BIS Mandates Hallmarking for 9-Karat Gold Jewellery Starting July 2025 Under New Amendment.
National
On July 18, 2025, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD), mandated hallmarking for 9-karat gold jewellery by issuing Amendment No. 2 under the BIS Act, 2016, effective July 2025.
- The new rule is implemented through BIS Amendment No. 2, under the BIS Act, 2016, which regulates standards for gold jewellery and artefacts in India. The hallmarking ensures consumer protection by certifying purity, fineness, and authenticity through standardised markings and traceability.
- As per the latest mandate, 9-karat (375 ppt) gold has been officially included in the list of hallmarkable grades. This brings the total number of BIS-approved purity grades to eight, including 24K (999 ppt), 24KS (995 ppt), 23K (958 ppt), 22K (916 ppt), 20K (833 ppt), 18K (750 ppt), and 14K (585 ppt).
- According to the updated regulations, gold watches, pens, and legal-tender coins are excluded from hallmarking requirements. Only gold coins of 24KF (Karat Gold - Flat) or 24KS (Karat Gold - Struck) purity are allowed, and these must be manufactured exclusively by mints or BIS-approved refineries.
Main Point :- (i) The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD), has mandated hallmarking for 9-karat gold jewellery from July 2025. This enhances purity assurance through AHCs (Assaying & Hallmarking Centres), strengthens consumer trust, and expands BIS’s mandatory framework to 361 districts across India.
(ii) Non-compliance with the new guidelines can attract penalties under the BIS Act, 2016, including up to two years’ imprisonment or fines ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh, or ten times the value of the unverified gold article. To support enforcement, over 40 crore jewellery items now carry a 6-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID), which can be verified via the BIS Care App.
(iii) Gold bar certification now requires refineries to be accredited by either the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) or India’s National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). This aligns BIS hallmarking practices with international standards to enhance transparency, traceability, and consumer confidence in gold quality.
About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
Director General (DG) : Pramod Kumar Tiwari
Headquarters: New Delhi
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