Terms and Conditions:
IGI-GTL, Delhi issues the testing reports to its client(s) on their acceptance to the below mentioned terms and conditions for obtaining the testing services rendered by IGI-GTL, Delhi.
At the time of submitting the gemstone / jewellery / article with IGI-GTL for the purpose of testing, the Client shall agree and execute the Agreement. The client agrees to comply with the terms & conditions of the Agreement provided by IGI-GTL, Delhi. Please note that the clients and any other person to whom testing report provided by IGI-GTL is transferred / given are also required to abide by the below mentioned terms and conditions.
GENERAL
1.. Testing reports are issued upon the request of the client, by the issuance of testing report IGI-GTL does not agree to purchase and / or replace the Gemstone, Jewellery or article submitted for testing.
2.. Testing reports issued by IGI-GTL are not certificate for valuation, guarantee, appraisal, or legal document. Neither the client nor any possessor of gemstone or report shall regard the report as the same.
3.. Any category of testing reports issued by IGI-GTL are altogether professional opinion, which are specified and defined on the basis of expertise and available technology with IGI-GTL.
4.. The goods are deposited and accepted by the laboratory for testing provided that either the submitted goods are adequately insured by the depositor, even for the period when goods are possessed by IGI-GTL for testing, or the depositor hold entire responsibility for loss or damage, partly or wholly, through theft, burglary, fire, force majeure or by any other way whatsoever, without resource to the laboratory in-charge or any other person attached to the laboratory.
5.. IGI-GTL does not give any opinion of any type about the quality, value, and origin of the tested stone.
6.. Verification reports downloaded or printed from IGI-GTL’s website are merely for reference and will not be accepted or considered as original testing report(s).
7.. The testing report(s) are transferable, however IGI-GTL is accountable for the liabilities to the first Client who has got the stone tested from IGI GTL, as per laboratory’s record, and otherwise IGI-GTL will have an absolute discretion whether to disclose such information to any third party or not.
8.. IGI-GTL reserves its right to declare any earlier issued report as void depending on the circumstances and under the order of laboratory in charge.
9.. In case the Client and / or any of its associate including insurance company makes claims against IGI-GTL or against any of its employee, then, the client hereby agrees to fully indemnify IGI-GTL from and against any and/or all liabilities, costs, demands, causes of action, damages and expenses arising in any way related to the legal expenses or any other expenses incidental thereto.
10.. Any dispute whatsoever w.r.t to testing report issued by IGI-GTL or any service rendered by IGI-GTL, which is not brought into the notice of IGI-GTL and its authorities within the 15 days of issuance of report or occurrence of service shall not be taken into consideration / entertained later on.
11.. Client agrees and permit IGI-GTL to use or publish data recorded from gemstone’s analysis, which is submitted for testing. Recorded data include pictures and technical / gemmological features collected / noted of the article with gemmological equipment or otherwise. Client acknowledges that he / she will not claim any legal rights on the collected data. Further IGI-GTL is not bound to acknowledge client’s name in the publications or wherever data is used.
12.. Any dispute arising out of any testing report issued by IGI-GTL shall be dealt with the governing laws of the Country and the courts of Delhi only shall have the jurisdiction.
LIMITS OF IGI-GTL LIABILITY
13.. Hallmarking details mentioned on the reports are as inscribed on the jewellery, IGI-GTL does not take responsibility or does not warrant for its accuracy.
14.. Client acknowledges by signing the agreement that liability of IGI-GTL shall be limited to the amount of fees paid by the client to IGI-GTL for the testing of its stone / article, irrespective to the loss or damage client has received, directly or indirectly, due to the usage of the report IGI-GTL has issued.
15.. No responsibility of any sort shall attach to the laboratory in charge or employee or any other person attached to the laboratory for loss or damage to the goods at whatever time occurring, even when occasioned by negligence, default, error of judgement of willful or fraudulent act of any member or employee of the laboratory.
16.. Depositor hereby agrees to indemnify the laboratory in charge and all the person attached to the laboratory against the damage, costs, charges, and expenses actually paid (whether or not in pursuance of any legal obligation) by the laboratory either on its own behalf or on behalf of the laboratory in charge or any person attached to the laboratory and arising out of or in relation to the testing and reporting on the goods.
17.. IGI-GTL is not liable to or responsible for any direct or indirect monetary loss or damage or liability or penalty to the business of Client or any other party incurred due to the use of or reliance of or action taken by anyone on the basis of testing report or the details/content provided in the testing report generated by IGI-GTL. IGI-GTL does not guarantee as to the accuracy, correctness, completeness, or reliability of the report, hence disclaims all responsibilities for the defined loss.
18..IGI-GTL or any of its employees are not liable for any type of monetary loss or damage arising directly or indirectly to whomsoever due to error or omission or inaccuracy or mistake in report issued by IGI-GTL, consequently arising due to human error or failure of planned action or typing error or working error in testing procedure or equipment failure or delay whether occasioned by the negligence or otherwise, without any limitation, excluding judicial decree accusing IGI-GTL or its employee as guilty.
19.. IGI-GTL is not liable for damage to goods of fragile nature, submitted for testing, having any type of pre-existing cracks or breakage like chipped culet or girdle, which are prone to extension or alteration during handling and working. IGI-GTL is not liable for demounting of stone or diamond from jewellery or article during testing.
SUBMISSION AND DELIVERY OF ARTICLES
20.. Acceptance of stones for testing will be on the discretion of IGI-GTL, conditioned by the instrument availability and technical limitations.
21.. Delivery time is scheduled on the basis of ‘first come first serve basis’, which is subject to the pending work and technical limitation.
22.. Delivery time is non-binding on IGI-GTL. Delivery time given at the time of submission of goods is a minimal estimate, which may vary subject to nature of article, backlog, instrument failure or contingency.
23.. IGI-GTL surmise the depositor as the owner of the goods he/she is submitting for testing, no third party without authority letter will be addressed w.r.t. to the stone submitted.
24.. The goods / article and test reports can be collected only by the person who has signed the agreement form at submission, however, in unavoidable circumstances an authorization letter dully signed and attested by the depositor in the name of the person who will be collecting the goods deposited and test reports must be submitted. (Authority letter downloadable from website)
25.. The goods deposited for testing are strictly against advance payment, Tax Invoice would be given at the time of delivery of goods / article and report. In case Client is allowed for post payment, under the order of lab in-charge or GJEPC official, IGI-GTL reserves right to withhold / retain the stone or jewellery and deny its delivery unless and until due payment is received as per the invoice. In case payment is done through cheque or NEFT, stone and report will be delivered only after the confirmation of payment from bank.
26.. IGI-GTL’s testing charges does not include transportation, courier, or insurance charges.
27.. Client can collect the report and stone within 3 months from the date of testing reports. If client does not claim the stone within 3 (three) months, its IGI-GTL’s discretion to forfeit the stone and testing fee or return the same to the Client.
TESTING
28.. IGI-GTL does not perform any kind of destructive test on stone or article received for testing under any testing category without client’s consent.
29.. IGI-GTL does not undertake testing to identify kind of metal or the quality of metal used in the jewellery. The weight of the metal, its karatage, weight of the mounted stones and number of stones in jewellery (if provided), mentioned in report, are as given by the client. IGI-GTL only certifies the gemstone mounted in the jewellery submitted for testing.
30.. Grading and testing of mounted diamonds is done by IGI-GTL with the help of instruments and comparison stones subject to the limitations of the mounting / setting of the diamonds.
31.. The contents of any testing report (characteristics of gemstone or treatment disclosures) issued by IGI-GTL are as per its fixed format, which are not amendable as per client’s requirement.
32.. Testing reports issued by IGI-GTL are based on thorough analysis of gemstones and relevant scientific tests on gemmological equipment.
33.. Reverification facility is not available for gemstones received in packet lot category. Although all required data is recorded of the stones received for testing, however many times reverification of gemstones is not achievable for gemstones received in the form of bead in string, diamonds graded in jewellery grading category, and diamond screening. Likewise, flawless stones are not possible to be reverified at times.
34.. Photograph printed on the report is mere an approximate image of the tested specimen, which may vary in colour or size of the original specimen, such variations are result of quality and size of paper used for report, camera and printer limitations.
35.. Wording or nomenclature or terminology of testing report is subject to findings and discoveries, hence may be amended at any point of time as deemed fit to IGI-GTL.
36.. Testing report shall contain the stone’s characteristics and parameters which are gemmologically identifiable and which are within the periphery of IGI-GTL’S terminology and decided disclosers by IGI-GTL.
37.. Any laser inscription on the gemstone / diamond will not be mentioned on the report.
TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS
38.. Testing reports are made by IGI-GTL to the best of its knowledge and professional standards, based on the state / condition of the gemstone or jewellery received for testing. Any subsequent enhancement of color or clarity or change / replacement of the stone is not within the purview of report generated by IGI-GTL.
39.. A gemstone or diamond can be treated, modified and re-cut, to enhance its color and clarity at any time. Therefore, the conclusions of report reflect the findings at the time it is issued.
40.. Colour or condition of the stone may fade or deteriorate with time due to any treatment applied on the stone or due to any stone’s property, IGI-GTL cannot be held responsible for the same at any time of future.
41.. Testing report does not indicate whether the stone is natural or synthetic or has been treated or not by any process whatsoever, unless otherwise specified on the report.
42. IGI-GTL’s assessment may vary reasonably from other laboratories depending on the tests performed. Hence, IGI-GTL or any of its member cannot be held responsible for the same.
43.. Properties, shape, and appearance of gemstones are unfortified to alteration, hence the results given for any gemstone may vary at any later time of inspection. IGI-GTL is not liable for variation in report resulting from unforeseen alteration to the gemstone.
44.. Few treatments are gemmologically unidentifiable like irradiation in corundum, likewise sometimes identifiable treatments do not show indications or evidence or characteristic features in the stone resulting to non-detection of treatment. Hence, IGI-GTL does not guarantee to identify every treatment possibly applied on the stone.
45.. IGI-GTL is on no account responsible for possible dissimilarities and/or differences that could appear as to the characteristics covered in the report from repeated examinations or as a result of other methods applied or the possible inaccuracy due to technical or mechanical defects/errors of the instruments/equipment used. Therefore, neither IGI-GTL nor any other lab’s employee shall, at any time, be held responsible for any discrepancy which may result from the application of other testing methods.
46.. Client acknowledges hereby, that considering the nature of job in which technology and techniques keeps evolving, it is not always possible to determine if the article is natural, lab-grown, treated, or unstable. Thus, lab or its officials would not have any liability to the client, if IGI-GTL fails to detect whether the article is natural, lab-grown, treated, or unstable.
47.. Testing report becomes infructuous and invalid if any kind of doctoring, tampering, modification, alteration, addition, or deletion is done to the report or any kind of alteration to the size, shape or any characteristic of the stone is done after the report is issued.
48.. Testing is done on the basis of expertise, knowledge, information, equipment and technology accessible and as available at the time of analysis/inspection. Result given for the same stone may vary at any later time of inspection depending on the transformation or improvement or availability of experience and technology. IGI-GTL is not liable to compensate to whomsoever for the resulting variation in the report.
CANCELLATION
49.. Cancellation from Client's end is only allowed, if Client intimates the laboratory within 2 hours from the time of submission of the stone for testing, in written or in person. Verbal cancellation on telephone are not acceptable. In case cancellation is permitted, 100% testing charges deposited by the Client are refunded. After 2 hours of submission cancellation is not allowed. In any case cancellation from Client's end is not permitted for urgent category testing.
50.. In case testing is cancelled by IGI-GTL, stone / article is returned to the Client without issuing any testing report and testing charges collected for testing will be refunded without any deduction.
51.. IGI-GTL does not conduct any type of cleaning of stone / article received for testing. In case, it is not possible to conclude the testing due to dirt or grease, testing will be cancelled, and article will be returned to the Client along with testing fee submitted by the Client.
Client hereby agrees to fully indemnify IGI-GTL from and against any and/or all liabilities, costs, demands, causes of action, damages and expenses arising in any way related to Client’s breach of any of the provisions of these Terms and conditions.
IGI-GTL is permitted and hold its rights to revise or amend the above-mentioned terms and conditions at any time as it may deemfit without any prior notification, and hence Clients are expected to review these Terms and conditions on a regular basis. However, any amended terms and condition are applicable for the submissions occurring after the date or amendment and shall not have any restriction on the prior submissions for testing.