Section 37 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 37 is the opening section of Chapter VIII, "Offences, Penalties and Procedure". It does not create an offence itself. It defines when a person is deemed to apply a geographical indication to goods, in five ways, and then says an indication is applied even if it is woven, impressed or affixed. The offence sections that follow rely on these meanings. If you label, pack or advertise goods with a place name, a legal consultation can help you check whether your practice falls within section 37.
A person is deemed to apply a geographical indication to goods if he (a) applies it to the goods themselves; (b) applies it to a package in or with which goods are sold, exposed for sale or kept for trade or manufacture; (c) places, encloses or annexes goods in or with a package or other thing to which an indication has been applied; (d) uses it in any manner reasonably likely to lead to the belief that the goods are designated by it; or (e) uses it in a sign, advertisement, invoice, catalogue, business letter, business paper, price list or other commercial document and goods are delivered in pursuance of a request or order made by reference to it. It is applied whether woven in, impressed on, worked into, annexed or affixed to the goods, package or other thing.
Why the definition matters
The word "apply" is used in the false-indication offences in the sections that follow, and section 37 gives it a wide meaning. The offence provisions are explained in their own articles, starting with Section 38. This article is about meaning only. It does not say that applying an indication is wrong in itself: a genuine producer applies the indication to genuine goods every day. It is the false or unauthorised application that later sections address.
Sub-section (1): the five ways of applying
"A person shall be deemed to apply a geographical indication to goods who—"
| Clause | Conduct | Plain meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | "applies it to the goods themselves" | Marking the product |
| (b) | "applies it to any package in or with which the goods are sold, or exposed for sale, or had in possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture" | Marking the packaging, at any of those stages |
| (c) | "places, encloses or annexes any goods which are sold, or exposed for sale, or had in possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture, in or with any package or other thing to which a geographical indication has been applied" | Putting goods into already-marked packaging or with an already-marked item |
| (d) | "uses a geographical indication in any manner reasonably likely to lead to the belief that the goods in connection with which it is used are designated or described by that geographical indication" | Use that would reasonably make people think the goods carry that indication |
| (e) | "in relation to the goods uses a geographical indication in any sign, advertisement, invoice, catalogue, business letter, business paper, price list or other commercial documents and goods are delivered to a person in pursuance of a request or order made by reference to the geographical indication as so used" | Use in commercial documents, followed by delivery on an order made by reference to the indication |
Clause (a): the goods themselves
The simplest case: the indication is put on the goods. A tag, stamp or imprint on the product is within it.
Clause (b): packages
"Package" is widely defined in section 2(1)(i) to include a box, bottle, wrapper, label, band, ticket, cap and more; see Section 2. Clause (b) applies where the package is one "in or with which the goods are sold, or exposed for sale, or had in possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture". The stages are broad: actual sale, display for sale, or possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture.
Clause (c): putting goods into marked packaging
Here the person may not have marked anything himself. He is deemed to apply the indication if he places, encloses or annexes goods, in the stages described, in or with a package or other thing to which an indication has already been applied. A packer who fills ready-marked boxes is therefore within the clause.
Clause (d): reasonable likelihood of belief
Clause (d) is a general net. The test is objective: use "in any manner reasonably likely to lead to the belief" that the goods are designated or described by the indication. Actual belief by a buyer is not the test; reasonable likelihood is.
Clause (e): commercial documents followed by delivery
Clause (e) has two conditions: use in a listed document, and delivery of goods "in pursuance of a request or order made by reference to the geographical indication as so used". So mere use of the indication in a price list is not enough on this clause alone; goods must have been delivered following an order made by reference to the indication as used.
Example. A trader prints a catalogue offering "Hilltop weave" shawls and sends out machine-made shawls to a customer who ordered "Hilltop weave" from the catalogue. Clause (e) treats him as having applied the indication to those goods, because the goods were delivered on an order made by reference to the indication as used in the catalogue. By contrast, a trader who sticks "Hilltop weave" on the shawl itself is within clause (a) without any need for an order.
Sub-section (2): how the indication is physically applied
"A geographical indication shall be deemed to be applied to goods whether it is woven in, impressed on, or otherwise worked into, or annexed or affixed to, the goods or to any package or other thing."
| Method | Text |
|---|---|
| Woven in | Part of the fabric |
| Impressed on | Pressed or stamped |
| Otherwise worked into | Any other incorporation |
| Annexed or affixed | Attached, for example by tag or sticker |
| Where | The goods, or any package or other thing |
So the physical form of application does not matter, and the indication is applied whether it is on the goods or on a package or "other thing".
Using section 37 in practice
- Check your whole chain. Section 37 reaches goods, packages, invoices, catalogues and advertisements, not just labels.
- Packers and dealers count too. Clause (c) reaches someone who places goods in a marked package even if he did not mark it.
- Genuine use is not the target. Authorised users apply the indication lawfully; whether an application is an offence depends on the offence sections. See infringement of geographical indication: penalties.
The section creates no offence or penalty and states no fee or form. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 inserts sections 37A and 37B after it, but neither amending Act, on the texts we read, changes section 37 itself.
Need help reviewing your labels and documents?
If you use a place name on packs, invoices or advertisements, it is worth checking how section 37 reads your practice. Our team can review it in a legal consultation.
Key takeaways
- Section 37 defines when a person is deemed to apply a geographical indication to goods; it creates no offence itself.
- Five ways: on the goods, on a package, placing goods in a marked package, use reasonably likely to lead to belief, and use in commercial documents followed by delivery on an order.
- The indication is applied whether woven in, impressed on, worked into, annexed or affixed to the goods or any package or other thing.
- The offence sections that follow use these meanings.
Read next
- Section 38: falsifying and falsely applying geographical indications
- Section 39: penalty for applying false geographical indications
- Section 22: infringement of registered geographical indications
- Infringement of geographical indication: penalties
Disclaimer: Based on the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 read with the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the rules made under the Act. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.