SRINAGAR: In a major crackdown on unfair trade practices threatening the very credibility of Kashmir’s world-famous handicraft and handloom industry, Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir, has blacklisted and deregistered a craft showroom – The Kashmir Art Bazaar, Tangmar – after the showroom was found guilty of selling a machine-made carpet for ₹2.55 lakh to a tourist by fraudulently passing it off as a hand-knotted Kashmiri GI-certified product.
As per the Order No. 10-HD(QC) of 2025 dated 22.07.2025, issued by Director Handicrafts and Handloom, the seller used a fake QR label resembling the official label issued by the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) to mislead the buyer into believing the carpet was a genuine GI-certified craft. “A formal criminal complaint has been ordered, and further legal proceedings have been recommended under the GI Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” a spokesman of the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir revealed.
Meanwhile, a team from the Quality Control wing of the Department has reached Konchipora, Tangmarg and completed the blacklisting process of the showroom.
The matter came to fore after a tourist, Syed Furqan Alam, complained to Director IICT, Srinagar stating therein that he had paid ₹25,000 in advance for a carpet from The Kashmir Art Bazaar, located in Konchipora, Tangmarg, with the total transaction amounting to ₹2.55 lakh. The showroom allegedly presented a certificate and QR code claiming IICT certification. “Upon verification, IICT confirmed the QR label was forged and not issued by their institution. The case was escalated to the department’s Quality Control Division, which conducted a physical inspection, seized the carpet, and issued a show-cause notice to the proprietor,” the spokesman added.
The spokesman further stated that in his response, the proprietor denied the fraud, claiming the customer declined the purchase once told the carpet wasn’t GI-certified. “However, this was contradicted by photographic evidence submitted by the complainant, as well as findings from IICT that confirmed the fake label had been pasted onto a machine-made carpet,” he added.
The official spokesman further said that the Department, upon examining the reply, found it totally misleading and unsatisfactory and concluded the act was a deliberate attempt to cheat the buyer by exploiting Kashmir’s GI craft reputation. “The Director in his order stated that the seller had deliberately created a fake QR label resembling the original GI label of IICT and pasted the same on a machine-made carpet to cheat the concerned tourist,” he said.
Citing violations of Sections 6 and 7 of the J&K Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1978, the Directorate ordered immediate blacklisting and deregistration of the seller.
Furthermore, it is hereby ordered that a formal complaint shall be filed against the proprietor of The Kashmir Art Bazaar with the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Tourism Enforcement, Kashmir, for initiating strict action against him for pasting a fake QR label purportedly in the name of IICT, and requesting to investigate the network which seems to run this racket of pasting fake GI QR labels on machine-made items.
The order further observed that once the seller realised the fraud had been detected, he attempted to remove the fake QR label from the carpet to cover up the malpractice. However, evidence provided by the complainant and expert verification from IICT confirmed the wrongdoing.
The spokesman reiterated that such fraudulent acts of misbranding genuine handmade products not only violate consumer trust but directly undermine the GI-certified identity of Kashmiri craft, threatening the livelihood of lakhs of artisans and weavers. “We take this opportunity to warn all business stakeholders in the craft sector to desist from selling machine-made items in the garb of handmade products, failing which the Department will take immediate action by black-listing and de-registration of such showrooms,” he added.
He further urged all buyers and tourists to contact the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, if they have been sold a machine-made product in the garb of a handmade item.
