Page 15 - Bullion World Issue 01 Volume 06 January_2026

Bullion World | Volume 6 | Issue 01 | January 2026

The Problem of HUID Duplication head office and at least five outlets, along with other
The most serious challenge is the duplication of interested retailers. Under this model, the corporate
genuine HUIDs on sub standard or unaccounted office initially owns the HUIDs; as jewellery moves
jewellery. A vendor may get ten bangles hallmarked, to branches, the corresponding HUIDs are digitally
obtain ten authentic HUIDs, and then emboss those transferred, and when a branch sells a piece to a
numbers on hundreds of similar looking bangles customer, it marks that HUID as “closed” in the BIS
produced off the books. Because the HUIDs are valid Care app, preventing further transfers. If a duplicated
in the BIS database and the items still appear as ornament with the same HUID is later checked,
bangles, these pieces can pass casual checks on the its details will not be visible, helping expose fake
BIS Care app. hallmarking.

Such misuse fuels tax evasion and an unaccounted Photo Upload: Adding a Visual Layer of Security
jewellery trade, while shifting liability to the assaying A second safeguard is the proposed photo upload for
centres that issued the original HUIDs. When BIS every hallmarked article. In a pilot programme at about
market sampling detects sub standard items bearing a 25 centres, each hallmarked piece is photographed
particular HUID, the centre that originally hallmarked along with a close up of the hallmarking area, and
the genuine piece can face derecognition, even these images-linked to the article’s weight and HUID-
though it never handled the duplicates. As instances are visible in the BIS Care app. This visual record
of duplication have multiplied, stakeholders have makes it far more difficult to manipulate data at the
demanded tighter traceability and more intelligent centre or reuse a valid HUID on a different design or
control mechanisms. weight of jewellery.

HUID Transfer: Tracking Articles to the Point of Sale However, photo capture demands additional
A practical solution is to track each HUID tagged equipment, trained staff and more processing time,
article up to its final retail sale and then “close” that often increasing hallmarking time for a batch by around
HUID in the system. Once a piece is sold and its HUID 50% and raising costs. With the hallmarking fee held
is marked as closed in the BIS portal, any attempt at ₹45 per piece since 2021, despite higher logistics,
to verify the same number on another article would insurance and security expenses in a high price
immediately trigger suspicion. gold environment, a periodic review of charges may
be needed to keep centres viable while maintaining
To enable this, BIS is rolling out a HUID transfer rigorous standards.
facility on a voluntary basis. The first phase focuses on
corporate jewellers with a single BIS registration at the

The Road Ahead
The HUID hallmarking framework has already
taken India from basic purity stamps to a
sophisticated, data driven traceability regime.
The next phase is less about expanding
volumes and more about deepening integrity-
widespread adoption of HUID transfer,
scaling up photo based verification, and
revitalising hallmarking centres across regions.
If implemented thoughtfully, with fair cost
structures and robust digital infrastructure,
these reforms can turn India into a global
benchmark for jewellery traceability and
cement hallmarking as a shared commitment to
quality and consumer trust rather than a mere
compliance obligation.

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