India's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified a revised hallmarking framework effective 15 June 2026. All jewellery manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers—whether operating in metros or tier-2 towns—must now comply with updated assaying-centre registration and inventory tagging protocols. This is not a soft launch: non-compliance attracts penalties under the BIS Act, and stock seized under old standards cannot be sold.
Many businesses remain unaware. This article maps the June deadline, registration steps, and the cost and operational shifts jewellers face.
Advisory
All BIS-notified assaying centres must re-register under the new scheme by 31 May 2026 to operate lawfully after 15 June. Lapsed registrations automatically disqualify a centre; hallmarks issued thereafter are void and unsaleable.
The revised rules mandate unique item-level traceability via QR-code hallmarks. Jewellers holding untagged or pre-June stock must either re-hallmark it (at cost) or declare it as heritage/antique stock with supporting documentation by 10 June.
Stock manufactured before 15 June without new-format hallmarks may be seized at retail or wholesale checkpoints. Redemption requires proof of original hallmarking and retroactive compliance application—a lengthy and expensive process.
Under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, BIS holds authority to mandate hallmarking standards and enforce them through state-level enforcement agencies. Non-compliance is a criminal offence; penalties range from fines to temporary business suspension. Jewellers operating across multiple states face compounded complexity: assaying centres in one state may not be reciprocally recognised in another without explicit BIS approval. Vinayakam Consultants helps jewellery businesses audit their assaying-centre partnerships, map inventory compliance costs, and file re-registration applications on time. We also assist in preparing heritage-stock declarations and managing seizure disputes, reducing legal and operational friction.
Your action checklist
- Audit your current assaying-centre partner's BIS registration status and confirm re-registration application is live (check BIS portal by 25 June); if not, begin transition to an approved centre immediately.
- Segregate inventory by manufacturing date: pre-15 June stock must be re-hallmarked, declared as heritage stock with jeweller certification, or flagged for removal from shelf by 10 June to avoid seizure.
- Obtain sample hallmark impressions under the new QR-code format from your assaying centre and test them against the BIS template; train retail staff to verify format on customer requests.
- Document all hallmarked items sold between 1 June and 15 June with photographs and centre receipts; this protects you if pre-15 June stock surfaces in a post-deadline customer dispute.
Frequently asked questions
The BIS mandatory hallmarking deadline is 15 June 2026. All assaying centres must re-register by 31 May 2026, and jewellers must ensure inventory compliance or face seizure and penalties.
Untagged or pre-June stock must be re-hallmarked at the jeweller's cost or declared as heritage/antique with documentation by 10 June 2026. Stock without new-format hallmarks risks seizure at checkpoints.
Non-compliance is a criminal offence under the BIS Act, 2016, with penalties ranging from fines to temporary business suspension. Seized stock cannot be sold without retroactive compliance, a costly process.