Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit in India: What It Does and How Brands Report and Escalate Fakes

Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) is a global team Amazon launched in 2020 to investigate counterfeiters with brands and law enforcement. In April 2026 Amazon said it was increasing operational focus and investigative support for the CCU in India. In an interview published on 21 August 2026, CCU Director Kebharu Smith said Amazon has ongoing investigations with the CBI in India. Brands do not file with the CCU directly as far as Amazon has published; they report through Brand Registry.

What is the Counterfeit Crimes Unit?

The CCU is not a customer-facing support desk. Amazon describes it as a team that works with brands and law enforcement to investigate counterfeiters and take action against them, and says its focus is the wider production and distribution network, not only single listings.

The 21 August 2026 interview gives global figures, not India figures. Amazon says the CCU has pursued more than 32,000 bad actors through civil litigation and criminal referrals, and that its legal actions have led to more than $300 million in court-ordered restitution. The same article says Amazon works with more than 1.7 million sellers in India.

What did Amazon announce for India in 2026?

Neither piece gives the number of Indian investigations, raids, listings removed or people charged. We could not find an Amazon India page that does. Treat any agency claim of "CCU results in India" with caution.

How do I report a counterfeit on Amazon.in?

Amazon India's seller blog names two routes for rights owners:

1. Brand Registry's Report a Violation tool. You search the catalogue for suspected infringements of your active trademarks, copyrights and patents and submit a report.
2. The Intellectual Property Infringement Form, for rights owners. Use it if you are not enrolled in Brand Registry.

The Amazon seller blog advises brand owners to search their own brand every few weeks and flag unauthorised listings. Amazon does not publish on that page how long a report takes or how it decides.

How do I join Brand Registry first?

Enrolment is free. You need a brand name or logo permanently affixed to your products or packaging and a pending or registered trademark for it, issued by a government office in a country that has an Amazon.in-linked store. If a trademark is filed but not yet registered, Amazon India says you can enrol with the application number.

Amazon India says trademark registration in India takes 6 to 18 months and lasts 10 years, renewable. Brands with no trademark can look at Amazon's IP Accelerator programme, which connects them to vetted legal providers. Our Brand Registry India guide covers enrolment step by step.

What are Project Zero and Transparency?

Both are brand programmes listed on Amazon India's Brand Registry page.

• Project Zero lets brands remove counterfeit listings themselves, without waiting for Amazon. Accurate use of Report a Violation helps a brand qualify.
• Transparency uses unique codes to authenticate individual units. Amazon says more than 2.7 billion units have been verified as genuine through it.

Amazon's page does not say whether every brand or category in India can join either programme. Check eligibility inside Brand Registry.

How do I escalate beyond a takedown?

Amazon has not published a public form to hand a case to the CCU, so do not plan around one. What a brand can do to be ready for an investigation, whichever route opens:

1. Keep a clean evidence file. Registration certificates, your own invoices and authorisation letters are the documents Amazon India tells rights owners to keep ready.
2. Do test buys and keep the order, the package, the batch codes and photos. A fake you can show is stronger than a suspicion.
3. Report in a pattern. If one seller, address or phone number appears across ASINs, group them in one note. The CCU focus on distribution networks means patterns matter more than single listings.
4. Take legal advice on a trademark or Copyright Act notice, or a police complaint. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm the route with an IP lawyer.
5. Tell your Amazon account manager or Brand Registry support that you have an active case, so the file is linked.

What should a good infringement report contain?

Amazon India's page does not publish the form's required fields, so this is practical advice, not an Amazon rule. A report is easier to act on when it is specific:

• The exact ASIN and the seller name or ID, with screenshots and the date you saw them.
• The right you are relying on: trademark registration number, copyright or patent number.
• What is wrong: counterfeit product, unauthorised use of your logo, copied images, or a different pack or batch sold as yours.
• Proof: test-buy photos, batch codes, a comparison of the genuine and fake pack, and your own invoices to show authentic supply.
• One issue per report where you can. Mixed reports are slower to read.

If a report is rejected, read the reason and resubmit with better evidence rather than filing the same text again. Keep a log of every report, its date and its outcome; the log is useful if you later need a lawyer or police to see how long the problem ran.

What does this mean for genuine sellers and resellers?

The pressure goes both ways. Resellers of genuine goods get caught when a brand reports an authorised stock-keeper or when invoices do not match. Keep purchase invoices from the brand or its distributor for each ASIN you sell. If a listing is removed for a complaint, appeal with invoices and authorisation letters, as Amazon asks rights owners and sellers to keep them ready.

Brands that are enforcing should also fix their own catalogue. A weak own listing (thin content, no stock) leaves room for others to sell under your brand. Our listing optimisation guide covers the basics, and account suspension reasons in India lists the complaint types that can hit your own account.

Counterfeits are one part of India's product-integrity pressure. Regulators are also acting on uncertified goods; see our note on BIS raids on e-commerce warehouses.

FAQ

Can a brand report a counterfeit to the Amazon CCU directly? Amazon has not published a public intake form or email for the CCU. Its public routes are Brand Registry's Report a Violation tool and the Intellectual Property Infringement Form. Use those and keep evidence ready in case the case is escalated.

Is the Counterfeit Crimes Unit new in India? No. The CCU launched globally in 2020. What is new is Amazon's April 2026 statement that it is increasing operational focus and investigative support in India, and the August 2026 interview about stronger work with local law enforcement.

Do I need a trademark to report a fake on Amazon.in? For Brand Registry you need a pending or registered trademark. Amazon India says you can enrol with an application number while registration is pending. The Intellectual Property Infringement Form is the route for rights owners not enrolled.

How many counterfeiters has Amazon pursued in India? Not published. The 32,000 figure in the August 2026 interview is global. We found no India-specific count of cases, raids or removed listings on any Amazon page.

Is Brand Registry free? Yes, Amazon India says enrolment is free. You pay only for the trademark itself, and for any legal provider you hire through the IP Accelerator programme.

What is Project Zero? A brand programme that lets approved brands remove counterfeit listings themselves. Amazon says accurate Report a Violation use helps a brand qualify. Eligibility and rollout details are inside Brand Registry.

Will a report get my competitor suspended? Do not file weak reports. Amazon expects accurate reporting; Project Zero eligibility depends on it. A wrong claim can also expose you to legal action by the seller you reported.

What should I do this week?

Check that your trademark and Brand Registry enrolment are live, search your top 20 ASINs for unknown sellers, and start the evidence file. If you want that done as a managed job, Blooprint's Amazon account management team handles Brand Registry and listing clean-up for Indian brands.