No sale of gold jewellery without hallmark from April 1

From April 1, the sale of gold jewellery and other hallmarked items will not be allowed without a six-digit alphanumeric HUID, the government announced on Friday. The decision was taken after Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, chaired a meeting to review the work of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Friday.

Gold is certified as pure by the hallmark certificate. Up until June 16, 2021, it was purely voluntary. After that, the government decided to introduce the required gold hallmarking gradually. It was made mandatory in 256 districts in the first stage, and 32 additional districts were added in the second step, bringing the total to 288 districts.

"Starting from 1st April 2023, the sale of only gold jewellery with HUID shall be permitted," the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said.

Goyal also directed the BIS to take some steps to enhance the quality and safety of products in India. "We are committed to ensuring that all products in India meet the highest quality and safety standards. These measures shall promote micro-scale units, enhance the testing infrastructure, and develop a culture of quality consciousness among citizens," he said.

Nidhi Khare, additional secretary in the department of consumer affairs, said that in consumers' interest, it had been decided that after March 31st, "the sale of gold jewellery and gold artefacts hallmarked without HUID will not be permitted". She said that both the four and six-digit HUIDs are currently in use.

She said that due to consumer demand for high-quality goods, hallmarked gold jewellery is sold nationwide, even in areas where it is not yet required.

Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number is a six-digit alphanumeric code consisting of numbers and letters. Every item of jewellery will receive a HUID at the moment of hallmarking, and each one is different. The Assaying & Hallmarking Center (AHC) personally stamps the jewellery with a distinctive number.

Piyush Goyal directed the BIS in the meeting to augment the testing infrastructure in the country. According to the importance of the components used for consumer safety, the BIS was instructed to improve the frequency of product testing and market surveillance. Moreover, BIS needs to conduct lab inspections more frequently.

To ensure product safety, BIS has been instructed to step up market surveillance for various goods like pressure cookers, helmets, and other consumer goods.

BIS has proposed Quality Control Orders (QCO) for 663 products in the coming time. Currently, there are 462 products covered under QCOs. "In an effort to promote quality culture in micro-scale units, BIS is providing an 80 per cent concession on the certification/minimum marking fee across various product certification schemes of BIS," the statement said.

A further 10 per cent discount will continue to be given to northeastern properties.

(With agency inputs)