If you sell a physical product in India — through retail, modern trade, or e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart — you'll eventually be asked for a barcode that starts with a GS1-issued number. This guide walks through registration itself, without the detours.
Who needs to register
Any business that manufactures, packages, or private-labels a product intended for retail sale generally needs its own GS1 company prefix — you can't reuse another company's barcode range, even if a supplier already has one. This applies whether you sell through physical stores, your own website, or third-party marketplaces.
What you'll need before you start
- Business registration proof (GST certificate, incorporation certificate, or partnership deed)
- PAN of the business entity
- A list of the products you intend to barcode (rough count is fine at this stage)
- Your most recent annual turnover figure — this determines your fee slab
The registration process
Apply to GS1 India
Submit your business and turnover details along with the required documents through GS1 India's registration process.
Pay the applicable fee
Fees are tiered by turnover and number of barcodes required — see the table below for current slabs.
Receive your company prefix
GS1 India issues a unique prefix tied to your business — this is the root of every barcode you'll generate.
Generate your GTINs
Combine your prefix with a product reference number to create a distinct GTIN for each product variant (size, flavor, or SKU counts as a separate variant).
Produce and print barcodes
Convert each GTIN into a scannable barcode image and place it on packaging, meeting minimum size and contrast requirements for reliable scanning.
Typical fee ranges
Exact fees change periodically — always confirm current numbers directly with GS1 India before budgeting. As a general shape, expect registration fees to scale with turnover and renewal fees to recur annually:
| Business turnover | Relative fee tier | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Small / early-stage | Lowest tier | Annual |
| Mid-size | Mid tier | Annual |
| Large enterprise | Highest tier | Annual |
After you're registered
Once your GTINs are live, your product can be listed, scanned, and tracked using a globally recognized identity. That solves discoverability and compliance — it doesn't, on its own, stop someone from copying that barcode onto a counterfeit product.
A GTIN proves what a product is. It can't yet prove it's genuine.
Ratifye layers authentication and traceability on top of your GS1 barcode — every scan verified in under 80ms, live in two weeks, no new hardware.
Claim your GS1 Subscriber offer →