Quality and Standards in India
Gold Hallmarking and HUID
How mandatory gold hallmarking with unique IDs protects buyers from impure jewellery, and how the rollout from 2021 changed the jewellery trade.
Gold jewellery buyers can’t easily check purity.
The problem
Jewellers could sell under-karated gold: jewellery claimed as 22 karat but actually less pure.
Hallmarking
- BIS hallmarking certifies gold purity after testing at an Assaying and Hallmarking Centre.
- It was voluntary from 2000.
- It became mandatory in June 2021 in hundreds of districts, expanding further since.
HUID
Each hallmarked item gets a six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number.
- Buyers can verify it on the BIS Care app.
- It improves traceability.
Grades
Hallmarked gold comes in standard grades like 14, 18, 22 and 24 karat.
Effects
- Consumer trust increased.
- Small jewellers had to register and send items for testing, raising compliance costs.
- Hallmarking centres expanded across the country.
Old jewellery
Consumers can get older jewellery tested at hallmarking centres for a fee.
A buyer scans the HUID on a new chain in the BIS app. It confirms the chain is 22 karat and shows the hallmarking centre that tested it.
Hallmarking addresses under-karating.
- Gold buyers can't easily check purity.
- Hallmarking became mandatory in June 2021.
- A six-digit HUID enables verification.
- Hallmarking raised trust but added compliance costs.
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