A day ahead of the sale of gold jewellery having mandatory hallmarking with six-digit alphanumeric HUID coming into force, the government on Friday gave another three months time till June-end to 16,000-odd jewellers to sell the ‘declared’ old hallmarked gold jewellery stock that existed prior to July 2021.
The hallmarking process ensures that you are getting genuine gold jewellery of the stated purity, and it protects consumers from fraud and deception. So, is there a way to hallmark your old gold jewellery?
Remember, an artisan or common person cannot directly approach the A&H centre for hallmarking of the jewellery.
Only BIS registered jewellers can approach the A&H centre for hallmarking of the jewellery.
What Is Hallmarking?
As per Bureau of Indian Standards, hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in precious metal articles. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in India as a guarantee of purity or fineness of precious metal articles
Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal. The six-digit HUID number was introduced from July 1, 2021.
It is important to note that not all gold jewellery sold in India is hallmarked, and it is advisable to purchase jewellery only from reputable jewellers who sell hallmarked jewellery.
Prior to the introduction of the HUID number, hallmarking of gold jewellery consisted of four marks- BIS logo, purity of the articles as well as logo of jeweller and Assaying and Hallmarking (A&H) Centre.
But the six-digit HUID hallmarking comprises only three marks- BIS logo, purity of the article and six-digit alphanumeric HUID.
The simultaneous sale of hallmarked gold jewellery with and without a six-digit HUID number was creating confusion and the government set April 1 deadline for all jewellers to compulsorily implement the six-digit HUID number.
Here are details of how a customer can get a hallmark on their jewellery.
All the information regarding hallmarking in detail has been provided at BIS website, www.bis.gov.in under hallmarking section. The information includes general information on hallmarking, procedure and guidelines for Jewellers and hallmarking centres, all the forms and list of registered jewellers and hallmarking centres etc..
If you are holding un-hallmarked gold jewellery, you have two options to ensure the quality of the gold;
1. You can reach out to a BIS registered jeweller and through it get the jewellery hallmarked,
The list of BIS registered jewellers is available on BIS website and can be accessed by following the link https://www.bis.gov.in/index.php/hallmarking-overview/jewellers-registration-scheme/list-of-licensed-jewellers/
2. You can get the jewellery tested from any BIS recognised A&H centre
After paying testing charges of Rs. 200 to any of BIS recognised A&H centres.
Consumers can bring one or multiple pieces of jewellery lying with them for testing to BIS recognised A&H centre.
The lot brought by the consumer upto 10 pieces may be considered as a mixed lot and tested as per the provisions of mixed lots mentioned in the IS 15820: 2009.
The jewellery brought by the consumer is weighed in the presence of the consumer. Each article is tagged with a serial number for identification.
Individuals can get more details on the official website of BIS at www.bis.gov.in.
BIS through its network of Regional/ Branch Offices all over the country operates the Hallmarking Scheme for gold and silver jewellery. It is the national standards body of India, established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act. BIS is responsible for the development, maintenance, and promotion of standards in various fields such as engineering, technology, and management.
Who needs to get the jewellery hallmarked?
In the chain of manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer, the responsibility to get the article hallmarked is on the one who makes the first point of sale. Thus hallmarking has to be done only once in the entire chain and it has to be done by the one who has made the first sale which may be manufacturer or wholesaler or distributor or retailer.
Can hallmark gold be fake?
As per section 49 of Bureau of Indian Standards Rules, 2018, if hallmarked jewellery purchased by the consumer is found to be of lesser purity than that marked on jewellery, then the buyer/customer will be entitled for compensation which will be two times the amount of difference calculated on the basis of shortage of purity for the weight of such article sold and the testing charges.
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