New Delhi: The government is planning a system to stop the sale of stolen gold jewellery, using a unique six-digit code assigned to each piece, two people directly involved in the process said.
The plan involves tagging a gold jewellery article as ‘sold’ against its six-digit alphanumeric Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number post-sale, making it difficult for jewellers to reuse the same hallmark number on another piece of jewellery, they said.
The ‘sold’ tagging is a mechanism whereby, if the same HUID code is subsequently entered into the HUID system for another piece, it indicates that the item has already been sold.
This development is significant for the world’s largest gold jewellery market with gold jewellery snatching and theft rampant across the country. India's gems and jewellery market was valued at about $85 billion in January 2026 and is projected to reach $130 billion by 2030, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
- New HUID 'sold' tag aims to stop resale of stolen gold jewellery.
- System will flag reused HUID codes to alert retailers during resale checks.
- Urban organized retailers likely to face mandatory rules before rural, unorganized sellers.
- India's $75 billion gold market has unorganized retailers holding an 84% share.
- Jewellers worry new compliance rules will raise costs especially for made-to-order pieces.
According to Icra Research, cited in an Assocham report released in March 2026, organised jewellery retailers accounted for 16% of India's gold jewellery retail market in FY2025, while the unorganised segment accounted for 84%.
“The plan is at the discussion stage, and the proposal is to initially make it mandatory in urban areas for organised retailers, with the requirement eventually being extended to rural areas and the unorganised sector,” said the first of the two persons cited above.
Queries sent to spokespersons of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Tanishq, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Kalyan Jewellers and P.P. Jewellers remained unanswered until press time.
How the tracking system would work
At present, jewellers have to inscribe the Hallmark Unique Identification number and weight on each hallmarked gold article. For example, a 2-gram gold ring will have its own HUID number. When a consumer buys the ring, the retailer issues a bill with the relevant details, making the article traceable.
Retailers also have to maintain records of hallmarked articles and keep photographs of the HUID in their systems. Consumers can check the authenticity of the jewellery by entering its HUID number on the BIS Care app.
Under Section 29 of the BIS Act, 2016, misuse of the hallmark can attract imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of at least ₹1 lakh, which can be up to five times the value of the goods involved, or both. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) can also cancel a jeweller’s registration for unfair practices amounting to misuse of the hallmark.
“It could also help prevent the resale of stolen or unauthorised gold items. A retailer accepting an old gold article for resale could check its HUID and transaction records against the invoice. If the HUID is already marked as sold to another consumer, it could raise a red flag and prompt the retailer to verify the source of the gold,” said the second person.
“This will also help prevent the reuse of HUIDs, as each HUID will be marked as ‘sold’ after a transaction. If the same HUID is subsequently used on another article, the system could flag it as an already-sold item,” this person said.
Industry reaction is mixed
“The biggest concern for the industry is to keep a check on jewellers offering gold jewellery at zero per cent making charges, which is not commercially viable given the costs involved and the gold wastage during manufacturing. The government should focus on curbing such malpractices rather than imposing additional compliance burdens on genuine and honest jewellers,” said Anil Talwar, managing partner, Talwarsons Jewellers, a Chandigarh-based BIS-certified jeweller and former All India co-chairman of Ficci Gems Committee.
However, a senior executive at a major retail brand said that the proposed system is feasible but could increase operational costs for retailers. For instance, if a consumer selects a gold article and subsequently requests modifications, the article's weight and other specifications may change, which could create operational and compliance challenges for retailers, said the executive, who wished not to be named.
"The measures proposed by the government serve as robust measures against misuse of identification codes, safeguard consumer interests, thus eradicating malpractices to the last mile and promote transparency,” said Colin Shah, managing director, Kama Jewelry, a Mumbai-based jewellery manufacturer and exporter.
“To further streamline the end-to-end ecosystem, the sector will need to undergo structural evolution. Strengthening of the hallmarking units with automated and AI-driven infrastructure to trace the journey of metal right from bullion to refining and its journey on the retail counter to ensure complete traceability,” said Shah.
Shah also called for artificial intelligence (AI) tools to let consumers verify HUIDs and weight, and for uniform, transparent standards for gold trade-ins nationwide.
“A ‘sold’ status linked to a HUID can help close the gap between hallmarking and the actual sale of a jewellery article. Once a HUID is marked sold, its reuse on another article should be detectable, strengthening traceability and protecting consumers,” said Ashim Sanyal, managing trustee, Consumer Voice, a consumer rights body.
In response to Mint’s query, Sandeep Kohli, chief executive officer, Indriya, Aditya Birla Jewellery, said, “We welcome any initiative that enhances transparency and encourages higher standards of governance in the jewellery industry. As a responsible brand backed by the Aditya Birla Group, we have always believed that trust is the cornerstone of this business.”
Traceability push
At present, jewellers may record items in bulk, such as 100 rings or 50 necklaces, without maintaining the HUID for each piece. Under the new system, they would have to maintain individual records for each article and mark its HUID as ‘sold’ at the time of sale or at the end of the day.
Under the proposed system, retailers would additionally be required to mark each gold article as ‘sold’ against its HUID once it is sold. This would require jewellers to integrate the HUID of every individual article in their inventory with their store-level systems.
Hallmarking was introduced in 2000 and made mandatory in phases from 2021, and now covers half of India’s 800 districts. Since then, more than 580 million gold items have been hallmarked, averaging over 10 million a month.