Counterfeiting a Property or Trade Mark Under the BNS (Section 347): IPC 483 and 484 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · BNS · Offences Relating to Property Marks

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A property mark is a mark that shows who owns a movable item, the stamp or symbol a manufacturer, trader, or carrier puts on goods to say they are theirs. Faking that mark lets a wrongdoer pass off goods or mislead a buyer, so the criminal law has long punished it. Since 1 July 2024 the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) has replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and counterfeiting a property mark is now Section 347. This explainer sets out what Section 347 covers, which old IPC provisions it replaces, the punishment for each sub-clause, and whether the offence is cognizable and bailable. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: a faked mark of ownership

A property mark answers a simple question about a movable item: whose is this? It can be a brand on a sack of goods, a stamp on a cylinder, or a symbol a carrier uses on consignments. When someone fakes that mark, they can pass off goods as another’s, cheat a buyer, or hide the real source. The harm is to the owner of the mark and to the public who rely on it.

The practical issue today is the number. The old IPC dealt with false property marks across a group of sections, roughly Sections 481 to 489. The act of counterfeiting a property mark was in Sections 483 and 484. From 1 July 2024 the counterfeiting offence is Section 347 of the BNS.

Counterfeiting a property mark is now Section 347 of the BNS. It carries forward the IPC false property mark provisions, chiefly Sections 483 and 484.

02What Section 347 says

Section 347 of the BNS punishes counterfeiting a property mark in two situations:

• Sub-clause (1): counterfeiting any property mark used by any other person. This is the core offence of faking a mark that belongs to someone else.
• Sub-clause (2): counterfeiting a property mark used by a public servant, or any mark used by a public servant to show that an item has been made in a particular way or at a particular time or place or is of a particular quality, or using such a counterfeit mark as genuine knowing it to be counterfeit.

The idea of "counterfeiting" is making a mark so like a genuine one that it is meant to deceive, or knowing it is likely to deceive. A "property mark" is a mark used to show that movable property belongs to a particular person, as the BNS defines it in the nearby sections.

03The old-to-new mapping

The BNS carries the counterfeiting offence over from the IPC false property mark scheme.

So the act of counterfeiting a property mark maps to Section 347 of the BNS. The old Section 482, which punished using a false property mark, is a related but separate offence that sits in the nearby BNS sections, so confirm the exact section for the conduct you are charging.

04Punishment and classification

Section 347 sets two punishments:

• Sub-clause (1), counterfeiting a property mark used by another: imprisonment of either description up to two years, or a fine, or both.
• Sub-clause (2), counterfeiting a mark used by a public servant, or using such a counterfeit mark as genuine: imprisonment of either description up to three years, and a fine.

On classification, these property mark offences are generally treated as non-cognizable and bailable, and triable by a Magistrate, as they were under the IPC.

05What changed, and a note on trade marks

The substance is carried over. The BNS keeps the two-year and three-year tiers for counterfeiting a property mark used by another and a mark used by a public servant, and it keeps the structure of the old IPC scheme on false property marks. Case law under the old Sections 483 and 484 still guides how Section 347 is read.

Two points help avoid error. First, the counterfeiting offence is Section 347, while using a false property mark and the other acts in the old Sections 481 to 489 are spread across the nearby BNS sections. Second, a dispute about a brand is often really about a trade mark, which is handled under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, not the property mark provisions. For related offences, see forgery under Section 336 and counterfeiting currency under Section 178, and the old-law view in Sections 467, 468 and 471 IPC on forgery.

06Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A counterfeiting charge often rides alongside a civil claim for passing off or trade mark infringement, so you are usually reading criminal and civil authorities side by side. Claw lets you pull both in one place. A search across more than 30 crore judgments, spanning Supreme Court decisions since 1950 and High Court decisions since 1990, returns in under 5 seconds, so you can gather rulings under Section 347 of the BNS and the old Sections 483 and 484 of the IPC together. A live prosecution under this section can be followed across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, by party or advocate name, keeping its orders and hearings in view. For the wider view, see case search across Indian courts.

Create a free Claw account to search this case law and track a property mark matter by party or advocate name. Claw does not file a case or give legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train AI models.

07Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• BNS Section 347 (reference text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and punishments change through amendments and notifications, so check the current official text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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