BIS raises gold hallmarking fee 67% to ₹75 per article
The Bureau of Indian Standards has raised the gold hallmarking charge for jewellers from ₹45 to ₹75 per article, with a ₹200 minimum per consignment. Silver hallmarking rates remain unchanged. The revised charges take effect on September 14, 2026.
What happened
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) · BIS has raised jewellers’ gold hallmarking charge by 66.7% to Rs 75 per article, while silver rates remain unchanged. The
Key facts
- Gold hallmarking fee: Rs 75 per article, up from Rs 45 (66.7%)
- Gold consignment minimum: Rs 200
- BIS fee to AHC for gold: Rs 7.50 per article; Rs 20 minimum per consignment
- Silver hallmarking fee: Rs 35 per article; Rs 150 minimum per consignment
- BIS fee to AHC for silver: Rs 3.50 per article; Rs 15 minimum per consignment
Why this matters
The higher compliance cost strengthens the relative advantage of scaled, organised jewellers and could support consolidation opportunities among smaller players facing tighter unit economics.
What to watch
- BIS clarification on whether the revised fee applies uniformly across all article types, re-hallmarking and export-oriented jewellery.
- Hallmarking-centre turnaround times, capacity constraints and any additional service-fee revisions ahead of the September 14, 2026 effective date.
- Changes in making charges and lightweight-jewellery pricing at national chains and regional jewellers.
- Festive and wedding-season demand mix, particularly unit sales of sub-5 gram jewellery.
- Enforcement activity against non-hallmarked gold jewellery and consumer awareness of certification requirements.
- Any increase in minimum consignment thresholds or further revisions to gold assay and hallmarking rules.
- Reprice making charges and communicate the increase as a regulatory compliance cost rather than a gold-price increase.
- Review SKU-level hallmarking cost as a percentage of selling price, especially for lightweight and low-margin products.
- Consolidate hallmarked consignments and optimise production batches to reduce exposure to the ₹200 minimum charge.
- Increase promotion of certified jewellery, exchange schemes and chain-of-custody assurances to convert compliance into a trust differentiator.
- Monitor competitors' pricing to determine whether the fee is absorbed, separately billed or embedded in making charges.