Page 15 - Bullion World Volume 02 Issue 01 May 2022

This decoding of HUID will reveal
the genuineness or duplication of
hallmarked articles. The unique
HUID system, the first such
traceability system for jewellery
hallmarking globally, can be
accessed at any time by the BIS
officers, the hallmarking centres,
the registered jewellers and the
consumers.

Legislations to protect consumer
interest and to uphold quality:
After the BIS Act 2016, the
Hallmarking Regulations 2018
and the Consumer Protection
Act, 2019 were passed by the
parliament, there is now a strict
legal framework in place to punish
violations, malpractices and
Historic challenges of sent for hallmarking. With around misuse of the hallmark logos, with
Hallmarking in India 1000 tons or 100 million pieces of confiscation of goods, monetary
Indian handmade jewellery is a jewellery articles sold every year, penalties, imprisonment up to one
non-standard, non-homogenous it is a herculean task for BIS to year, cancellation of shop license
product; hence there are inherent manually verify, even randomly, the leading to the closure of business
limitations in drawing a truly genuineness of articles hallmarked etc.
representative sample for analyzing and displayed at the jewellery
a lot of jewellery submitted for shops. With HUID in place, time is
hallmarking. This also places ripe for India to join Vienna
a huge responsibility on the Technology solution to address Convention:
hallmarking centre’s integrity to hallmarking challenges: The strict traceability mechanism
confirm the gold purity of articles BIS introduced a centralized of HUID, combined with harsh
hallmarked, based on random software, wherein the workflow at punishments enacted for violations
sampling. This limitation is widely the hallmarking centre is automated amply illustrate the intentions of the
misused to manipulate the samples and monitored and a unique 6-digit Government of India in enforcing
drawn, and even for bypassing alphanumeric code (HUID) is a reliable ecosystem for jewellery
sampling and fire-assaying. generated from the BIS server and hallmarking. However, the Indian
With majority of the jewellery allotted to each article hallmarked hallmarking system is yet to gain
articles being manufactured in at an Assaying & Hallmarking international acceptance, for Indian
the unorganized sector by the Centre (AHC). The HUID code, hallmarked jewellery to be accepted
artisans, unlike in the West where it when decoded in the HUID portal worldwide without further checking
originates from factories, the Indian of the BIS website or mobile App at the importing country. India
hallmarking scheme is operating of the consumer, shall give full should take a step forward to join
under severe constraints of non- traceability details of the hallmarked the International Vienna Convention
standard sampling procedures. article, such as (a) the name of the on hallmarking. Once India joins
The BIS is operating under several hallmarking licensee jeweller, (b) the Convention after completing
limitations to ensure quality name of the hallmarking centre,(c) all the necessary procedures and
control during the manufacturing date and time of hallmarking,(d) the formalities, Indian hallmarking
process and thereby stricter quality weight of the article and (e) purity/ centres confirming to Vienna
controls before the goods are fineness of the article hallmarked. Standards shall be permitted to