Alcoholic and Beer Products: Marking Code – What It Contains and How It Looks

The composition of information included in the marking code, as well as the procedure for generating and using digital identification means for alcoholic products, is regulated by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 833 dated December 31, 2020.

Consumer Packaging of Alcoholic Products

For consumer packaging of alcoholic products, the marking code contains three groups of data, where the first and second groups form the identification code of the consumer packaging, and the third group forms the check code:

• First data group – consists of 14 digits and contains the product barcode, preceded by the AI (Application Identifier) (01);
• Second data group – consists of 7 characters (digits, lowercase and uppercase Latin letters, as well as special characters) and contains the individual serial number of the consumer packaging, preceded by AI (21), followed by a separator character with ASCII code 29;
• Third group – consists of 4 characters (digits, lowercase and uppercase Latin letters, as well as special characters) and contains the check code, preceded by AI (93) and generated by the operator.

Example of a marking code for consumer packaging:

In printed text, this code appears as follows: 010487021676000721qKkdi+S93U3g5, Where:

• (01) 04870216760007 – product barcode (or GTIN), 14 characters;
• (21) qKkdi+S – serial number of the package, 7 characters;
• (93) U3g5 – check code, 4 characters.

The code is applied to the package as a 2D DataMatrix barcode.

Group Packaging of Alcoholic Products

For group packaging, the marking code also contains three data groups: the first and second groups form the identification code of the group package, and the third group forms the check code:

• The first data group consists of 14 digits and contains the product barcode, preceded by the AI (Application Identifier) (01);
• The second data group consists of 13 characters (digits, lowercase and uppercase Latin letters, as well as special symbols) and contains the individual serial number of the group package, preceded by the AI (21), followed by a separator character with ASCII code 29;
• The third data group consists of 4 characters (digits, lowercase and uppercase Latin letters, as well as special symbols) and contains the check code, preceded by the AI (93) and generated by the operator.

Example of a marking code for group packaging:

In printed text, this code appears as follows: 010487021676001421ESraFf/O(HsBz937LMw, Where:

• (01) 04870216760014 – product barcode (GTIN), 14 characters;
• (21) ESraFf/O(HsBz – serial number of the package, 13 characters;
• (93) 7LMw – check code, 4 characters.

The code is applied as a GS1 DataMatrix 2D barcode.

Procedure for Applying the Marking Code to Packaging

According to the “Regulation on the Features of Marking Alcoholic Products Using Digital Identification Means” (Appendix 4 to Decree No. 833):

• According to the “Regulation on the Features of Marking Alcoholic Products Using Digital Identification Means” (Appendix 4 to Decree No. 833):
• The digital identification means of consumer and group packaging is applied as a 2D barcode in GS1 DataMatrix format.
• It is applied to the packaging and/or label in a manner that prevents separation from the package or label.
• For consumer packaging, the code must be at least 14×14 mm in size on a designated contrast area of the label or sticker.
• For group packaging, the code is applied to the front or side of the package, with a size allowing convenient aggregation procedures.
• The module size for both consumer and group packaging must be at least 0.35 mm.
• Use of stickers for marking consumer packaging that already has a label is allowed until the manufacturer’s stock of pre-printed labels/stickers runs out, but no later than December 1, 2021.
• For imported products, the digital identification code must be applied on a sticker in the state language.
• The code applied to consumer or group packaging, label, or sticker must not be printed on transparent wrapping or other external materials, nor overlapped by other information that prevents scanning.
• The code must be positioned so that the integrity of information printed on the alcoholic product packaging, in accordance with technical regulation requirements, is not compromised.

Example of marking code placement on product packaging: