Decreto n.º 26/2023

Decreto n.º 26/2023

de 11 de outubro

Sumário: Aprova as Emendas aos Anexos I e II da Convenção sobre o Controlo e Marcação de Artigos de Metais Preciosos, adotadas em Estocolmo a 20 de abril de 2018.

A República Portuguesa é Parte na Convenção sobre o Controlo e Marcação de Artigos de Metais Preciosos, assinada em Viena em 15 de novembro de 1972 (Convenção).

Os Anexos I e II da Convenção, que definem os princípios técnicos da Convenção, sofreram alterações na 67.ª reunião do Comité Permanente, realizada em Telavive em outubro de 2010, e, posteriormente, em abril de 2018, no decorrer da 82.ª reunião do Comité Permanente, realizada em Estocolmo, da qual resultou uma versão consolidada dos mesmos, que incorporou e substituiu o texto resultante das emendas de 2010.

As referidas emendas introduziram um número significativo de novidades, nomeadamente, e de acordo com os princípios da boa governação, um sistema de verificação transparente relativamente à competência técnica e independência dos laboratórios de ensaio, que devem ser acreditados de acordo com as normas de qualidade aplicáveis ou demonstrar um nível equivalente de competência, a criação de uma nova Marca de Controlo Comum (MCC), denominada tipo 2, uma marca de conformidade normalizada, num escudo octogonal, aplicada juntamente com a marca de contrastaria, a marca de responsabilidade, a natureza do metal precioso e a marca de finura e a possibilidade de combinar marcas obrigatórias.

A aprovação, pela República Portuguesa, das Emendas aos Anexos I e II da Convenção, além de permitir a livre circulação de mercadorias entre os Estados Contratantes, beneficia o setor da ourivesaria em Portugal, uma vez que possibilita aos operadores económicos nacionais utilizar a Marca de Controlo Comum Tipo 2, promovendo a tão necessária revitalização da economia portuguesa em geral e o setor da ourivesaria em particular.

Assim:

Nos termos da alínea c) do n.º 1 do artigo 197.º da Constituição, o Governo aprova as Emendas aos Anexos I e II da Convenção sobre o Controlo e Marcação de Artigos de Metais Preciosos, adotadas pelo Comité Permanente na sua 82.ª reunião, realizada em Estocolmo a 20 de abril de 2018, cujo texto consolidado, na versão autêntica na língua inglesa e respetiva tradução em língua portuguesa, se publica em anexo.

Visto e aprovado em Conselho de Ministros de 14 de setembro de 2023. - António Luís Santos da Costa - Francisco Gonçalo Nunes André - Fernando Medina Maciel Almeida Correia - António José da Costa Silva.

Assinado em 26 de setembro de 2023.

Publique-se.

O Presidente da República, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Referendado em 2 de outubro de 2023.

O Primeiro-Ministro, António Luís Santos da Costa.

ANNEXES I AND II

(to the Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals)

Adopted in Vienna on 15 November 1972.

Entered into force on 27 June 1975.

Amended on:

23 May 1978 (with entry into force on 14 July 1980);

24 November 1988 (with entry into force on 13 December 1989);

25 and 26 May 1998 (with entry into force on 10 March 2000);

15 October 2002 (with entry into force on 10 August 2004);

11 October 2010 (with entry into force on 3 August 2011);

20 April 2018 (with entry into force on 1 January 2019).

ANNEX I

Definitions and technical requirements

1 - Definitions - for the purpose of this Convention the following definitions apply:

1.1 - Precious metals - precious metals are platinum, gold, palladium and silver. Platinum is the most precious metal followed by gold, palladium and silver.

1.2 - Precious metal alloy - a precious metal alloy is a solid solution containing at least one precious metal.

1.3 - Precious metal article - a precious metal article is any item of jewellery, goldsmith's, silversmith's or watchmaker's ware or any other object made entirely or in part from precious metals or their alloys. "In part" means that a precious metal article may contain:

ii) Base metal parts for technical reasons and/or decoration (see paragraph 1.5 below).

1.4 - Mixed precious metal article - a mixed precious metal article is an article consisting of two or more precious metal alloys.

1.5 - Multimetal article - a multimetal article is composed of parts of precious metal and parts of non-precious metal.

1.6 - Fineness - the fineness is the content of the named precious metal measured in terms of parts per thousand by weight of alloy.

1.7 - Standard of fineness - the standard of fineness is the minimum content of the named precious metals measured in terms of parts per thousand by weight of alloy.

1.8 - Coating/plating - coating or plating is one or more layers of a material, permitted by the Standing Committee, applied to all, or part, of a precious metal article e. g. by a chemical, electrochemical, mechanical or physical process.

1.9 - Base metals - base metals are all metals, except platinum, gold, palladium, and silver.

1.10 - Assay - an assay is a quantitative analysis of a precious metal alloy by a method defined in paragraph 3.2 of Annex II.

1.11 - Other definitions and further details - the Standing Committee may decide on other definitions as well as further details.

2 - Technical requirements:

2.1 - Articles not covered by the Convention - the Convention does not apply to:

Consequently, the articles referred to in a) to g) above cannot be marked with the Common Control Mark.

2.2 - Standards of fineness applied under the Convention - subject to article 1, paragraph 2 of the Convention, the standards of fineness applied under the Convention shall be those defined by the Standing Committee.

2.3 - Tolerance - no negative tolerance is permitted in relation to the standard of fineness indicated on the article.

2.4 - Use of solder:

2.4.1 - The principles are:

2.4.2 - Practical exceptions from these principles and other methods of joining are defined by the Standing Committee.

2.5 - Use of base metal parts and non-metallic parts in precious metal articles:

2.5.1 - Base metal parts and non-metallic parts are permitted in precious metal articles as a mechanical function for which precious metals are unsuitable either for strength or durability, subject to the following conditions:

2.5.2 - The Standing Committee may decide on further details or exceptions on base metal parts as well as non-metallic parts and substances.

2.6 - Multimetal articles:

2.6.1 - It is permitted to use base metal parts and non-metallic parts in precious metal articles for decoration, subject to the following conditions:

2.6.2 - The Standing Committee may decide on further details or exceptions.

2.7 - Coating of precious metal articles - the Standing Committee decides on permitted coatings and exceptions for technical reasons.

ANNEX II

Control by the authorised assay office(s)

1 - General:

1.1 - The authorised assay office (thereafter referred to as "assay office") must comply with the conditions and requirements, as stated in paragraph 2 of article 5 of the Convention, not only at the moment of the notification to the Depositary but at any time of operation thereafter.

1.2 - The assay office shall examine whether articles of precious metals, which are presented to it in order to be marked with the Common Control Mark, fulfil the conditions of Annex I to the Convention.

1.3 - To examine articles of precious metals, the assay office shall in principle have a competent testing laboratory. The laboratory shall in principle be able to analyse those articles of precious metals, which are to be marked with the Common Control Mark, in line with approved testing methods (see paragraph 3.2 below). An assay office may subcontract testing. The Standing Committee shall define the conditions for the subcontracting of testing. It shall also issue guidelines for the assessment requirements of a testing laboratory.

1.4 - To demonstrate its competence, the laboratory shall either be accredited according to ISO standard 17025 or demonstrate an equivalent level of competence.

1.5 - An equivalent level of competence is achieved when the assay office operates a management system, which fulfils the main requirements of ISO standard 17025, and successfully participates in the international proficiency testing scheme on precious metals called "Round Robin". The Round Robin is run by the Standing Committee or another body designated by the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall define how an equivalent level of competence shall be achieved and verified. It shall also issue guidelines on Round Robin, including the level of participation and the performance criteria.

1.6 - The Standing Committee shall provide further guidance on the requirements mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 5 of the Convention, notably on the independence of the assay office staff.

2 - Testing:

2.1 - If an article is found by the assay office to be complete as to all its metallic parts and if it complies with the provisions of Annex I to this Convention, the assay office shall, on request, mark the article with its assay office mark and the Common Control Mark. In cases where the Common Control Mark is applied the assay office shall, before the article leaves its custody, ensure that the article is fully marked in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs below.

2.2 - The testing of articles of precious metals submitted for marking with the Common Control Mark consists of the two following steps:

2.3 - The purpose of an assay is to assess the conformity of an alloy or a precious metal article.

3 - Test methods and methods of analysis:

3.1 - The assay office may use any of the test methods to evaluate the homogeneity of a batch as defined by the Standing Committee.

3.2 - The assay office shall use any of the approved methods of analysis in assaying articles of precious metals as defined by the Standing Committee.

4 - Sampling - the number of items taken from a batch and the number of samples taken from these items for testing and analysis shall be sufficient to establish the homogeneity of the batch and ensure that all parts of all articles controlled in the batch are up to the required standard of fineness. Sampling guidelines are established by the Standing Committee.

5 - Marking:

5.1 - Principle:

5.1.1 - Articles, which satisfy the criteria in Annex I, shall be marked with the Common Control Mark (CCM), as described in paragraph 5.5, in line with the requirements set out in the present Annex.

5.1.2 - The CCM is applied together with other marks (some of which can be combined), which together provide the following minimum information on:

5.1.3 - The Standing Committee determines which of these marks must be applied on articles and which can be combined.

5.2 - Methods - the following are accepted methods of marking: punching and laser. The Standing Committee can decide on other methods of marking articles.

5.3 - Display - whenever possible, all marks shall be placed in immediate proximity to each other. Other marks (e. g. year mark), which are not to be confused with the marks mentioned above, are allowed as additional marks.

5.4 - Register for responsibility marks - the responsibility mark referred to in letter a) of paragraph 5.1.2 shall be registered in an official register of the Contracting State and/or one of its assay offices, which controls the article in question.

5.5 - The Common Control Mark (CCM):

5.5.1 - Description:

5.5.1.1 - The CCM is a conformity mark indicating that the article of precious metals has been controlled in accordance with the Convention's requirements, as contained in the present Annexes and the Compilation of Technical Decisions. It shall consist of the representation of a balance in relief on a lined background surrounded by a geometrically variable shield.

5.5.1.2 - The CCM can be combined with a fineness and precious metal mark: in this case, it is surrounded by a shield indicating the nature of the precious metal and contains a number in arabic numerals showing in relief the standard of fineness of the article in parts per thousand, as described below (type 1).

5.5.1.3 - The CCM can be a conformity mark only: in this case, it is surrounded by a standardised octagonal shield, as described below (type 2).

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5.5.2 - Approved sizes - the approved sizes of the CCM and other compulsory marks are defined by the Standing Committee.

5.6 - Articles consisting of more than one alloy of the same precious metal - where an article consists of different alloys of the same precious metal, the fineness mark and the CCM applied shall be that of the lowest fineness present in the article. Exceptions can be decided on by the Standing Committee.

5.7 - Articles consisting of parts - if an article consists of parts which are hinged or readily separable, the above marks shall, when possible, be applied to the main part. Where practicable the CCM shall be applied also to the lesser parts.

5.8 - Mixed precious metal articles:

5.8.1 - If an article consists of different precious metal alloys, and if the colour and extent of each alloy are clearly visible, the marks referred to in paragraph 5.1.2 shall be applied on one precious metal alloy and the appropriate CCM (type 1) on the other(s).

5.8.2 - If an article consists of different precious metal alloys and if the colour and extent of each alloy is not visible, the marks referred to in paragraph 5.1.2 and the corresponding CCM shall be applied on the least precious metal. The CCM relating to the more precious metals may not be applied.

5.8.3 - Additional rules as well as exceptions justified by technical reasons are decided on by the Standing Committee.

5.9 - Multimetal articles:

5.9.1 - The marks referred to in paragraph 5.1.2 shall be applied on the precious metal part of a multimetal article. The mark (or equivalent) shall be applied on the metallic part in line with paragraph 2.6 of Annex I to the Convention.

5.9.2 - The Standing Committee may decide on further details or exceptions.

ANEXO I

Definições e exigências técnicas

1 - Definições - para os fins da presente Convenção, são adotadas as seguintes definições:

1.1 - Metais preciosos - os metais preciosos são a platina, o ouro, o paládio e a prata. A platina é o metal mais precioso, seguida pelo ouro, paládio e prata.

1.2 - Liga de metal precioso - uma liga de metal precioso é uma solução sólida que contém pelo menos um metal precioso.

1.3 - Artigo de metal precioso - um artigo de metal precioso é qualquer artigo de joalharia, ourivesaria ou relojoaria ou qualquer outro objeto fabricado inteiramente ou em parte a partir de metais preciosos ou ligas de metais preciosos. «Em parte» significa que um artigo de metal precioso poderá conter:

ii) Partes em metal comum por razões técnicas e/ou decorativas (v. ponto 1.5 adiante).