The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has made 6-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) mandatory for maintaining the purity of jewellery. The sale of 4 and 5-digit old hallmark gold has now been completely banned in the country, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Traders from several states and union territories have started opposing the decision of BIS. These traders demand that the government should now bear the full cost of converting the old four or five-digit hallmarked jewellery into six-digit hallmarked jewellery.
The Jewellers Association of Delhi-NCR held a meeting on this issue. During the meeting, it was argued that the government should completely bear the expenses for converting the old jewellery with four or five-digits into six-digit hallmarks. According to Ramesh Manchanda, who is associated with the Jewellers Association, “The traders have four and five-digit hallmarking jewellery stock in billions and if you get jewellery hallmarked once, it costs Rs 53.10. Adding to this he further said that after checking the purity of the jewellery Rs 40.50 is taken from us for tagging charges. In this, Rs 8.10 for GST and Rs 4.50 for BIS expenses are also charged. In such a situation, if a six-digit tag is added on the jewellery again, then crores of rupees will be spent, so the government should think about this.”
The hallmark of 6 digits is now valid
Buying gold and investing in it is a culture in India. Especially on the occasion of weddings or any other festival, many Indians purchase gold. But, sometimes we also have to sell gold ornaments. So, it is very important to know what changes have been made in the rules of selling gold.
When hallmarking rules are being implemented?
The new rules of hallmarking of gold jewellery are going to change from April 1, 2023. According to the new rule of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, gold will not be sold without 6-digit alphanumeric hallmarking from April 1. Just like there is a 12-digit code on an Aadhaar card, in the same way, gold ornaments will have a 6-digit hallmark code. This is known as Hallmark Unique Identification Number i.e. HUID. The ministry said that now only 6-digit hallmarks will be valid.
Central Government on hallmarking guarantees
Gold hallmarking is a stamp or mark that shows customers the purity of the gold jewellery they are buying. The Central government had made it compulsory to sell hallmarked gold from January 15, 2021. However, it was completely implemented from June 16, 2021, onwards. From July 1 last year, the Central government changed the hallmarking signs of gold jewellery.
This is how hallmarking guarantees the purity of gold jewellery
Hallmarking is a guarantee that showcases the purity of gold. Hallmark is a mark or tag seen on every piece of jewellery. As part of the hallmark, the logo of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is also marked, which confirms the purity of the jewellery. Along with this, information about testing centres is also mentioned in hallmarking. The gold ornament amount varies, which is decided based on its purity i.e. carat. Sometimes jewellers charge higher carat prices for less carat jewellery and to eliminate this double-dealing, hallmarking has been made mandatory.
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