Act No. 308 of 17 May 1995
Act on Control of Articles of Precious Metals, etc.
Part 1
General provisions
1. Articles of precious metals i.e. gold, silver, platinum and palladium or alloys thereof as well as gold-plated, silver-plated, platinum-plated and palladium-plated items, may only be manufactured, sold or offered for sale on a commercial basis in accordance with the rules of this Act. The same shall apply to non-processed precious metals.
2. In this Act “articles of precious metals” shall solely refer to articles with single metal parts with a minimum fineness of 333 per mille for gold, 800 per mille for silver, 850 per mille for platinum and 500 per mille for palladium or articles which can be lawfully marketed as precious metals in another country within the EU/EEA.
Part 2
The Precious Metals Board and the Danish Assay Office
3.-(1) The Minister for Economic and Business Affairs shall set up a board of three members who shall be of assistance in the administration of this Act. The board shall be composed of a representative for the Danish Assay Office, a representative for the goldsmith’s trade to be appointed on recommendation by the National Board of the Goldsmith’s Trade in Denmark and a representative for the Danish Agency for Trade and Industry.
(2) The secretariat services of the Precious Metals Board shall be undertaken by the Danish
Agency for Trade and Industry.
(3) The Board shall lay down more detailed rules concerning its activities. 4.-(1) The control of articles of precious metals shall be undertaken by the Danish Assay
Office.
(2) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall appoint an independent institution accredited pursuant to Act no. 394 of 13 June 1990 on the development of trade and industry to undertake the duties of the Danish Assay Office.
Part 3
Control of undertakings
5. Articles of precious metals which are sold or offered for sale as “gold”, “silver”, “platinum” or “palladium”, cf. section 2, shall be furnished with a fineness mark, cf. section 6. In addition such articles shall be furnished with a responsibility mark, cf. section 7.
6.-(1) The fineness mark shall clearly state the contents of the article in thousands.
(2) Fineness marks applied in another country within the EU/EEA shall, when meeting the requirements laid down in subsection (1), be recognised in Denmark provided that the fineness have been subject to a control which is equivalent to that used in Denmark.
(3) If articles of silver contain at least 925 per mille silver, the fineness may, however, solely be given the designation “Sterling”.
(4) For articles of silver the mark mentioned in subsection (1) may also include the letter “S” and for platinum or palladium articles the mark may include the letters “Pt” and “Pd”, respectively.
(5) For articles of gold the indication of fineness described in subsection (1) may be followed by the corresponding indication of fineness in carats. (6) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down rules regarding the fineness marking of the articles mentioned in section 2, and regarding the marking of articles of precious metals consisting of two or more precious metals, or which are combined with or which contain base metals or non-metallic substances.
7.-(1) Manufacturers of articles of precious metals, cf. section 2, shall have a registered responsibility mark, which is applied to the manufactured articles of precious metals. Persons and undertakings that carry out repairs of articles covered by this Act as an independent commercial activity shall also be considered manufacturers.
(2) Responsibility marks on imported articles of precious metals from another country within the EU/EEA shall be considered equivalent to Danish responsibility marks provided that it is possible to identify the manufacturer and that the manufacturer is able to document a right to apply said responsibility mark to the articles. If these conditions have not been satisfied or if the mark used may be mistaken for a mark already used in Denmark, the provisions in subsection (1) shall apply correspondingly.
(3) The importer or dealer shall be obligated to inform the Danish Assay Office about foreign responsibility marks accepted under subsection (2).
(4) The provisions in subsection (1) shall apply correspondingly to importers of articles of precious metals from countries outside the EU/EEA.
(5) Articles which comply with the requirements relating to fineness laid down in section 2, and which have been furnished with the Common Control Mark laid down in the Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious metals of 15 November 1972 with subsequent amendments, shall be presumed to comply with the requirements of this Act with regard to marking. (6) Dealers of articles of precious metals may have a responsibility mark registered and have articles manufactured by others furnished with this mark.
(7) If the dealer’s responsibility mark is used, the obligation of the manufacturer or importer to furnish the article with their responsibility mark shall lapse.
(8) The responsibility mark shall consist of the name or company, or an abbreviation thereof, of the manufacturer, importer or dealer. The responsibility mark shall be registered in the responsibility mark register which is managed by the Danish Assay Office. The responsibility marks entered into the register shall be clearly distinguished from one another.
(9) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down rules regarding notification and inclusion of responsibility marks in the responsibility mark register, as well as the fees payable for inclusion in the register.
8. The following shall be exempt from the marking requirement in section 5:
1) articles which are temporarily imported as sample items or for exhibition purposes,
2) articles of gold, platinum or palladium weighing less than 1 gram and articles of
silver weighing less than 3 grams as well as other articles which cannot be furnished
with marks due to their fragility or smallness,
3) imported watch cases with inlaid watch movement,
4) fountain pens, ballpoint pens, pencils and components thereto,
5) articles proved to have been manufactured before 1 July 1961,
6) articles for dental or other medical purposes,
7) musical instruments and 8) coins which are legal tender.
9.-(1) Articles of precious metals which fail to comply with the requirements relating to fineness pursuant to section 2, may not be furnished with a mark indicating fineness or with a mark which may be mistaken for a fineness mark. The same shall apply to the articles mentioned in subsection (3).
(2) Articles of precious metals which fail to comply with the requirements relating to fineness pursuant to section 2, may not be marketed with designations pertaining to, or which may be mistaken for designations for the precious metals covered by this Act, or marketed with designations containing statements of quality pertaining to precious metals or the fineness of articles of such metals.
(3) Articles of base metals, which during rolling, galvanic plating or in other ways, are coated with a layer of gold, silver, platinum or other platinum metals, shall be designated as “gold- plated”, “rolled gold”, “gilt”, “silver-plated”, “silvered” or “platinum-plated” or designated with other words stating the mentioned character of the article.
(4) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down rules regarding the determination of fineness as well as how and to what extent components of base metals or non-metallic substances in articles of precious metals are permitted.
10.-(1) A person who has a registered responsibility mark pursuant to section 7, or who sells non-processed precious metals, shall be subject to supervision by the Danish Assay Office with regard to the fineness of the undertakings’ stock of precious metals and articles of the same.
(2) The Danish Assay Office shall, at all times, on proof of identity and without a court order, have access to the undertakings mentioned in subsection (1), and, at its own discretion, take samples of stocks of non-processed precious metals, of semi-finished articles of precious metals or of articles of precious metals. (3) If samples of unmarked articles of precious metals and blanks for such articles are taken, the undertaking shall inform the Danish Assay Office in writing of the fineness with which the finished article is to be marked.
(4) If the fineness of an article of precious metals is lower than the fineness indicated in the fineness mark, the mark shall be deleted. If the article is part of a mass production article series delivered to the trade, the Danish Assay Office may order the delivered articles to be returned. However, if the relevant article meets the fineness requirements laid down in section
2, the article may be furnished with a new fineness mark in accordance with the fineness ascertained.
11.-(1) The Danish Assay Office shall, at all times, on proof of identity and without a court order, have access to undertakings which sell articles of precious metals on a commercial basis without being covered by section 10. The Danish Assay Office may, in this connection, carry out inspection and take samples of stocks of the relevant items.
(2) The costs connected with selling the goods shall be borne by the undertaking mentioned in subsection (1).
12. The provisions relating to import of articles from another country within the EU/EEA and of articles marked with the Common Control Mark laid down in the Convention shall not prevent the Danish Assay Office from inspecting the fineness and marking of such articles in specific cases, cf. sections 10 and 11.
13. The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down rules regarding the performance of inspections pursuant to sections 10 and 11.
14. The provisions in sections 2, 5, 6, 7(1) and section 9 shall not apply to exports of articles of precious metals. Part 4
Commissioned assay and hallmarking
15.-(1) Articles of precious metals may be submitted to the Danish Assay Office for assay.
Articles which comply with the fineness requirements laid down in section 2 may be furnished with the hallmark of the Assay Office. When submitting commercially manufactured articles of precious metals which indicate compliance with fineness requirements, the articles shall be furnished with a fineness mark and a responsibility mark. Non-processed precious metals may be submitted to the Danish Assay Office for assay and marking. After the assay, ingots shall be furnished with the ingot mark of the Danish Assay Office. For working samples a test certificate shall be issued.
(2) Articles of precious metals which comply with the requirements laid down in the
Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals of 15 November 1972 with subsequent amendments, may be submitted to the Danish Assay Office for marking with the Common Control Mark of the Convention.
(3) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down rules regarding the conditions mentioned in subsections (1) and (2). The Agency shall also lay down rules necessary for implementation of the Convention mentioned in subsection (2), as well as the rules adopted within the framework of the Convention.
Part 5
Coverage of the expenses of the Danish Assay Office
16.-(1) Expenses arising from the activities of the Danish Assay Office under this Act shall be covered by charges imposed on holders of a registered responsibility mark as well as undertakings selling non-processed precious metals, and by fees collected for commissioned work. (2) Undertakings which export articles of precious metals or which import articles marked with the Common Control Mark laid down in the Convention or articles which, pursuant to the rules in sections 6 and 7, have been controlled and marked in a country within the EU/EEA, shall not be charged for such exports and imports.
(3) The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry shall lay down more detailed rules on the imposition and collection of charges and fees, and may also determine that suppliers, upon request from the Danish Assay Office, shall provide information about the purchase and sale of precious metals in an unprocessed or manufactured state by the person liable to pay charges.
17. Charges and fees under this Act shall be subject to distraint.
Part 6
Penalties, etc.
18.-(1) Unless more severe penalty is due under other legislation, offenders shall be liable to a fine for:
1) manufacturing, selling or offering for sale articles of precious metals, blanks for such
articles or non-processed precious metals of a lower fineness than indicated,
2) violating sections 5-9 or 11-13 or 15, and
3) omitting to comply with an order pursuant to section 10(4).
(2) Rules issued pursuant to this Act may stipulate fines for violation of the provisions of the rules.
(3) Companies, etc. (legal persons) may incur criminal liability under the rules of Chapter 5 of the Criminal Code. (4) Any person liable to pay charges pursuant to the provisions laid down in section 16, who fails to submit the information necessary to determine the basis for charges, in due time and in the prescribed form, may be ordered by the Danish Assay Office, as a coercive measure, to pay daily or weekly fines.
(5) If a manufacturer, an importer or a dealer with registered responsibility mark is convicted for having applied an incorrect fineness mark to articles of precious metals, and if it is established that there is a risk of repeated violations of this Act, the court may decide that, within a period of up to one year, articles of precious metals which are manufactured, imported or dealt by the undertaking, shall be submitted to the Danish Assay Office for assay. The rules laid down in section 15 shall apply to such assays.
(6) The rules in subsection (5) shall apply correspondingly to importers or dealers of articles marked with the Common Control Mark laid down in the Convention, or articles controlled and marked in another country within the EU/EEA.
Part 7
Entry into force
19.-(1) The entry into force of this Act shall be laid down by the Minister for Economic and
Business Affairs.
(2) At the same time, Act no. 821 of 21 December 1988 on Control of Articles of Precious
Metals, etc. and the Act on Control of Articles of Precious Metals, etc., cf. Consolidating Act no.
297 of 19 May 1987, shall be repealed.
(3) The provision laid down in section 10(4) shall only apply to articles of precious metals manufactured before 1 April 1973 if the fineness deviates more than 2 per mille relative to indications made on the fineness mark. 20. This Act shall not extend to the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, but may be brought into force by Royal Decree for the Faeroe Islands and Greenland subject to any variations in its operation necessitated by the specific conditions prevailing in the Faeroe Islands and
Greenland.