursday, the inaugural of India International Jewellery Show. They can soon download the application form free-of-cost from the GJF Web site,” said Mr Jain.

GJF plans to invest Rs 1.5 crore in the next two years in creating the infrastructure for the project. The Federation represents three lakh jewellers across 22 States and 264 cities. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has four regional offices and plans open regional offices in all states. The Federation has appointed RSM Astute Consulting to execute the project and conduct process audit at frequent intervals.

The process of issuing the zero tolerance cards will be an independent exercise beginning with the verification agency, card making company and process monitoring body. A forum for redress will be set up at all regional and national levels to liaison between various authorities and the industry, said Mr Jain.

Mr Bachhraj Bamalwa, Chairman, GJF, said the federation will work closely with various Government agencies for successful implementation of the project and pave way for the smooth transition of valuable goods.

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