Economy

From 1st April 2023 Gold Item Bearing No HUID will not be allowed

New Delhi, 03 March : The government has announced that the sale of gold jewellery and artefacts without a unique identification number Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) will not be allowed from April 1st. The announcement was made by Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal during a meeting to review the activities of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

To encourage a culture of quality in small-scale businesses, the BIS will provide an 80% discount on certification and minimum marking fees for various product certification schemes. This was previously voluntary until June 16th, 2021.

The government had previously implemented mandatory gold hallmarking in a phased manner. In the first phase, it was made mandatory in 256 districts, and an additional 32 districts were added in the second stage, bringing the total to 288 districts. The government is now adding 51 more districts.

According to an official statement, starting from April 1st, 2023, the sale of only gold jewellery with a HUID will be permitted. Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, stated that “in the interest of consumers, it has been decided that the sale of gold jewellery and artefacts without a HUID hallmark will not be permitted after March 31st.”

The Additional Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs stated that currently, both four-digit and six-digit HUID codes are being used for hallmarking gold jewellery items. She also mentioned that despite it not being mandatory yet in some districts, hallmarked gold jewellery is being sold across the country due to consumer demand for quality products.

The HUID is a unique identification number consisting of six alphanumeric characters that is given to each piece of jewellery at the time of hallmarking. The number is manually stamped on the jewellery at the Assaying & Hallmarking Centre (AHC), and is unique to each piece of jewellery.

During the meeting, Minister Piyush Goyal directed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to improve the testing infrastructure in the country, and increase the frequency of product testing and market surveillance depending on the criticality of components used for consumer safety. The BIS was also instructed to increase the frequency of lab inspections.

In addition to gold jewellery, the BIS has been directed to enhance market surveillance for various products including pressure cookers, helmets, and other consumer products to ensure product safety. The BIS has proposed Quality Control Orders (QCO) for 663 products in the near future, with 462 products currently covered under QCOs, according to the official statement.
The statement mentioned that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is offering an 80% discount on certification and minimum marking fees for various product certification schemes in an effort to promote a culture of quality in small-scale businesses. Units located in the northeast region will also receive an additional 10% discount.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that all products in India adhere to the highest quality and safety standards,” stated Minister Piyush Goyal. He further added that these measures will promote small-scale businesses, improve the testing infrastructure, and cultivate a culture of quality consciousness among citizens.

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