The Director General of the General Authority for the Management of Precious Metals in Syria, Misbah al-Aswad, stressed the importance of citizens obtaining a clear and detailed invoice when purchasing new gold jewelry, and an assaying certificate when buying used gold, especially heavy-weight pieces, liras, and ounces.
In his statement to SANA on Saturday, al-Aswad clarified that the invoice must include the piece's weight, karat, gold price per gram on the purchase date, and crafting fees, along with the shop's data, address, phone number, and tax number, as these constitute a fundamental guarantee for protecting buyers' rights and limiting cases of fraud and manipulation.
Compliance with Specifications
The Director General highlighted the importance of obtaining an assaying certificate when buying used gold, issued by licensed assaying devices in the markets and attached to the piece, to verify that the karat and weight match the true specifications.
Regarding violations, al-Aswad revealed the seizure of approximately 20 violations related to fraud and manipulation of gold jewelry in Syrian markets, referring them to the legal path through criminal security, the public prosecution, and the judiciary. He explained that the most prominent violations involve manipulating karats and producing jewelry with low karats.
Supervision Measures
He pointed out that some manipulation methods include disassembling and reassembling parts of pieces bearing correct stamps, thereby changing their specifications, as well as hiding zircon stones inside jewelry in a way that misleads the buyer into thinking the weight is less than its true weight, which may reach about 70 grams or more.
Al-Aswad clarified that the Authority deals with violations according to their nature and size, with measures ranging from issuing written warnings and destroying violating jewelry to imposing financial fines, up to permanently revoking the license in case of repeated violations, especially upon reaching the third warning in some cases.
Production Reality and Prices
Al-Aswad stressed the mandatory adherence to the official gold price bulletin, despite exchange rate fluctuations and global price movements, explaining that the bulletin changes according to these variables and binds all market workers.
He noted that the Authority monitors crafting fees through field visits and complaints submitted by citizens, confirming the existence of agreed and permitted fees, and taking necessary measures against goldsmiths who exceed them, while working to restore citizens' rights upon proof of violation.
The Director General of the Authority explained that the absence of comprehensive electronic invoicing prevents accurately determining daily sales volume, while the Authority relies on the weights stamped daily by goldsmith associations for jewelry coming from workshops as an indicator of market trading volume.
Market Trends
Regarding the production reality, al-Aswad indicated that about 70 percent of locally produced gold relies on recycling used gold and scrap, while the shortage is compensated by importing raw gold when demand for gold jewelry rises.
He explained that the rise in gold prices and manufacturing fees has reflected on local manufacturing workshops and citizens' choices, whose trend towards buying gold for savings has become clearer than acquiring jewelry for adornment, amid current economic conditions.
The Director General of the Authority added that rising manufacturing fees push buyers to prefer jewelry with low craftsmanship, used gold, liras, and ounces, while the purchase of modern jewelry focuses on models intended for adornment.
The General Authority for the Management of Precious Metals in Syria was established in February 2025, with the aim of regulating and developing the gold and precious metals sector, enhancing its role in the national economy within an independent financial and administrative institutional framework, in addition to supervising the gold pricing mechanism through goldsmith associations in the governorates.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Comments (0)