JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has asked jewelers and owners of gold, precious metals and gemstone stores to keep their invoices specifying the type of manufacturing that the precious metals have gone through, as well as the weight and price of all gemstones, a local publication reported.

The ministry has amended four provisions of the Executive Regulation of Law of Precious Metals and Gemstones, adding a paragraph to article 19 of the regulations regarding manufacturing.

The amended paragraph A of article 19 in the regulations stated: “All authorized shop owners must keep the new invoices and other invoices for five years, and must grant the buyer a copy of the invoice.”

The added paragraph stipulated that: “Shops selling precious metals and gemstones must use scales when selling and must store such scales away from any other materials that might affect the weighing process and the reading of the scales clearly by the buyer.”

The new amendments will take force after 60 days.

The Ministry also amended paragraph B in article 9 to stipulate that metals must be provided with certificates indicating the caliber, the country of origin, the manufacturer or importer, the weight of the pieces installed on the metal and other specifications, as well as the flaws that may exist.

The amendments to the regulations on precious metals and gemstones said that article 25 was modified to note the following: “Samples must be taken for examination upon any suspicion of a violation of the regulations. In such cases, a document must be produced indicating the type of the sample, caliber and weight along with the date of the sample taken to be sent for testing in the specialized laboratories.”

Testing and examination processes are conducted by the specialized laboratories of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, or any other laboratory certified by the minister himself. If violations of the law are found in the sample, the trader will be notified and any objections from his part will be taken into consideration according to the regulatory procedures.