BIS Gold Hallmarking Fee Rises From ₹45 to ₹75 Per Article; 380 Districts Now Covered

Gold jewellery in India carries a hallmark under the mandatory system only in districts that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has put on its list. BIS also sets which carat grades are covered and the fee jewellers pay to have each article hallmarked. Two sets of 2026 changes touched that system: the district list grew, and the gold fee rose sharply.

The district expansion took effect on 2 March 2026. The fee revision was notified on 14 September 2026 by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. In October, the Agrawal Marwadi Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Education asked the Centre and BIS to withdraw the increase. The sections below cover the carat grades, the districts, the fees, the dates and the enforcement record.

Six Carat Grades and the Two-Test Rule

The mandatory system covers gold jewellery in six carat grades: 14K, 18K, 20K, 22K, 23K and 24K. Under IS 1417:2016, 9K is available as a voluntary grade, so a 9K piece falls outside the mandate. Jewellers can still have 9K pieces hallmarked on a voluntary basis.

The mandate therefore works on two tests: the grade of the piece and the district where it is sold. The district test is the one that changed in 2026, when the list of covered districts grew.

A piece of 22K gold sold in a district outside the list is outside the mandate. The same piece sold in a listed district is within it.

Hallmarking is carried out by recognised Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs). Jewellers send their articles to these centres, and the centres pay BIS a fee for each article. Section 3 sets out those fees.

BIS says the expansion protects consumers and ensures gold purity. Section 6 covers the HUID numbers and the enforcement record.

Districts Added in 2026, Bringing the Total to 380

Mandatory hallmarking began in June 2021 in 256 districts. Later phases added 32 districts in April 2022, 55 in September 2023, 18 in November 2024 and 12 in July 2025. Those four phases added 117 districts, bringing the total to 373 before the sixth phase.

The sixth phase took effect on 2 March 2026 and added seven districts. BIS announced the additions in a statement released on 12 March 2026, as reported by ANI and carried by The Tribune. With the seven new districts, the total under mandatory hallmarking reached 380.

Measured against the 373 districts before the phase, the seven additions raise coverage by about 1.9 per cent.

The new districts are Rupnagar in Punjab, Banda in Uttar Pradesh, Beed in Maharashtra, Gomati in Tripura, Katihar in Bihar, Beawar in Rajasthan and Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. They lie in seven different states.

For a jeweller or buyer in one of these 380 districts, gold sold there falls under the mandatory order. Outside those districts, the mandate does not apply.

The Fee Chain: Jewellers, Assaying Centres and BIS

The amended schedule, which substitutes Schedule IV of the BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018, sets fees at two levels, according to SCC Online. Jewellers pay recognised AHCs for each article. The AHCs pay BIS a smaller share.

For gold, a jeweller pays ₹75 per article, with a minimum of ₹200 per consignment. The AHC pays BIS ₹7.50 per article, with a minimum of ₹20 per consignment.

For silver, a jeweller pays ₹35 per article, with a minimum of ₹150 per consignment. The AHC pays BIS ₹3.50 per article, with a minimum of ₹15 per consignment. All India Radio reports the silver charge as unchanged.

Applicable taxes are charged separately, on top of these fees, according to SCC Online.

The per-article rates alone show the scale of the change. Ten gold articles in one consignment would cost ₹750 before tax, against ₹450 at the earlier ₹45 rate. Ten silver articles would cost ₹350 at the unchanged rate. At 100 gold articles, the jeweller's charge would be ₹7,500 against ₹4,500 at the old rate, a gap of ₹3,000 before taxes.

The per-consignment minimums matter for small batches. Two gold articles would pay the ₹200 minimum rather than ₹150 at the per-article rate. From three articles, the per-article rate applies, since three articles come to ₹225. For silver, four articles at ₹35 come to ₹140, so the ₹150 minimum applies. Five articles come to ₹175.

For a jeweller in a covered district, each gold article sent to an AHC carries the ₹75 charge, plus applicable taxes.

The Gold Charge Rose From ₹45 to ₹75 per Article

The BIS (Hallmarking) Amendment Regulations, 2026 were notified on 14 September 2026 by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, according to SCC Online. Each gold article sent for hallmarking now carries a ₹75 charge, up from ₹45.

UNI puts the rise at 66.67 per cent. That equals ₹30 on the old ₹45 base. The revised gold minimum is ₹200 per consignment.

The reports differ on when the charge applies. All India Radio says the revised charges will come into effect immediately, ahead of the festive season. UNI says the increase was effective from 14 September 2026.

The 2026 sequence runs as follows. The district expansion took effect on 2 March. BIS announced the seven new districts on 12 March. The fee amendment was notified on 14 September. The chamber's request followed on 4 October.

Each gold article sent for hallmarking now carries a ₹75 charge, up from ₹45.

A Chamber Asks the Centre and BIS to Withdraw the Increase

On 4 October 2026, the Agrawal Marwadi Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Education (AMCCIE), through its national president Rajesh Agarwal, asked the Centre and BIS to withdraw the increase in the gold hallmarking charge, UNI reports.

The chamber says the higher fee would add to the compliance burden on jewellers, MSMEs and consumers. The request concerns the gold increase only.

The request came about three weeks after the increase took effect. The ₹75 rate for gold articles comes from the notified regulations.

Enforcement, HUID Numbers and Consumer Checks

Asianet Newsable reports that BIS conducted more than 30 enforcement actions against jewellers in the financial year 2025-26 for violations of the Hallmarking Quality Control Order.

Over 60 crore gold items were hallmarked with HUID numbers between 1 July 2021 and 5 March 2026. Consumers can check an item using the Verify HUID feature on the BIS CARE App.

For a buyer, the two tests in section 1 decide whether the mandate applies to a given piece: its carat grade and the district where it is sold.