The purity on your bill is a claim. The hallmark is what makes it checkable. Since 2021 BIS hallmarking has been mandatory for gold jewellery across most of India, and since 2023 every hallmarked piece carries a HUID — a six-character alphanumeric code unique to that individual item.
The three marks on a hallmarked piece
- The BIS logo — a triangular mark. Without it, nothing else counts.
- The purity grade — 999 for 24K, 916 for 22K, 750 for 18K. This is the number that must match your bill.
- The HUID — six alphanumeric characters, unique to the piece.
They are small. On a ring they sit inside the band; on a chain, on the clasp or a tag. Ask the jeweller to show you where, and use a loupe — most shops keep one on the counter.
Verifying it in a minute
Install the BIS CARE app, choose "Verify HUID", and type the six characters. It returns the jeweller who got the piece hallmarked, the hallmarking centre, the item type and the purity that was actually tested.
Two things to check against what you were told: the purity matches your bill, and the item type matches what is in your hand. A HUID registered against a ring on a chain you are buying means the code has been moved.
If it does not match
Do not complete the purchase. A mismatch is not a clerical error — the code identifies one specific item. You can raise a complaint with BIS through the same app. In practice, simply showing that you checked is usually enough.
What hallmarking costs
About 45 rupees per piece, plus GST, and it is legitimately passed on to you. It should appear as its own line on the bill, not be folded into making charges. It is a small amount and it is the cheapest protection you will buy that day.
Old gold without a hallmark
Jewellery bought before the rules came in is very often unhallmarked, and that is fine — you can still sell or exchange it. It will be tested, usually on a touchstone or by an XRF machine, and paid for at the fine gold rate adjusted for whatever purity the test returns. Ask for the test to be done in front of you and for the reading to be shown to you; a shop confident in its testing will not mind.
Why 916 and not 22K
The trade stamps fineness, not karat: 916 means 91.6% gold. It is the same information as "22K" expressed as parts per thousand, and it is what is physically punched into the piece. If someone quotes you 22K but the stamp reads 750, the stamp is right. More on what the grades are for in 22K or 24K: which to buy.