It is a certification of purity of gold articles in accordance with Indian Standard specifications. It has been acting as a safeguard to purchasers of gold and gold articles for centuries in various countries

After evaluating and testing the gold article of jewellers, these marks are allotted. Hallmarked jewellery authenticate that the metal used in jewellery conforms to the national and international standard of fineness and purity.

Hallmark consists of five components i.e.

• BISMark,
• the fineness number (corresponding to given caratage),
• Assaying
• Hallmarking Centre's mark, jeweller's mark and
• Year of marking denoted by a code letter and decided by BIS (e.g. code letter 'A' was approved by BIS for the year 2000, 'B' being used for the year 2001 and 'C' for 2002).

Marking is done either using laser marking machine or punches. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmark, a mark of conformity widely accepted by the consumer, bestows the additional confidence to the consumer on the purity of gold jewellery.

In India Bureau of Indian Standards, is the country's apex standards body, involved in the development of technical standards (popularly known as Indian Standards), product quality and management system certifications& customer affairs in all matters concerning standardization, certification and quality. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified jewellers can get their jewellery hallmarked from any of the BIS recognized Assaying and Hallmarking Centre. 

The main objective of assaying and hallmarking is to protect a consumer against victimization of irregular gold quality. Besides consumer satisfaction, hallmarking helps to create export competitiveness of gold jewelry industry thus provide a strong impetus for gold jewelry exports. 

GRANT OF CERTIFICATE

Any jeweler willing to obtain Certificate of Registration for Selling Hallmarked Jewellery/artifacts shall apply with self-certified copies of documents listed below from (a) to (e) with the online application or submit hard copies to the Branch office of BIS having jurisdiction of the area where the jeweler is located, with the application. Registration is granted to the applicant if the application is found to be complete with all necessary documents and fees enclosed within five working days.

A) Proof of establishment of the firm or company ( Any one of the documents given below)

• Certificate of Registration issued by Registrar of companies along with a memorandum of articles.
• Registered Partnership Deed in case applicant is a Partnership Firm.

• Certificate from a Chartered Accountant if the applicant is a Proprietorship Firm.

B) Proof of address of firm's premises ( Any one of the documents given below)

• Registration with State Government Authority/ Trade Licences
• GST registration certificate.
• Income Tax Assessment Order.
• Latest Property tax receipt.
• Rent agreement with last rent receipt.
• Sale/ Lease Deed agreement.

C) Proof of Identity of the signatory

•  Aadhar based verification/ e- signature
• Self-certified copy of any one of following documents as identity proof of signatory on the     Application: - Aadhar Card - Driving Licence - PAN card - Voter Identity card - Passport - Identity Certificate with photo issued by Gazetted Officer on official letterhead.

D) Map indicating location of premises from nearest land mark Location map of premises from some nearest prominent landmark for each outlet, as applicable (illustrative only).

E) Proof in regard to annual turnover

• Self-certified copy of GST return of previous financial year .
• if the firm is new, an undertaking from the firm with expected turnover and assurance to submit GST return after completion of the current financial year and deposit the difference as per actual turnover

Registration may be Rejected/cancel

Deviations in the degree of purity of fine metal and observance of operations not in conformance to the system may result in cancellation of BIS license, and invoke legal proceedings for penalties under the BIS Act, Rules and Regulations. 

Registration Fee

The government has notified new guidelines for BIS Hallmark Licence Fees. The license fee will now be known as Registration fees and it will be based on turnover in place population.

According to new guidelines following the change in BIS hallmark license fees for jeweler’s turnover as below:

• Turnover up to Rs. 5 cr – Rs. 7500
• Turnover between Rs. 5 cr to Rs. 25 cr – Rs. 15000
• Turnover between Rs. 25 cr to Rs. 100 cr – Rs. 40000 and
• Turnover Above Rs. 100 cr – Rs. 80000

*This fees is for a period of 5 years.