Visakhapatnam · Family-run and mid-size jewellers
Vizag jewellers: PMLA Reporting Entity registration, 269ST cash rules, BIS hallmarking — under one engagement.
HRA is based in Visakhapatnam. Most Vizag family jewellers run cash-dominant businesses that are technically PMLA Reporting Entities — but have never registered with FIU-IND, have no Principal Officer on record, and have not mapped the connected-cash aggregation rule. We cover all four compliance tracks from one engagement.
Our home market
Visakhapatnam jewellery clusters
Vizag’s jewellery trade is concentrated around Dwaraka Nagar, Jagadamba Junction, Main Road and Gajuwaka — a mix of multi-generational family stores, branded chains and wholesale-to-retail operations. Turnover in this cluster ranges from ₹2 crore to ₹150 crore, with wedding-season cash volumes that regularly cross PMLA thresholds.
HRA is physically based in Visakhapatnam. For a stock audit, a walk-through of PMLA controls, or a meeting before an AP SGST audit, we are a local call — not a remote firm extending into the city.
AP SGST jurisdiction
GST for AP-registered jewellers is administered by the AP State GST officer. AP SGST audits are increasingly targeting the Rule 32(5) old-gold margin scheme — documentation must be airtight.
Vizag BIS hallmarking centre
A NABL-accredited Assaying and Hallmarking Centre operates in Visakhapatnam. Old-hallmark stock without HUID must be re-hallmarked here before it can be sold in a mandatory-district new sale.
Local CA, not a remote extension
A Hyderabad or Chennai firm serving Vizag adds travel cost and lag to every site visit. Physical presence here is not a marketing claim — it changes the economics of stock audits and regulatory engagement.
The compliance framework
Four tracks, each with its own regulator.
A Vizag jeweller's compliance exposure spans income-tax, PMLA, BIS product-control and GST simultaneously. Each track answers to a different authority and operates on its own timeline.
PMLA Reporting Entity
Most Vizag showrooms doing meaningful wedding-season cash volumes are already within the PMLA framework. The gazette notification S.O. 4713(E) brought dealers in precious metals and precious stones into scope; unregistered operation is not a grey area.
FIU-IND registration · Principal Officer · CTR ₹10L · STR
s.269ST cash discipline
Three independent limbs — one day, one transaction, one event or occasion — each tested separately. A Vizag showroom accepting ₹2L or more across any single limb from one payer faces a 100% penalty under s.271DA on the amount received.
₹2L aggregate threshold · 100% penalty exposure · wedding-occasion limb
BIS hallmarking + HUID
Visakhapatnam is a mandatory hallmarking district. Every article sold must carry a six-digit HUID from 1 April 2023. Old hallmarked stock without HUID cannot move as a new sale in a mandatory district without re-hallmarking.
Six-digit HUID · G.S.R. 415(E)/427(E)/634(E) · registered-jeweller controls
GST — AP SGST
Gold attracts 3% GST; making charges attract 5%. The margin scheme under Rule 32(5) for old-gold purchases has conditions that AP SGST audits are testing with increasing frequency. e-Invoice thresholds and buyer-side TDS under s.194Q compound the position.
3% retail · 5% job work · Rule 32(5) margin · AP SGST officer jurisdiction
The Vizag reality
What the local picture looks like.
PMLA exposure every wedding season
A Vizag showroom doing ₹10 crore per year in cash receipts is almost certainly crossing the PMLA CTR trigger every month it has a cluster of wedding purchases. The aggregation rule catches linked transactions within the month — not just single large receipts.
PML Rule 3(1)(A)Old-hallmark stock risk
The BIS hallmarking transition caught many Vizag jewellers with unmapped old-hallmark stock — items with the old BIS mark but no six-digit HUID. A mandatory-district showroom cannot make a new retail sale of that stock without re-hallmarking.
BIS Mandatory Hallmarking OrdersAP SGST margin-scheme scrutiny
AP SGST audits are increasingly targeting the Rule 32(5) margin scheme for purchases of old gold from unregistered sellers. The documentation standard for proving eligible resale-as-such is higher than most Vizag showrooms maintain in practice.
CGST Rules, Rule 32(5)269ST wedding-occasion limb
Even with invoices spread across five days, a single buyer's wedding purchases aggregate under section 269ST(c) — the occasion limb. Changing dates, counters or invoice numbers does not divide one wedding into unrelated events.
Income-tax Act, section 269ST(c)Our engagement
Six tracks, one recurring rhythm.
Full-track detail at /services/jeweller-compliance. Here is what the engagement covers for a Vizag showroom.
Monthly PMLA reporting rhythm
Principal Officer governance, customer-risk review, connected-transaction aggregation for the month, CTR preparation and documented STR decisions — filed by the 15th of the succeeding month.
Monthly + event-driven
269ST daily cash-control
One-buyer-one-day dashboard that tests all three limbs. Exception log captures split invoices, event-linked receipts and cash procurement under s.40A(3).
Daily
GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B reconciliation
Retail invoices, job-work credits, old-gold margin cases and supplier credit reconciled to books before filing — under AP SGST officer jurisdiction.
Monthly
BIS quarterly audit
HUID movement review, old-stock mapping, transition-period compliance check and registered-jeweller obligations under the applicable Quality Control Order.
Quarterly
Stock and books reconciliation
Physical weight, purity, making-stage stock and branch transfers tied to books. HUID movement maintained as a management control.
Quarterly
Tax audit and annual certificate
Section 44AB reporting supported by year-end physical verification, valuation-method review, gross-margin analysis and documented stock reconciliation.
Annual
Questions from Vizag showrooms
Statute-cited answers.
Is my Vizag showroom covered by PMLA — I thought that was for banks?
PMLA covers more than banks. S.O. 4713(E) dated 28 December 2020 brought dealers in precious metals and precious stones into the designated-business framework under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act when they engage in cash transactions of ₹10 lakh or more — whether in one operation or linked operations within a month. A Vizag jewellery showroom is a Reporting Entity if it crosses that threshold. The obligation is to register with FIU-IND, appoint a Principal Officer, establish customer due diligence and recordkeeping controls, and file Cash Transaction Reports and Suspicious Transaction Reports as required.
We already file GSTR with a local accountant — what are we missing?
GST filing is one of four parallel compliance tracks for a jeweller. The other three — PMLA Reporting Entity registration and monthly CTR/STR obligations, the section 269ST cash-receipt discipline and the BIS HUID hallmarking framework — are not addressed by GSTR filing. A showroom current on GST but unregistered under PMLA and without a daily 269ST control is carrying material penalty exposure in the untouched tracks.
Can I sell old hallmark stock without HUID in Vizag?
Visakhapatnam is a mandatory hallmarking district under the BIS Quality Control Orders. Old hallmarked jewellery without the six-digit HUID cannot be sold as new stock in a mandatory district after the transition period without being re-hallmarked at a BIS-registered Assaying and Hallmarking Centre. The transition window BIS provided for old-hallmark stock has closed for most categories; the current BIS jeweller guidance should be checked for the specific article type and category before making a new sale.
What is the CTR threshold — is it ₹10L per bill or per month?
Neither, precisely. Rule 3(1)(A) of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules requires a Cash Transaction Report for cash transactions of ₹10 lakh or more with a customer — whether that occurs in a single operation or in several operations that appear linked within a month whose monthly aggregate crosses ₹10 lakh. The test is per customer (and related parties), per period, not per invoice. A series of individually smaller receipts that appear integrally connected to the same customer or occasion must be aggregated before the CTR decision is made.
Do we need to come to your office in Vizag?
No. Onboarding is digital and document collection is WhatsApp-first — the same workflow we use for clients across India. Because HRA is physically based in Visakhapatnam, a site visit for a stock audit, a walk-through of your PMLA controls, or a meeting ahead of an AP SGST audit is feasible without the travel cost that a Hyderabad or Chennai firm would charge. Most clients never need an in-person meeting; some prefer the option of one.
Book a diagnostic
Start with a 30-minute compliance diagnostic.
We map your current exposure across PMLA, 269ST, BIS and GST before proposing any engagement. No retainer until you have a clear picture of what is open.