The Indian government has taken a significant step in ensuring the authenticity and purity of gold jewelry and artifacts by launching the third phase of mandatory hallmarking. This move, as per the Hallmarking of Gold Jewelry and Gold Artifacts (Amendment) Order of 2022, came into effect on September 8, 2023.
As announced by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, this latest phase of mandatory hallmarking will encompass an additional 55 districts across the country. These districts have now joined the ranks of those covered by the mandatory hallmarking system, bringing the total count to 343 districts under this regulation.
If you’re curious to see which districts are now included in this initiative, you can find the complete list on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website, specifically within the hallmarking section.
The journey towards mandatory hallmarking began on June 23, 2021, with the implementation of the first phase, covering 256 districts. Subsequently, the second phase, which began on April 4, 2022, extended the initiative to an additional 32 districts. During these phases, over 4 lakh gold articles were being hallmarked daily, each marked with a unique Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number.
Since the inception of mandatory hallmarking, the impact has been significant. The number of registered jewelers has surged from 34,647 to an impressive 1,81,590, and Assaying and Hallmarking Centers (AHCs) have increased from 945 to 1,471. Astonishingly, over 26 crore gold jewelry items have been hallmarked with HUID numbers to date.
To empower consumers to verify the authenticity and purity of hallmarked gold jewelry items, a ‘verify HUID’ feature is available through the BIS Care app, which can be downloaded from the Play Store. The growth in downloads of the BIS Care App is remarkable, jumping from 2.3 lakhs in the fiscal year 2021-22 to a staggering 12.4 lakhs in the current fiscal year. Furthermore, the ‘verify HUID’ feature within the app has received over one crore hits in the last two years.
This latest expansion of mandatory hallmarking not only bolsters consumer confidence but also contributes to the overall integrity and transparency of the gold jewelry industry in India. It’s a step towards ensuring that every piece of gold jewelry tells a story of purity and authenticity, giving consumers peace of mind and jewelers a framework for quality assurance.