Amazon Transparency for Indian Brands: Unit-Level Codes, Enrolment Steps and What Is Not Confirmed

Amazon Transparency is a product serialisation service: each unit of your product carries a unique code that Amazon checks, so counterfeit units do not reach customers. In India, Amazon states that it accepts only Amazon-issued codes, and enrolment needs Brand Registry as rights owner, an active registered trademark and a GTIN for each product. Enrolment and subscription fees do not apply, but you pay for the codes. This guide is current as of 9 November 2026.

What is Amazon Transparency?

Amazon describes Transparency as a service that gives a unique code to every unit you manufacture; codes are printed as a small square barcode on packaging and verified when an order is placed. Amazon's own wording elsewhere calls it "a product serialization service and anti-counterfeiting program". Trade press reported that Amazon announced on 10 July 2019 that Transparency would expand to India; the report gives no India go-live date. Amazon's India Project Zero announcement lists serialisation as one of three parts of Project Zero.

Amazon says more than 2.7 billion product units have been verified as genuine through its transparency programme globally, as reported in August 2026. That is a global figure, not India alone.

Who is eligible in India?

From Amazon's India Transparency page:

1. A Brand Registry account tied to your trademark, with the rights owner role.
2. An active registered trademark.
3. A GTIN for each product you want to enrol.
4. The ability to add codes to every unit you make, wherever those units are sold.

If you do not have Brand Registry yet, see Amazon Brand Registry India. A GTIN is the barcode number on the product; our glossary has a short note on GTIN. The fourth point matters: codes are applied at manufacture, so an importer or reseller who does not control production usually cannot do it alone. Check with your manufacturer first.

What does "India accepts only Amazon-issued codes" mean?

Elsewhere you can connect your own serial numbers. In India you cannot. Amazon's page says: "At this time, India only accepts Amazon-issued codes". So you order codes from Amazon through the Transparency portal or API, download them, and apply them to your units. Each code is unique, alphanumeric and non-sequential. If you already have serialisation from an ERP or a track-and-trace system, that will not connect in India, at least as of this page.

How do you enrol, step by step?

Amazon lists these steps:

1. Enrol: log in to the Transparency portal with your Brand Registry credentials, then enrol your brand and products.
2. Choose how to apply codes: labels, or design them into packaging.
3. Add codes to units: download codes and apply them in-house, through a service provider, or print them into packaging.
4. Pass the operational performance review: protections are not active until the product passes it with 98% accuracy. For self-fulfilled orders, email your Transparency contact to start it; for FBA, start it in the portal.
5. Maintain protections: after the review every unit needs a code, and a code is needed each time you create a new offer. Amazon investigates units that fail checks.

What does Transparency cost?

Amazon's India page says enrolment and subscription fees do not apply, there are no order minimums or per-order limits, and adding or removing products costs nothing. Amazon charges for Amazon-issued codes, with volume discounts.

Amazon's global page gives a per-code price in US dollars, starting at $0.05 for the first million codes, with lower tiers at higher volume. We could not confirm the rupee price for India. Ask your Transparency contact or check the portal before budgeting. For example, if codes cost the same in rupees as the US dollar figure suggests, 10,000 units would still need label printing and application on top, and those costs are yours. That is an illustration of the cost structure, not a price quote.

How is it different from Project Zero?

Project Zero removes counterfeit listings and uses automated protections; serialisation is an optional extra for it. Project Zero's self-service tool is free for enrolled brands, while Transparency codes are paid. Transparency does not need an invitation on the page we read, while Project Zero is invite-only. Compare them in Amazon Project Zero India.

What should you prepare before you enrol?

A short checklist so the review goes smoothly:

• Product list with a GTIN for every variant you want to protect. A missing or wrong GTIN stops enrolment for that product.
• A decision on method: separate labels on each pack, or codes designed into the packaging artwork. Labels are easier to start; packaging is cleaner at volume.
• A named person at the factory or packing unit who is responsible for applying the right code to the right unit, and a way to stop a pack with no code leaving the line.
• A plan for returns and relabelling. Amazon says a code is required each time a new offer is created, so stock without codes cannot simply be listed.
• A test batch first. Because protections only start after the 98% review, run a small batch through the review before you code a whole production run.

Keep records of which code range went to which batch. If Amazon flags a unit, you will need to trace it to a factory run quickly.

Is Transparency worth it for your brand?

Consider it if your product is often copied, sells at a price that makes fakes profitable, or has safety or quality risk (cosmetics, baby products, supplements). Skip it for now if you cannot control production labelling or if volume is very small, because the label work may cost more than the problem. This is a judgement call, not an Amazon rule.

What happens when a unit fails the check?

Amazon says that after the review, every unit needs a code, and units that fail checks are investigated; you can review performance in the portal. The global page adds that Amazon notifies the brand when a unit without a valid code fails the check. In practice, a failed unit can mean an unauthorised seller, a labelling error at your factory, or a real counterfeit. Look at the batch and the seller before you act.

What is not confirmed?

• The rupee price per code in India.
• Whether customers in India can verify codes with the Amazon Shopping app. Amazon's global page says app scanning is available for Amazon-issued codes, and does not mention India separately.
• How long the operational performance review takes.

FAQ

Can I use my own serial numbers for Transparency in India? No. Amazon's India page says India only accepts Amazon-issued codes at this time, so you cannot connect existing serial codes.

Is there a fee to enrol in Amazon Transparency India? No enrolment or subscription fee. You pay for Amazon-issued codes, with volume discounts. There are no order minimums, and adding or removing products is free.

What do I need before I enrol? Brand Registry with the rights owner role, an active registered trademark and a GTIN for each product. You also need to be able to put a code on every unit wherever it is sold.

What is the 98% review? Protections are not active until a product passes Amazon's operational performance review with 98% accuracy, according to the India page. For FBA you start it in the portal; for self-fulfilled orders you email your Transparency contact.

Do I need Transparency to join Project Zero? No. Serialisation is optional for Project Zero, though Amazon says that combining the two gives the best results.

Does Transparency work on Flipkart or other marketplaces? No. It is Amazon's programme. The code is printed on your packaging, so it stays on the unit wherever it is sold, but Amazon's checks apply to Amazon.

Next step

Fix your Brand Registry, GTINs and trademark first, then ask your manufacturer whether it can apply unit codes. If you want help preparing the catalogue side, Blooprint's Amazon account management team can work with you, and Amazon seller fees in India covers the other costs to budget for.