Barcodes for a retail shop: what they mean, where to get them and which scanner to buy

Barcodes in a shop: the short answer

Most packaged goods in India already carry an EAN-13 barcode from the brand. Your shop only needs to scan it and link it to the item in your billing software. You do not need to register with anyone for that.

You need your own GS1 India barcodes only if you make or pack products under your own brand that will be sold in other shops. For loose items and things you pack in-store, use your own internal codes, which need no registration.

How an EAN-13 barcode works

EAN-13 is the 13-digit barcode on almost every packet in a kirana. It has three parts:

• GS1 company prefix: the first digits, issued by a GS1 office to the brand owner. Codes issued in India start with 890.
• Item reference: the brand's own number for that product and pack size.
• Check digit: the last digit, calculated from the other 12. If one bar is misread, the check fails and the scanner refuses the read instead of billing the wrong item.

The 890 prefix tells you where the brand got its number, not where the product was made. Every size and variant has its own code: a 500 g and a 1 kg pack of the same atta have different barcodes.

Imported goods may carry a 12-digit UPC-A code. Most scanners read it as 13 digits with a leading 0. Make sure your item list stores it the same way the scanner sends it.

Getting your own barcodes from GS1 India

If you pack your own brand, such as ghee or spices packed under your own name, and want to sell it in supermarkets, you need real GS1 numbers. Large retailers and online marketplaces usually ask for them. As of October 2026, the GS1 India process is:

1. Who applies: only the brand owner, or an entity the brand owner authorises.
2. Documents: PAN of the company or proprietor; GST certificate (plus partnership deed or company registration documents where relevant); a request letter on letterhead; a cancelled cheque; turnover proof from the latest balance sheet (not needed for a new company).
3. Choose how many numbers: 100, 1,000, 10,000 or 1,00,000. Count every product, size and variant you sell now and plan to sell. You cannot change the quantity later; you would register again.
4. Fees: worked out with GS1 India's fee calculator from your annual turnover, the number of codes and the years of subscription. The total has a registration fee, subscription fees, a refundable security deposit and taxes.
5. Time: GS1 India says processing usually takes 7–10 working days after the form, documents and payment are in.

Apply directly on the GS1 India registration page. GS1 India states it does not appoint agents for barcode allocation. Renew your subscription before it expires to keep using the numbers. Do not buy "cheap barcodes" from resellers; big retailers check numbers against the GS1 database.

In-store codes for loose items

Loose rice, dal, vegetables, cut fruit, sweets by weight and your own small packs do not need GS1 numbers if they are sold only in your shop. GS1 sets aside numbers starting with 02 and 20 to 29 as "restricted circulation numbers" for in-store and internal use. These are not GTINs and are not unique across the world, so they must never leave your shop on a product sold elsewhere.

Simple rules for internal codes:

• Start them with 2, so they can never clash with a brand's 890 barcode.
• Keep a list of which code belongs to which item, inside your billing software.
• For items with no barcode at all, short item codes such as 101 for tomato and 102 for onion are fine; cashiers type them.
• Never reuse a code for a different item while old labels may still be on shelves.

Weighing-scale barcodes that carry weight or price

A label-printing scale weighs the item and prints a barcode that holds both the item and its weight or price. At the counter, one scan bills 1.250 kg of tomatoes correctly. The usual layout is 13 digits:

So 21 00102 01250 + check digit means "tomato, 1.250 kg". A shop might use 21 for labels carrying weight and 22 for labels carrying price. Some formats also add a price check digit, as GS1 describes for variable measure items in some countries.

There is no single Indian national format for these. GS1's own list shows the India prefixes in this range as not yet assigned. So it is your choice, and the only rule is that the scale and the billing software must use the same layout: same prefix, same number of digits for the item code, and the same meaning (weight or price) for the next five digits. Set this up and test five labels before the first day of use.

Price labels are simpler when the scale and software prices differ. Weight labels are better for stock, because the software applies its own current rate. Pick one and keep it.

Choosing a barcode scanner

Prices are rough, as of October 2026, and vary by brand and dealer. Today a 2D scanner costs little more than a 1D one and reads damaged labels better, so it is usually the better buy. Most scanners plug in by USB and act like a keyboard: they type the digits and press Enter. No special driver is needed. For Android billing, a Bluetooth scanner pairs like a keyboard.

Pharmacies should choose 2D. Many medicines carry 2D codes with batch and expiry.

Label printers: TSPL and ZPL, briefly

For your own in-store barcodes, a desktop label printer prints barcodes on sticker rolls. Common sticker sizes in Indian shops are 38 × 25 mm and 50 × 25 mm. Two points matter:

• Printer language: most label printers use TSPL (TSC and many low-cost brands) or ZPL (Zebra and compatibles). Your label design software must speak the same language, or use a Windows driver.
• Direct thermal or ribbon: direct thermal labels need no ribbon but fade in heat and light, like bills. For labels that must last months, such as shelf labels or products in a warm godown, use thermal transfer with a ribbon.

A billing receipt printer is not a label printer. It cannot handle sticker gaps reliably.

For receipt printers, see 58 mm vs 80 mm thermal printers.

Common barcode problems and fixes

A fair rule for duplicates: one barcode must point to one item, but one item may have many barcodes.

Clean barcodes also make stock counts quicker. See stock taking in a retail shop.

Doing this in Cartix Prime

At the counter in Cartix Prime, you scan a barcode, type the item code or type the first letters of the name. You can import items with their barcodes from Excel. Weighing scales are on the Silver plan, so loose items can be billed by weight or by amount, such as "₹50 of sugar". The bill number can also print on the bill as a barcode. See billing software for supermarkets.