Government Expands Mandatory Hallmarking to 55 New Districts, Effective September 8, 2023

In a significant development, the Indian government has officially notified the commencement of the third phase of mandatory hallmarking for gold jewelry and artifacts. The implementation of this phase, as detailed in the Hallmarking of Gold Jewelry and Gold Artefacts (Third Amendment) Order, 2023, has been scheduled to begin from September 8, 2023.

Under this latest phase, an additional 55 districts across the country will be brought under the ambit of mandatory hallmarking. These districts were selected based on the establishment of hallmarking centers subsequent to the execution of the second phase of the hallmarking order. This expansion takes the total count of districts covered by mandatory hallmarking to an impressive 343. To see the complete list of the newly included 55 districts, visit the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website at www.bis.gov.in, specifically within the hallmarking section.

The Indian government formally issued this order on September 8, 2023, further solidifying its commitment to ensuring the authenticity and purity of gold jewelry and artifacts for consumers.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has shown remarkable progress in implementing mandatory hallmarking across the nation. The initiative began in earnest with the first phase in 256 districts, commencing on June 23, 2021, and continued with the addition of 32 more districts on April 4, 2022, in the second phase. Notably, this effort results in over 4 lakh gold articles being hallmarked with a unique Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) every single day.

Since the introduction of mandatory hallmarking, the number of registered jewellers has surged from 34,647 to an impressive 1,81,590. Additionally, Assaying and Hallmarking Centers (AHCs) have also grown significantly, increasing from 945 to 1,471. This concerted effort has led to the hallmarking of over 26 crore gold jewelry items, each bearing a unique HUID.

Consumers are strongly encouraged to verify the authenticity and purity of hallmarked gold jewelry items by using the ‘verify HUID’ feature in the BIS Care app, which is available for download from the Play Store. This user-friendly app has gained substantial popularity, with the number of downloads skyrocketing from 2.3 lakhs in the 2021-22 fiscal year to an impressive 12.4 lakhs in the current fiscal year. Moreover, the ‘verify HUID’ feature within the app has witnessed more than one crore hits over the past two years, underscoring the increasing awareness and importance of hallmarking for consumers across India.

List of 55 deficient districts having AHC/OSC post second phase