New Delhi: Come April all gold jewellery being sold will have to be hallmarked. No gold item will 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.
“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.
