Gold Making Charges: Per-Gram vs Percentage, Made Easy

Gold making charges are the labour fee a jeweller adds on top of the gold's value. Shops bill them two ways: a fixed rupee amount per gram, or a percentage of the gold value. So before you choose a design, ask the counter one thing: is making per gram or a percentage? In our 10 g chain example below, that answer alone moves the bill by ₹10,506.

For a retail purchase, GST is 3% on the whole bill, making included. This guide is for first-time buyers in Kolkata and nearby districts, shopping for a wedding, Puja or Dhanteras. You'll learn to check any quote on a phone calculator in under a minute.

Every figure here uses the Kolkata 22K gold rate of ₹13,500 per gram, as of 17 October 2026. The bills below are worked examples built on that rate, not customer invoices.

What Are Gold Making Charges on a Jewellery Bill?

Gold making charges pay the karigar (the goldsmith) and the workshop for cutting, shaping, joining and finishing your piece. On the bill, they sit as their own line, after the gold value and before GST.

The gold value is simple maths. It's the net weight, meaning gold only, multiplied by the day's rate for that purity. 22K gold is 91.6% pure, which is why it's stamped 916, and 18K is stamped 750. Our gold purity chart shows every karat side by side.

The gold rate is the same for every shop on a given day, and GST is fixed by law. Making is different. It's the one line on the bill that each shop sets for itself, which is why it deserves your attention.

Silver jewellery uses the same two methods, only at much smaller rupee amounts. If you're comparing silver chains, our guide to men's silver chain thickness and price covers that side.

How Do Per-Gram and Percentage Making Charges Work?

Per-gram making charges stay fixed in rupees, while percentage making charges move with the gold rate. That one difference explains most of the confusion at the counter.

Per-Gram Making Charges: A Fixed Rupee Rate

A per-gram making charge is a flat rupee amount multiplied by the net weight. Take ₹600 per gram as an example figure. A 10 g chain then carries ₹6,000 in making. If gold rises next week, that ₹600 stays ₹600. You'll also hear this called flat or fixed making.

Percentage Making Charges: A Share of Gold Value

A percentage making charge is a share of the gold value, so it grows whenever gold gets dearer. At 12%, a 10 g chain with ₹1,35,000 of gold carries ₹16,200 in making. Some shops fold making and wastage into one line called VA, short for value addition.

How to Convert a Percentage Into Rupees Per Gram

To convert, multiply the making percentage by today's gold rate per gram. The rule fits on one line:

Per-gram equivalent = making % × today's gold rate

At ₹13,500, 8% works out to ₹1,080 per gram. Going the other way, ₹600 per gram is only 4.4% of the gold value (600 ÷ 13,500). Here's the conversion at the 17 October 2026 rate:

Now both quotes are in the same unit, and you can compare them directly. Our gold price calculator guide runs a full bill with the same lines.

Worked Example 1: A 10 g Chain Billed Per Gram

A plain 10 g 22K chain with ₹600 per gram making comes to ₹1,45,230 with GST. Here's how each line is built:

Look at the GST line first. It's one 3% charge on ₹1,41,000, with no separate rate for making. Then look for what's missing: there's no wastage line. If a bill you're handed shows one, ask what it covers.

The HUID code printed on the bill should also match the one laser-marked on the chain. You can compare chain weights and styles on our gold chains page.

Worked Example 2: The Same Chain Billed at 12%

The same 10 g chain with 12% making comes to ₹1,55,736, which is ₹10,506 more than Example 1.

Same weight, same purity, same chain. Only the making line changed, and it pulled the GST up with it.

Converted, 12% is ₹1,620 per gram, against ₹600 per gram in Example 1. That's how two shops can quote very different totals for identical weight. Neither quote is hidden. You just can't compare them until they're in the same unit.

Which Is Cheaper, Per-Gram or Percentage Making?

Whichever quote works out lower in rupees per gram is cheaper on the day you buy. So convert first, then compare. For a plain machine-made chain or a plain churi, ask for a per-gram quote. It's easier to check, and it doesn't climb when gold does.

Why Making Charges Rise When the Gold Rate Rises

Percentage making rises with the gold rate because it's calculated on the gold value, not on the work. Suppose gold moves from ₹13,500 to ₹14,500 a gram. That's a what-if for the maths, not a forecast.

At 12%, making on the 10 g chain then goes from ₹16,200 to ₹17,400. The karigar did no extra work, but you'd pay ₹1,200 more anyway. At ₹600 per gram, making stays ₹6,000 at either rate.

When a Percentage Quote Is Still Fair

A percentage quote is fair when its per-gram equivalent matches the extra work in the piece. Filigree, nakshi work and heavy bridal sets take far more karigar hours than a plain chain. Higher making on those is reasonable.

The warning sign is a high percentage on a plain, machine-made piece. Convert it. If the per-gram figure looks far above other quotes you've collected, say so politely at the counter.

Is GST on Gold Making Charges 3% or 5%?

GST on gold making charges is 3% for a retail jewellery purchase, charged on the full bill value including making.

That answer comes from the government, not from a shop. The GST Council's sectoral FAQ on gems and jewellery takes up this exact case. A jeweller sells a chain and shows making separately on the bill. The FAQ answers that GST is 3% of the total transaction value. Printing making on its own line doesn't change the rate.

The 5% rate belongs to a different transaction called job work. Job work means a karigar making pieces for a jeweller. According to the same FAQ, a registered job worker pays 5% GST on job charges only. That bill goes from the karigar to the shop, and you never see it. The West Bengal Commercial Taxes Directorate's GST FAQ gives the same answers for this state.

Several finance blogs that rank for this topic still tell buyers to add 3% on gold and 5% on making. On Example 2, that wrong method would add ₹324. The working: 3% of ₹1,35,000 is ₹4,050, and 5% of ₹16,200 is ₹810. Together that's ₹4,860, instead of the correct ₹4,536.

So if your retail bill splits GST into two rates, ask why. On a proper itemised tax invoice, jewellery usually appears under HSN code 7113 (articles of jewellery). Tax rules can change, so for anything unusual, check the latest notification or ask a tax adviser.

Net Weight vs Gross Weight: The Stone-Set Trap

Making charges should be worked out on net weight, the gold alone, never on gross weight with stones included. Gross weight is the whole piece on the scale. Net weight is gross weight minus stones, pearls, lac or wax filling.

On a plain chain, the two numbers match. On Bengali stone-set pieces, they don't. A pola carries a red core under its gold work. A pearl sitahar carries pearls and thread between gold sections. Crystal pieces carry stones too. If making is charged on gross weight, you pay labour rates on material that isn't gold.

Worked Example 3: A Pearl Sitahar, Net vs Gross

Charging making on gross weight instead of net weight adds ₹4,326 on this example sitahar. Take a gross weight of 30 g, with 6 g of pearls and thread, leaving 24 g of net gold. Use ₹700 per gram making as the example rate.

The difference is ₹4,326, paid for labour on pearls rather than gold. The gold value must also use net weight: 24 × ₹13,500 = ₹3,24,000. Charging the gold rate on all 30 g would add ₹81,000 for metal that isn't there.

Pearls and stones should appear on their own line at their own price. Our guide to trending pearl necklace designs in gold shows how much of these pieces is pearl. Diamonds are priced differently again, and our diamond buying guide explains how. The same separate-line rule applies to a men's gold and diamond engagement ring.

Making Charges vs Wastage vs Hallmarking Charge

Making pays for labour, wastage covers gold said to be lost during work, and hallmarking pays for purity testing. They're three separate things, and a fair bill keeps them apart.

Wastage is usually a percentage of the gold weight, added on top of it. Some shops show it as its own line, and others fold it into making or VA. A 3% wastage on 10 g adds 0.3 g, or ₹4,050 at today's rate. That's real money. Ask for making and wastage combined into one per-gram figure, then compare that number across shops.

Hallmarking is not part of making. The Bureau of Indian Standards sets the hallmarking fee at ₹45 per piece for gold jewellery, whatever the weight. So if a bill lists hallmarking separately, it should be small, and it shouldn't grow with weight. BIS also lets you check any HUID through the Verify HUID feature in its BIS Care app.

HUID stands for Hallmark Unique Identification, a code laser-marked on each piece. Since 1 April 2023, gold jewellery can't be sold without a 6-digit alphanumeric HUID. GJEPC reported the HUID mandate when it took effect. Don't buy gold jewellery without one. Our comparison of hallmark gold vs BIS gold explains the marks. For a step-by-step list, see our checklist for checking gold purity before buying.

Do Making Charges Come Back When You Exchange Gold?

No, making charges and GST are generally not returned when you exchange or sell gold jewellery. When old gold comes back, a jeweller values the net gold only, at its tested purity and that day's rate. The labour and tax you paid aren't part of that value.

At Biswakarma, if you exchange a piece more than 3 days after purchase, we don't return the making charge or GST. You can read our refund and exchange policy before you buy.

This is the long-term cost of a high making charge. In Example 2, the ₹16,200 of making and the ₹4,536 of GST stay spent. That's one more reason to keep making low on pieces you may exchange later, such as everyday chains. Our guide to gold resale value, sell vs exchange works through the full numbers.

How to Check a Gold Jewellery Bill in 60 Seconds

A fair gold bill shows purity, weights, gold rate, making, other charges and GST as separate lines. Run through these in order:

1. Purity and HUID: 22K (916) or 18K (750), with a HUID that matches the piece.

2. Weights: gross and net both printed, with stone weight deducted on stone-set pieces.

3. Gold rate: the day's rate per gram for that purity, applied to net weight.

4. Making: per gram or percentage. Convert any percentage to rupees per gram.

5. Wastage or VA: if it's there, add it into your per-gram figure.

6. GST: one line at 3% on the taxable value.

7. Total: gold, making, other charges and GST should add up on your phone calculator.

If any line is missing or vague, ask before you pay. At Biswakarma, our team shows you a full line-by-line breakdown before you pay.

See Today's Rate and Get a Full Breakdown

The quickest check is your own calculator, with today's rate open beside you. You'll find the live 22K and 18K figures on our today's gold rate page. Then message us on WhatsApp or visit the shop. Ask for a full line-by-line breakdown of any piece before you pay.