PMC/W 5/2007 (Rev.)
- 5 –
PMC/W 5/2007 (Rev)
2 Annexes
29 June 2007
REPORT ON THE VISIT TO SLOVENIA BY A DELEGATION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE
Ljubljana and Celje, Slovenia – 9 & 10 May 2007
A Delegation of the Standing Committee visited the Department for Precious Metals of the Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (MIRS) on 9-10 May 2007. The Department for Precious Metals (in Slovenian: Sektor za Plemenite Kovine, SPK) is part of MIRS and acts as an Assay Office in Slovenia.
The names of the Members of the Delegation as well as those of their main interlocutors in Slovenia are listed at Annex I. The programme of the visit is enclosed at Annex II.
Scope and purpose of the visit
In line with paragraph 11 of the Guidelines for Accession to the Convention (PMC/W 1/2001 (Rev. 7)), the purpose of the visit was:
1) to clarify Slovenia’s capability of conforming with the Convention’s requirements; and
2) to confirm the validity of accession arrangements.
Prior to the visit, SPK had submitted a complete application to the Standing Committee (PMC/INF 7/2007), including a completed questionnaire and relevant acts regarding hallmarking. During the visit, the following presentations were given (see PMC/INF 11/2007):
- Metrology Institute of the Republic Slovenia (Dr. Rado Lapuh, Acting Director);
- Legal and Administrative Aspects (Ms. Nataša Mejak Vukovič, Head of Legal Metrology Department);
- Market Surveillance (Ms. Dušanka Škrbić, Acting Head of Department for Market Surveillance);
- Department for Precious Metals (Dr. Irena Grabec Švegl, Head of Department for Precious Metals)
All the information provided was of considerable assistance to the Delegation, as it reduced background questions, thereby enabling the Delegation to clarify a number of points and ensure that SPK had an adequate understanding of the Articles and Annexes of the Convention.
The visit mainly focused on (i) Slovenia’s understanding of the Convention’s requirements and accession arrangements in general and (ii) SPK’s capability to comply with technical requirements for applying the CCM mark in particular.
Legal and Administrative Aspects
Slovenia separated from former Yugoslavia in June 1991 and became an independent Republic. The Yugoslav compulsory hallmarking system was retained but adapted to Slovenian needs. This major task was successfully undertaken by Ms.Nataša Mejak Vukovič, now Head of Legal Metrology at MIRS, who can rightfully be described as the “mother” of modern hallmarking in Slovenia.
Legislation
Hallmarking in Slovenia is regulated by the Precious Metal Articles Act (RS Official Gazette No. 4/06), adopted in the year 2000 and modified in 2005, as well as a number of decrees issued by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport (all contained in PMC/INF 7/2007).
Slovenia has a compulsory control and marking system: all articles placed on the market must be assayed and marked – with the exception of a few categories (see below). However, not all articles are assayed and hallmarked by the Assay Office itself: manufacturers have the possibility to assay and mark articles under the supervision of SPK (see paragraphs 21ff).
All articles made of platinum, gold, palladium and silver must be assayed and marked with the exceptions of:
-A- Articles excluded from the coverage of the Precious Metal Articles Act:
- Articles for export (these articles must not comply with the Act’s requirements unless the exporter wishes to have them marked);
- Articles imported on a temporary basis;
- Articles completely coated with enamel, precious stones, pearls, or other non-metallic coatings;
- Articles of non-precious metal completely coated with precious metals;
- Articles with a fineness lower than the lowest legal fineness.
-B- Articles subject to weight and other exceptions:
¨ Articles which do not have to be assayed and marked: e.g. articles of gold or palladium of less than 1g and articles of silver of less than 7g.
¨ Articles which do not have to be marked: e.g. articles of platinum of less than 1g; articles too small or fragile to be marked; etc. These articles must have a certificate of conformity.
A wide range of standards of finenesses are recognised under the Precious Metal Articles Act (see table below). Silver 925 and gold 585 and 750 are the most popular finenesses in Slovenia. All Convention finenesses – with the exception of silver 830 – are legal in Slovenia.
Slovenia / ConventionPlatinum / 999 / 999
950 / 950
900 / 900
850 / 850
Gold / 999 / 999
990 / -
986 / -
916 / 916
900 / -
840 / -
800 / -
750 / 750
585 / 585
500 / -
417 / -
375 / 375
333 / -
Palladium / 999 / [999]*
950 / [950]
500 / [500]
Silver / 999 / 999
925 / 925
900 / -
835 / -
- / 830
800 / 800
* Subject to entry into force of 2001 Amendment
Slovenia is aware of the Convention’s specific recognised finenesses and requirements. Once Slovenia joins the Hallmarking Convention, it may wish to recognise:
- other finenesses used in the Convention’s Contracting States;
- the Convention’s fineness 830 for silver.
SPK is aware of the technical requirements of Annexes I and II to the Convention.
Negative tolerance is not permitted in Slovenia (Article 9 of Precious Metal Articles Act).
For solder and surface coating, the rules are similar but Slovenian requirements are more stringent than those of the Convention (see also “areas of potential non-conformity”):
¨ Solder must have the same fineness as the article of precious metal itself and no exceptions are provided[1] (contrary to exceptions permitted under the Schedules of Annex I);
¨ Surface coating with enamel is not permitted whereas the Convention authorises non metallic coating such as enamel.
Mixed precious – non precious metals articles are permitted in Slovenia (Article20 of Precious Metal Articles Act).
Article 260 of the Slovenian Penal Code adequately protects hallmarks against counterfeiting and misuse. The maximum penalty is 2 years of imprisonment. The provisions also protect the CCM mark.
Marking system
All articles of precious metals must be marked with the three standard marks, i.e. the responsibility / supplier’s mark; the fineness mark; and the control / conformity mark. There can only be one responsibility mark, one fineness mark and one control mark on one article of precious metal.
In Slovenia, the responsibility mark is called “supplier’s mark” and is affixed by the manufacturer or importer directly. The mark consists in a geometric shape with either two letters in italic (for local manufacturers) or two numerals in italic (for importers), as shown in the examples below:
Manufacturer Importer
(29 different geometric shapes) (4 different geometric shapes)
The fineness mark is struck next to the responsibility mark by the manufacturer / importer himself. The fineness mark is in Arabic numerals and normally stamped in a frame of 0.8 x 1.25 mm.
The control mark is affixed by either the Assay Office or the operator himself under a system of self-declaration. Under the Slovenian system, the conformity of articles of precious metals can be ensured in three different ways:
· Articles may be assayed and marked by SPK (this is the system used by 339 out of 368 operators);
· Articles may be assayed and marked by the operator himself (this system has been chosen by 3 out of 368 operators);
· Articles may be assayed by SPK and marked by the operator himself (this system has been chosen by 26 out of 368 operators).
To be entitled to assay and mark articles of precious metals, the operator must:
- maintain the prescribed technical documentation;
- accept to be regularly inspected by SPK at his own costs (annual inspection fee);
- participate in Round Robins organised by SPK;
- report to SPK on regular basis on the number of marked articles.
In the event of a major infringement, SPK can issue a decision forcing the supplier to submit all his articles to SPK for up to 1 year (renewable). The supplier will also have to deposit his control mark at SPK, report on corrective actions, etc. It is worth noting that the system works to satisfaction and that infringements are very seldom.
The control mark used under the system of self-declaration (the letter “S” in italic) is different from the control mark (Assay Office mark) used by SPK, which consists of three elements:
· a shield
· a chemical symbol of the precious metal (Pt, Au, Pd, Ag)
· the letters “SI” for Slovenia and the number “1” or “2” for the Assay Office branch (1 for Ljubljana and 2 for Celje)
S /MARK FOR SELF-DECLARATION / HALLMARK FOR PLATINUM
There can only be one control mark on articles of precious metals. Only articles controlled by the Assay Office will be hallmarked with the CCM, once Slovenia joins the Convention. As a result, there is no risk that articles marked with a conformity mark under self-declaration can be hallmarked with the CCM.
Slovenia already today recognises the CCM mark and CCM-marked articles. Since it joined the EU on 1.5.2004, it also recognises all national hallmarks from EU Member States (i.e. those having a hallmarking system in place). Operators from EU MS do not need to register in Slovenia any longer.
Organisation of the Assay Office
The Department for Precious Metals (SPK) is an integral part of the Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (MIRS). MIRS is placed under the authority of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. The (acting) Director, Dr.Rado Lapuh, reports directly to the Minister, Dr. Jure Zupan. Both were met during the Delegation’s visit. MIRS has a budget of €2.7m (2007) and employs 58 employees, all with civil servant status. The main tasks of MIRS are legal and scientific metrology but also the assaying and control of precious metals.
SPK is Slovenia’s only authorised Assay Office and is located – for historical reasons – in two separate locations: Ljubljana and Celje. It is headed by Dr.Irena Grabec Švegl, who reports directly to the Director of MIRS. SPK employs 7 staff members and has been accredited to EN ISO/IEC 17 025 (see para. 43). It has a quality system consisting of a quality manual, work instructions and forms. It is subject on an annual basis to an audit (both internal and external) and management review. As a result, the number of complaints from customers is extremely low (2 complaints in 2006 of which 1 regarding testing).
Training is provided to staff (annual training plan). It is worth underlining that in preparation of the Delegation’s visit, staff underwent special training regarding the Convention’s accession procedure and requirements.
In 2006, a total of 316,436 articles of precious metals were marked (for the detailed breakdown, see para. 49). This is an impressive number considering the small number of inhabitants in Slovenia (2 millions).
The Slovenian law provides for the possibility for the Ministry to appoint another legal entity as Assay Office, provided that it is accredited and meets requirements for assaying and marking articles.
Market surveillance
Article 24 of Precious Metal Articles Act reads as follows: “MIRS shall perform the supervision of the articles on the market. The supervision of the articles on the market shall consist of checking them against the prescribed requirements.”
The supervision is carried out by 4 part-time inspectors, located in Ljubljana and Celje, working in the field of precious metals. They focus their attention on e.g. the presence of all required marks, the separation of articles of precious articles from other goods, etc. Inspectors latter have the right to take and assay articles of precious metals. Non-conforming articles are banned for sale until the irregularity (e.g. lack of mark) has been rectified. Fines are issued to both the non-complying supplier and the responsible person (e.g. the director). Fines range from € 15 (this is the fine to the responsible person for each unmarked article) to € 2,086 (this is the fine for a supplier, who has e.g. not registered his responsibility mark). In 2006, fines amounted to a total of € 9,733.
Subject to inspections are registered operators, other sellers and internet traders. All operators dealing with precious metals must register with SPK. There are currently 368 registered operators in Slovenia of which 241 are manufacturers and 127 importers of precious metals. SPK delivers a distinct responsibility mark (see para. 19) to each operator upon request. The request comprises the license to operate, data on the business premises and information on the methods used to ensure conformity of the articles of precious metals.
Market surveillance inspections focuses on those classified as “regular offenders”. Around 40% of all inspections end up unfavourably with at least one observed irregularity. In 2006, 142 inspections were carried out and 586 articles were banned. Cases of forgery are extremely seldom.
Technical Aspects
The Delegation visited the Assay Office at its two locations: Ljubljana and Celje. A round visit was made through the premises, including the reception, the assaying and marking department and the laboratory.
SPK receives around 1’000 requests on an annual basis for assaying and marking. Sampling and preliminary tests are performed at both locations: gold and silver samples are tested in Celje while platinum and palladium samples are tested in Ljubljana. Articles sampled in Ljubljana are hallmarked in Ljubljana (around 60% of all articles) while articles sampled in Celje are hallmarked in Celje.
The dual location of the Assay Office has some impact on the time required to have articles controlled and marked, which ranges from 8 to 11 days for Ljubljana (less for Celje).
Reception, Screening & Sampling of Articles
In the reception in Celje, the Delegation was shown a customer form and explained the way goods were handled upon receipt. Information regarding the customer and the goods are entered into a database, which is accessible in both Celje and Ljubljana. A parallel system based on registries and customer files has been kept to avoid disruption due to IT system failure. The weighting room is separate from the reception.
Goods are first subject to a visual inspection, then sorted into lots and sampled. Preliminary tests (mainly XRF) and chemical analyses are then carried out according to a sampling plan (based on ISO 2859-1: 2003), which is similar to the Convention’s new sampling plan.