Gold hallmarking fee hike sparks industry pushback over rising costs and fraud risks
The gold hallmarking charge in India has risen from ₹45 to ₹75 per article, prompting the Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council to demand a rollback and warn of increased fraud.
India’s gold hallmarking system now charges ₹75 per article, up from ₹45, a 66.67% rise that the Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council says strains the sector. The council highlights that awareness of the Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) verification via the BIS Care app remains low, with only about 10% of the country’s districts familiar with it, making consumers vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeit tactics, including fake photographs.
It has approached Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and the Bureau of Indian Standards seeking a reversal of the fee hike. Government data show hallmarking centres have grown to 1,577 and over 650 million gold items now carry HUIDs, with 132.2 million pieces hallmarked in 2025-26. The council calculates the added cost to the ecosystem at around ₹400 crore, plus roughly ₹80 crore in GST, and points to longer processing times—now 24-36 hours versus six hours previously—pressuring jewellers’ working capital. It also requests a detailed cost breakdown from BIS, questioning the necessity of mandatory photography that can be manipulated by fraudsters.
Why it matters
Higher hallmarking fees and weak verification increase costs for buyers and open doors for jewellery fraud in India.
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