Quick Answer: Gold value = rate per gram × weight. Making charges are a percentage of that, and GST is 3% on the two combined — buying an ornament is one composite supply, so making charges do not carry a separate 5%. To reverse a bill: divide the total by 1.03, then by 1 + making%, then by the weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buying a finished ornament is a single composite supply under section 8(a) of the CGST Act, with gold as the principal supply, so 3% applies to the whole taxable value including making charges. The 5% figure is the job-work rate under SAC 9988 — what a karigar charges a jeweller. It reaches a retail bill only when you supply your own gold and pay for labour alone.
Divide the total by 1.03 to remove GST, then by 1 plus the making percentage to remove making charges, then by the weight. On a Rs 59,400 bill for 4.32 g at 14% making, that gives Rs 11,710.10 per gram. The reverse mode above does this for you.
Karat is parts of gold out of 24. 24K is pure gold at 99.9%, 22K is 91.6% and 18K is 75%. An 18K rate should therefore be about three-quarters of the 24K rate. Jewellery is rarely 24K because pure gold is too soft to hold a setting.
Usually, and they are the largest part of the bill you have any influence over. On the example above, making was Rs 7,082 on a Rs 59,400 ring. Machine-made chains carry lower making than handcrafted or stone-set pieces, where the work is real.
Wastage covers metal lost while shaping a piece. It is charged as a percentage on top of the weight, so it raises the metal cost before making charges are applied. Many jewellers now fold it into the rate instead of showing it separately — if your calculated rate is above the published rate for the day, that is usually why.
BIS hallmarking carries a small per-article charge that most jewellers pass on. It is a separate service line rather than part of the metal value, and it is minor next to making charges.