IIJS 2026 ended with healthy buyer attendance and active enquiries, while retailers remained selective on quantities, focusing on immediate demand, inventory rotation and festive requirements.
The government is considering a system to mark hallmarked gold jewellery as “sold” against its six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number after a transaction, according to a report by Mint. The proposed mechanism is intended to prevent HUID reuse and make it harder to resell stolen jewellery.
Under the proposed system, once a jewellery article is sold, its HUID would be recorded as sold in the relevant system. If the same identification number is subsequently entered against another article, it could flag the item as already sold and prompt further verification.
The proposal is currently at the discussion stage. According to the report, the requirement could initially apply to organised retailers in urban areas, before being extended to rural and unorganised segments.
The system would require retailers to maintain individual records for hallmarked articles and integrate HUID information with store-level inventory systems. Currently, jewellers are required to inscribe the HUID and weight on hallmarked gold articles and maintain relevant records.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) describes HUID as a unique six-digit alphanumeric number assigned to each hallmarked gold item. Consumers can verify the number through the BIS Care app.
Industry reaction to the proposal has been mixed. Anil Talwar of Talwarsons Jewellers said the government should focus on curbing malpractice while avoiding additional compliance burdens on genuine jewellers.
Colin Shah, Managing Director, Kama Jewelry, said the proposed measures could strengthen traceability and consumer protection, while calling for greater use of automated and AI-enabled infrastructure across the hallmarking ecosystem.
For retailers, the proposed system could require changes to inventory and transaction-recording processes, particularly for jewellery articles that undergo modifications after purchase.
Be the first to comment