Page 21 - Bullion World Volume 5 Issue 1 January 2025

Bullion World | Volume 5 | Issue 01 | January 2025
B ullion W orld | V olume 5 | I ssue 01 | J anuary 2025

A major portion of the silver jewellery presently sold is her HUID certificate and use that certificate for getting
in the fineness range of 450 and upwards,whereas the full value during pledging it for a gold loan or for selling
lowest fineness permitted for silver hallmarking by BIS is it as old gold. This HUID transfer will also work similar
800 or 80% silver content. Presently 6 silver purities of to a vehicle’s RC book generated from the Parivahan
fineness 800, 835, 900, 925, 970 & 990 are permitted portal, wherein the RC number of the vehicle continues
under BIS silver hallmarking scheme.

There is an increasing need to ensure foolproof
traceability for HUID hallmarked jewellery. Even though
HUID hallmarking is mandatory for the past 3.5 years,
the end to end tracability of each article is not available
in the scheme, due to the lack of HUID transfer facility
from jewellery manufacturer to retailer and from retailer
to end consumer's name. When hallmarking is done
at the manufacturer’s location, the HUID traceability
ends there. For the same reason, at these locations,
often original HUIDs are duplicated on thousands of
other similar jewellery articles, without quality control or
testing, and evading BIS royalty and GST. Duplicating
of original HUIDs on sub standard articles can only
be controlled by activating HUID transfer facility upto
customer's name. At the retail shop, as and when the
HUID is transferred to the customer's name, that HUID to be same, even when the ownership of the vehicle is
changed in the vahan portal. For ease of doing business
remains in the customer's name at the BIS HUID portal
and any further duplication of that HUID can always of the fragmented retail trade, HUID transfer may not be
made mandatory, but voluntary, for jewelers who are
be detected by verifying an HUID in the BIS care App.
With HUID transfer facility, the consumer can download interested in transferring the HUID to their customer's
name.

Gold bullion has emerged as an asset class product, as the initial phase, to exempt the unorganized and micro
evidenced in the increasing demand for gold coins and gold refineries operating in India. Alternatively bullion of
bars, especially during festival periods and hence the 995 fineness in any size or shape, produced by micro
need for mandatory hallmarking of bullion, to ensure refiners and inhouse refiners, can always be hallmarked
steady availability of quality certified bullion bars and at the nearby BIS licensed hallmarking centre (Ahc)
coins across India. Presently majority of the bullion under 24 KS 995 artefacts, as permitted under the
is used as raw material for jewellery fabrication, and jewellery hallmarking scheme of BIS, as per the standard
it is not quality certified, same is the case of around IS 1417: 2016 for BIS registered dealers. As and when
250 tonnes of 24 kt coins and bars sold for investment mandatory hallmarking of bullion is notified, there is
purposes. Hence mandatory hallmarking of bullion always a grace period of 6 months for clearing/
may be introduced in a phased manner, starting from converting the existing non hallmarked stock to
the BIS licensed gold refineries, for 100 gm and above hallmarked category. The India good delivery standard
bullion bars. Most of the refineries have switched over IS 17278: 2019 has confirmed the technical parameters
to producing smaller 100 gm bullion bars, substituting of 1 kg and 100 gm bars in 995 or 999 fineness and this
the expensive 1 kg bars and this shall solve the problem standard is at par with the international good delivery
of how to ensure BIS hallmarks on cut and split pieces standards. These good delivery bars shall carry the 5
of 1 kg bars. At the recent stake holders meeting on mandatory hallmarks such as the identifying mark of the
mandatory hallmarking of bullion, held at BIS HQ New gold refinery, mark of the certifying agency BIS, purity of
Delhi, majority of the trade associations welcomed gold in 4 digits, weight of the gold bullion and traceability
mandatory hallmarking of bullion. They also requested number of the gold bar.
that bullion of below 100 gm weight may be exempted in

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