How to Verify a GI Product in India: Register, Users and Logo

Short answer: To verify a GI product in India, follow four steps:

1. Open the GI's official record on the GI Registry's public search.
2. Check that the GI is registered and still valid, and read who the registered proprietor is.
3. Confirm that the seller is a registered authorised user, or bought the goods from one.
4. Read the GI logo and number on the pack against the official rules.

All four checks tell you a claim is allowed. None of them tells you that this pack came from the GI area. For that, ask for batch records and a lab report that names the lot.

IP India's register list published on 2 May 2026 runs to 822 entries. By our count, 311 of them are Indian agricultural or food GIs (IP India Part A register list, checked 14 October 2026). This guide explains how to check any one of them.

If you already know the basics, our shorter GI checklist covers the same four steps in brief. This guide goes further: the register list, the GI number, renewals, authorised-user entries and the logo rules.

What a GI tag does and doesn't guarantee

A geographical indication identifies goods as coming from a defined territory, where a quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially due to that origin. The law behind it is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

What registration does:

• It gives authorised users the exclusive right to use the GI on the goods it covers. It also gives the registered proprietor and authorised users the right to sue for infringement (section 21).
• It makes it infringement for anyone who is not an authorised user to use the GI in a way that misleads people about where the goods come from (section 22).
• It makes falsely applying a GI to goods an offence (section 39). The penalty is imprisonment of six months to three years and a fine of ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh, unless the person proves they acted without intent to defraud. The court may go below these minimums for "adequate and special reasons". The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 inserted sections 37A and 37B, amended sections 42 and 87 and omitted sections 43 and 44 of the GI Act. It did not change section 39.
• It lasts ten years and can be renewed. An authorised user's registration lasts ten years or until the GI's own registration expires, whichever comes first (section 18).

What it doesn't do:

• It doesn't test or inspect products. The register records a name, an area, a proprietor and a specification. It does not follow consignments.
• It doesn't vouch for the logo. The government's draft logo guidelines say the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) "shall at no time be responsible for the authenticity or quality of the goods" on which the GI logo is used (DPIIT draft guidelines, Oct 2025, §3).
• It doesn't cover similar goods from next door. A crop grown just outside the registered area cannot use the GI, even if it is the same variety.

Step 1: Find the official record

Each GI has a public record page at https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublicSearch/Application/Details/<application number>. For example, application 129 is Byadagi Chilli.

To find the application number, look the GI up in IP India's Part A register list (a PDF that lists every registered GI with its application number, goods category and state), or in our index of food and agriculture GIs, which links each GI to its official record.

Don't mix up the three numbers

A GI has three different numbers, and press releases and labels often confuse them.

Source: official record for application 741 (certificate 575 dated 30 March 2024), checked 14 and 15 October 2026. The serial-number match is our own comparison of the record pages with the Part A list.

The draft logo guidelines suggest printing the registration number on packs as "GI Reg. No. XXX-IN/YYYY", where XXX is the serial number and YYYY the year of registration. Their example is "GI Reg. No. 019-IN/2005" for Kullu Shawl (DPIIT draft guidelines, §1.2.3). If a pack shows a number in this form, look up that serial in the Part A list and check that the name matches the product.

Step 2: Read status, validity, proprietor and area

On the record page, check these fields:

• Status. It should say Registered. "Applied for", "GI pending" or a journal advertisement is not a registration.
• Registration Valid Upto. The GI must be valid on the date you check. For example, the record for Byadagi Chilli shows validity to 31 July 2028, and Coorg Arabica Coffee to 31 December 2027.
• Applicant name. This is the registered proprietor, usually a commodity board, state department, cooperative or producer body. For example, the Spices Board for Byadagi Chilli and the Coffee Board for Coorg Arabica Coffee. The proprietor is who to contact about misuse.
• Geographical area and the filed documents. The area field is often just the state. The real boundary, the method of production and the quality characteristics are in the filed documents listed on the record: the Statement of Case and the Journal Copy. Read these if the product's claim depends on a specific district, altitude or process.
• Certificate number. Some recently registered GIs show a blank certificate-number field. In our check of 311 food and agriculture records, 42 had a blank field on 14 October 2026. Some of these still list a "Certificate of Registration" in their documents. For example, Uttarakhand Badri Cow Ghee lists one dated 5 November 2025. Check the document list before you conclude anything.

The official sources sometimes disagree with each other. For example, the Part A list puts Chikki of Lonavala under Rajasthan, while its record says Maharashtra. When a detail matters, go by the record page and the filed documents.

Step 3: Match the seller to an authorised user

Under section 17 of the Act, a producer of the goods applies to the Registrar to become an authorised user. Each record page ends with an Authorized User Details table listing the number, name, address and status of each authorised user. IP India also publishes a consolidated Part B register list (last list "as on May 15, 2025").

To check a seller:

1. Ask for their authorised-user number. Find it in the table and confirm the name and address match the business you are buying from.
2. Read the status column carefully. On 14 October 2026, about half the authorised-user entries across the 311 food and agriculture records we checked showed "Registered" (18,360 of 35,602). Almost all the rest had a blank status, and one said "Pre Examination". A blank doesn't prove a problem, but only "Registered" is a clear answer. If it is blank, ask the seller for their AU certificate and its date.
3. Check the term. An authorised user's registration ends after ten years, or when the GI itself expires if that is sooner (section 18(2)).
4. If the seller is a trader or brand, not a producer, ask whose goods these are. The draft guidelines (§1.1) allow dealers, packagers and intermediaries to use the GI name if they have the assent of an authorised user or buy the goods directly or indirectly from one. In practice, that means purchase invoices that trace back to a named authorised user.

Large GIs can have thousands of entries. For example, the Basmati record, held by APEDA, listed 2,830 authorised-user entries on 14 October 2026 (record 145), so the authorised-user number is the fastest way in.

Step 4: Read the GI logo and name rules

India's GI logo is a "GI" monogram on a saffron, white and green tag with the tagline Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India (अतुल्य भारत की अमूल्य निधि). The rules for using it are still in draft. As of October 2026, IP India lists the October 2025 document as "Draft Guidelines for permitting the use of Geographical Indication (GI) Logo and Tagline" (guidelines page).

Under that draft:

• Only registered Indian GIs. The logo must not be used on goods that aren't registered GIs, or on foreign GIs.
• No logo on processed products. A juice, pickle or blend made from a GI raw material may mention the GI name if the GI product is its primary raw material. It must not carry the GI logo (§1.1.2.1, §1.2.4).
• No "style" or "type" claims. Words like "style", "type", "method", "kind" or "inspired by" next to a GI name are treated as misuse. So are translations and near-misspellings meant to evoke the GI (§1.1.2.2).
• The rules cover more than packs. They also apply to listings, meta tags, ads, social posts, invoices and certificates of origin (§1.1.2).
• Size. The minimum size in print or digital use is 15 mm and 42.5 px (§1.2.1.1).

A logo on a pack is a claim, not proof. Anyone can print it. Use it as a prompt to run steps 1–3.

What still isn't proven after all four checks

Passing these checks tells you that:

• the GI exists and is valid;
• the seller is entitled to use the name, or says they bought from someone who is;
• the label follows the rules.

These checks can't tell you:

• whether this lot came from the GI area, rather than being mixed with produce from outside it;
• whether this lot meets the specification in the GI's statement of case;
• whether this lot is safe and unadulterated. For spices, the Byadgi chilli, Erode turmeric and Kashmir saffron guides list the specific lab tests buyers ask for, and the Coorg Arabica Coffee guide covers coffee lots.

For those questions, ask for batch-level evidence:

• a lot number on the pack;
• the authorised user and farm or village it came from, with dates and quantities;
• every change of hands, with invoices;
• a lab report that names the same lot number.

Where a trace page fits, and where it doesn't

A seller can put that batch evidence behind a QR code on the pack: the authorised-user certificate, purchase invoices, harvest and processing records, and the lab report for the lot. IndiTrace is one tool for this.

• What it does: it records the evidence the seller provides, and each confirmed record is fingerprinted on a public blockchain. That shows the record hasn't been edited since it was confirmed.
• What it doesn't do: it doesn't show the record was true when it was entered. IndiTrace does not issue, certify or check GIs or authorised-user status, is not connected to the GI Registry, and does not test products.

Always check the GI and the authorised user on IP India yourself. A trace page should link to the official record, not replace it.

Questions

Q: How many GI tags does India have in 2026? IP India's register list published on 2 May 2026 runs to 822 entries. These include 40 foreign GIs registered in India, and Darjeeling Tea's word and logo registrations share one row. By the list's own categories, 254 are agricultural and 63 food stuff. Our count of Indian food and agriculture GIs is 311.

Q: Is the "GI No." the same as the application number? No. The record URL uses the application number. The certificate number is different, and in the May 2026 list it usually equals the list's serial number. For example, Lakadong Turmeric is application 741 and certificate 575.

Q: Can a brand that isn't an authorised user sell a GI product? Under the October 2025 draft guidelines, dealers, packagers and intermediaries may use the GI name if they have an authorised user's assent or buy the goods from one. Ask for invoices that trace to a named authorised user.

Q: Can a GI masala or juice carry the GI logo? Not under the draft guidelines. A processed product may mention the GI name when the GI good is its primary raw material, but the logo is reserved for the registered GI goods themselves.

Q: Does a GI tag mean the product was tested? No. The register does not test products. Ask for a lab report that names the lot number on the pack.

Sources

Checked 14 October 2026; key sources re-checked 15 October 2026.

1. IP India, Part A register: list of registered GIs of India (published 02/05/2026). Page · PDF
2. IP India, state-wise registered GIs (as on 31 December 2025). PDF
3. IP India, Part B register: registered authorised users (as on 15 May 2025). Page
4. GI Registry public search, application records 129, 145, 604, 741, 948
5. Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, ss. 17, 18, 21, 22, 39. PDF
6. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, Schedule entry 31 (GI Act). PDF
7. DPIIT, Draft Guidelines for the Use of Geographical Indications and Geographical Indications Logo (October 2025). PDF · listing
8. IP India, GI classification of goods. Page