How to start a jewellery business in India: BIS hallmarking and registrations

Choosing a structure

Family jewellery shops are often proprietorships or partnerships. Growing businesses with several showrooms, online sales or outside investors prefer a private limited company. Since jewellery involves high-value stock, limited liability and clean separation of family and business assets are worth considering early.

Whatever the structure, banks and bullion suppliers will look closely at KYC, stock records and accounts, so organised bookkeeping from the start helps with gold loans and working capital limits.

Registrations a jeweller needs

The central element is BIS registration under the Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts Order. Local, tax and weighing equipment registrations sit alongside it, and most are issued by state or municipal authorities.

How hallmarking works

BIS grants jeweller registration online without a fee, and the certificate is valid for life, though BIS can cancel it for violations. Jewellery is sent to a BIS-recognised Assaying and Hallmarking Centre, which tests purity and marks each piece with the BIS mark, purity grade and a six-digit HUID. Customers can verify the HUID on the BIS Care app.

Mandatory hallmarking applies in 373 districts with hallmarking centres, following the July 2025 amendment. Exemptions include jewellers with turnover up to ₹40 lakh, kundan, polki and jadau jewellery, gold watches and fountain pens, articles under 2 grams and certain exhibition items. Silver HUID hallmarking became available on a voluntary basis from 1 September 2025.

Tax, cash and AML rules

Gold, silver and jewellery attract 3% GST on the value of supply, including making charges billed by the jeweller. Job work done by karigars for the jeweller is taxed under its own job work entry. Old gold exchanged by customers needs careful invoicing so tax is computed correctly. Invoices should state purity, weight and HUID for hallmarked items.

Income-tax law bars receiving ₹2 lakh or more in cash from a person for a single transaction or occasion, and collecting PAN for high-value sales is required by the rules. Dealers in precious metals and stones were notified as reporting entities under anti-money laundering law in 2020 for cash transactions of ₹10 lakh or more, with KYC and reporting duties.

Ongoing compliance

Maintain stock registers by weight and purity, reconcile hallmarking records with sales, and keep HUID details for each piece sold. Get weighing scales re-verified by the Legal Metrology department on schedule. Display hallmarking information and price breakup on invoices, showing metal value, making charges and taxes separately.

File GST returns, maintain cash transaction records and complete income-tax filings on time. Showrooms should also review insurance and security arrangements, which banks and gold loan lenders often require.

Pitfalls for jewellers

BIS conducts market surveillance and buyers increasingly check HUIDs on the BIS Care app, so mismatched or missing hallmarks quickly lead to complaints and enforcement action.

• Selling non-hallmarked gold jewellery in a notified district above the turnover limit.
• Accepting large cash payments in breach of income-tax limits.
• Using unverified weighing scales.
• Issuing invoices without separate making charges and HUID details.

Step by step

1. 1Set up the entity

   Choose the structure and open a current account.

2. 2Register with BIS

   Apply online for free lifetime jeweller registration.

3. 3Register for GST

   Obtain GSTIN and configure 3% billing with making charges.

4. 4Local licences

   Shop and establishment, trade licence and scale verification.

5. 5Tie up with a hallmarking centre

   Arrange testing and HUID marking for stock.

6. 6Set KYC processes

   PAN collection, cash limits and AML record-keeping.

7. 7Protect the brand

   File trademarks for your showroom and collections.