Gold Hallmarking Fee Hike: Will buying gold jewellery become more expensive now? BIS has raised charges by 67%..

Hike in Gold Hallmarking Fees: The festive season is about to begin in the country, followed by the wedding season. After Durga Puja come Dhanteras, Diwali, and preparations for weddings—a period that naturally sees significant buying of gold and silver. However, ahead of this, there is major news regarding gold hallmarking. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has raised the hallmarking fees for gold jewellery—not by 2, 4, or 10 percent, but by approximately 67 percent.

Now, a fee of ₹75 will be charged for hallmarking each gold article. Previously, this fee was ₹45. However, this does not necessarily mean that customers will have to pay exactly ₹30 more for every piece of jewellery.

The new fees came into effect on September 14. Meanwhile, there has been no change in the hallmarking fees for silver articles; the charge remains ₹35 per article, just as before.

This change comes right as the festive and wedding seasons are commencing—a time when the demand for gold jewellery typically rises. Consequently, the biggest question on the minds of those planning to buy jewellery is whether the hike in hallmarking fees will also increase the final bill for gold ornaments.

By how much have gold hallmarking fees increased?
Under the new fee structure, jewellers must now pay ₹75 for hallmarking each gold article. Previously, this charge was ₹45.

This means the hallmarking fee per gold article has increased by ₹30. In percentage terms, this represents a hike of approximately 66.7 percent.

There has been no change in the hallmarking fees for silver articles; it remains at ₹35 per article, as before.

Hallmarking Fees →
                      Previously     Now
Gold Article    ₹45    ₹75
Silver Article    ₹35    ₹35
Minimum Gold Consignment    ₹200    ₹200
Minimum Silver Consignment    ₹150    ₹150
The minimum consignment charge for gold will remain ₹200, just as before, while the minimum charge for silver will remain ₹150.

Will one have to pay an extra ₹30 for every piece of jewelry?
Not necessarily. It is important to understand this point. The ₹75 hallmarking fee is the charge a jeweler pays to an accredited Assaying and Hallmarking Centre. It is not a separate ₹75 charge that the BIS has mandated be collected from customers on every piece of gold jewelry. Therefore, an increase in hallmarking fees does not automatically mean the customer must pay an extra ₹30 on every gold article.

So, how will it impact the customer's pocket?

The impact will depend on how jewelers incorporate the increased hallmarking costs into their pricing.

In other words, if a jeweler factors this additional cost into the price of the jewelry, it could affect the customer's final bill. However, the new BIS fee structure does not imply that this ₹30 or ₹75 hallmarking charge must be collected from the customer as a separate line item.

Therefore, customers should carefully examine the bill when purchasing gold jewelry.

Always check the bill when buying jewelry
Those purchasing gold jewelry should obtain a correct and detailed invoice. It is important to check the bill for details regarding the jewelry and the various charges applied to it.

It is particularly important to understand that the hike in BIS fees does not make it mandatory for the customer to pay an extra ₹30 separately for each piece of jewelry.

Whether the final bill increases—and by how much—will depend on the jeweler's pricing strategy.

What has changed for silver jewelry? There has been no change in the hallmarking fee for silver articles; the fee remains ₹35 per article, just as before. Similarly, the minimum consignment charge for silver will also remain ₹150.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we modified it for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.