Giving a gift whether at the wedding or other special events is an integral part of Indian culture. Both the giver and the receiver attach high value and sanctity to this act. And the present generation is increasingly fond of giving gold as a precious gift at the auspicious occasions.

The decision by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs not to allow the sale of gold ornaments without HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number from April 1, 2023 is a game changing moment and will reform the way gold is sold in the market. The biggest advantage of this reform is that it will ensure that the customer gets pure gold. The customer interest is protected fully by way of the HUID, stamped on each piece of jewellery at the Assaying and Hallmarking centres to testify the purity.

As part of this reform, each ornament will have three features marked on it — BIS logo, gold karat level to denote purity and a six-digit code. Customer can get details like the hallmarking date, name of the hallmarking centre and the whereabouts of the jewellery with the help of an official mobile app called BIS Care. This ensures that customer is not cheated anyway. BIS hallmarking has been in practice for the last 23 years now and in June 2021, the Centre launched the current HUID system. This means, 21 months have been given to the jewellers to adopt and implement this new reform.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds has been selling only ornaments with BIS hallmark ever since the system was launched in 2000. Now with the new reform in place, Malabar Group has made sure that only the ornaments with the HUID code are sold in all its showrooms across the country from April 1, 2023.

The HUID reform will bring in more transparency to the gold trade as it provides the details of the seller and the hallmark centre. This will check the illegal gold trade to a great extent, which in turn will boost the GST revenue for the government. The Governments should take stern measures to implement this new governing system in a foolproof manner as directed by the Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Currently, HUID and billing are not linked. If recording HUID code in bills is made mandatory, it will plug loopholes to eliminate tax evasion. Because, every single ornament will have a different unique code. The Centre should initiate steps to link billing with HUID system, says a press release from Malabar Group.