Sale of gold jewellery and gold artefacts hallmarked with only a six-digit alphanumeric HUID -- union identification number -- will be permitted from April 1, the government said on Saturday.

This means the sale of old hallmarked jewellery with four logos without HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number will not be allowed after March 31.

A decision in this regard was taken after due consultation with stakeholders on January 18 in a bid to safeguard the interest of consumers, the consumer affairs ministry said in a statement.

Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal. It was voluntary in nature til June 16, 2021.

It may be noted that prior to the implementation of the six-digit HUID number, hallmarking of gold jewellery consisted of four marks -- BIS logo, purity of the article as well as the logo of the jeweller and Assaying and Hallmarking Centre.

The six-digit HUID number was introduced from July 1, 2021.

After the introduction of HUID, the hallmark consisted of three marks -- BIS logo, purity of the article and six-digit alphanumeric HUID. Each hallmarked article has a unique HUID number which is traceable.

Till now, the old hallmarked jewellery with four marks without HUID was also permitted to be sold by the jewellers along with the six-digit HUID mark. More than a year and nine months were given to jewellers to clear their stock of their four mark hallmarked articles.

"However, the simultaneous sale of two types of hallmarked jewellery by the jewellers was creating confusion in the mind of the common consumer," the ministry said.

The issue was discussed with stakeholders and the ministry decided to allow only the sale of hallmarked gold jewellery with six-digit HUID number only from April 1 onwards, it said.

The ministry also clarified that the hallmarked jewellery lying with consumers as per old schemes will remain valid.

As per section 49 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Rules, 2018, if hallmarked jewellery purchased by the consumer is found to be of lesser purity than that marked on the jewellery, then the buyer/customer will be entitled for compensation which will be two times the amount of difference calculated on the basis of shortage of purity for the weight of such article sold and the testing charges, it added.

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