Gold Hallmarking: Govt Notifies 55 Districts For Mandatory Purity Standards; Details Here – News18

Gold Hallmarking:  After the successful implementation of mandatory gold hallmarking in 256 districts so far in two phases, the central government on Friday (September 8) notified its third phase covering 55 districts in 17 states, including Haridwar, Nainital, Raebareli, Etawah and Palwal. In these districts, gold jewellery and other artefacts cannot be sold without the mandatory Hallmark Unique Identification Number (HUID) from Friday.

“The third phase of the mandatory hallmarking vide Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts (Third Amendment) Order, 2023 comes into force from September 8, 2023,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.

The full list of districts under the third phase of mandatory gold hallmarking can be checked here.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has implemented the mandatory hallmarking in 256 districts of the country with effect from June 23, 2021, in the first phase and in the additional 32 districts with effect from April 4, 2022, in the second phase wherein more than 4 lakh gold articles are being hallmarked with HUID every day.

“Since the implementation of mandatory hallmarking, number of registered jewellers has increased from 34,647 to 1,81,590, while Assaying and Hallmarking Centers (AHCs) have increased from 945 to 1471. More than 26 crore articles of gold jewellery have been hallmarked with HUID so far,” it said.

The ministry said consumers are encouraged to verify the authenticity and purity of the hallmarked gold jewellery items with HUID number purchased by using ‘verify HUID’ in BIS Care app which can be downloaded from the Play Store.

According to the statement, the number of downloads of BIS Care app has increased from 2.3 lakh during 2021-22 to 12.4 lakh in the current financial year. Further, more than one crore hits of ‘verify HUID’ in the BIS Care app have been recorded as of date in the span of the last two years.

What is Hallmarking?

A hallmark is a recognised official stamp of authenticity that certifies the ‘purity or fineness of precious metal products’. The main goal of hallmarking is to safeguard the general public against the adulteration of gold by mandating manufacturers follow predetermined standards for 18, 22 and 24 carat gold.

In November 2019, the government had said that starting from January 15, 2021, gold hallmarking would be required. However, due to the pandemic, that date was extended multiple times. According to BIS, its hallmarking system features global standards for gold certification. When selling hallmarked jewellery, jewellers are required to register under the BIS system.