S.I. No. 442/2019 - Consumer Protection (Consumer Information) (Articles of Precious Metals) Regulations 2019

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd September, 2019.

I, HEATHER HUMPHREYS, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 50 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 (No. 19 of 2007), as adapted by the Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Alternation of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2017 ( S.I. No. 364 of 2017 ), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Protection (Consumer Information) (Articles of Precious Metals) Regulations 2019.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1^st day of October 2019.

3. In these Regulations “approved hallmark” and “articles of precious metal” have the meanings assigned to them by section 1 of the Hallmarking Act 1981 (No. 18 of 1981), as amended by section 2 of the Hallmarking (Amendment) Act 2019 (No. 2 of 2019).

4. A trader supplying an article of precious metal to a consumer shall ensure that the article is marked with an approved hallmark.

5. Subject to Regulation 6, a trader shall not supply an article of precious metal to a consumer unless the article is marked with an approved hallmark.

6. An article of precious metal which complies with Regulation 3 of the European Communities (Hallmarking of Articles Imported from Other Member States) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 579 of 2001 ) shall be deemed to comply with Regulation 5.

7. A trader who supplies an article of precious metal from premises to which the public has access shall exhibit a notice in the form set out in the Schedule.

8. A notice exhibited pursuant to Regulation 7 shall—

(a) be located in a position so as to be clearly visible and easily accessible to a consumer before or immediately after entering the premises,

(b) be displayed on not less than A4 size paper, and

(c) contain letters and figures at least three millimetres in height and of proportionate width, which are not hidden, obscured, or interrupted by other pictorial or written matter.

9. The Consumer Protection (Consumer Information) (Articles of Precious Metals) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 143 of 2012 ) are revoked.

SCHEDULE

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

29 August, 2019.

HEATHER HUMPHREYS,

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations require that articles of precious metal being supplied to consumers are marked with approved hallmarks and prohibit the supply of such articles to consumers in the absence of hallmarks. These Regulations also require that a certain notice is placed at premises at which traders supply articles of precious metal to the public.

These Regulations revoke the Consumer Protection (Consumer Information) (Articles of Precious Metals) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 143 of 2012 ).

These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Protection (Consumer Information) (Articles of Precious Metals) Regulations 2019.