To ensure the quality of gold jewellery sold in India, the Central Government has introduced a hallmark mark for gold. Since June 2021, the Government has made the hallmark stamp mandatory in a phased manner, starting with 256 districts in the first phase and 32 districts in the second phase, covering a total of 288 districts where hallmarking of gold jewellery is now mandatory. In districts where hallmarking is not yet mandatory, most jewellery sold is already hallmarked.
The Central Government has now announced that from April 1, a 6-digit unique number, along with the hallmark stamp, will be mandatory for the sale of gold jewellery. This decision was taken in a meeting of the Indian Standards Organization held on March 3, chaired by Union Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal. The hallmark seal serves as a certificate of purity of gold, and a unique identification number (HUID) is assigned at the time of hallmarking to ensure its authenticity. Currently, the HUID is given in both 4 and 6 digits, but from April 1, only 6-digit identification numbers will be accepted for gold jewellery sold in India.
In summary, the sale of 4-digit hallmark jewellery will be banned from April 1, and only gold jewellery with a 6-digit unique number, along with the hallmark stamp, will be allowed for sale in India. This move aims to ensure that customers are guaranteed quality and purity when purchasing gold jewellery.