Fixing Merchant Center Product Disapprovals and Misrepresentation Suspensions in India

Why do Merchant Center products get disapproved?#

Most disapprovals come from product data that doesn't match the website: price or availability mismatches cause 40% of them in Indian Shopify feeds. On average, 8.8% of the products Indian Shopify brands submit are disapproved. These benchmarks come from ProfitBox360 research, 2025 (client data and shopper surveys).

Disapproval reason	Share of disapprovals
Price or availability doesn't match the website	40%
Missing or wrong identifiers (GTIN or brand)	25%
Policy, such as health claims or restricted products	17.5%
Image issues	15%
Other reasons	2.5%

Product issues and account issues#

Merchant Center flags problems at two levels, and the level tells you how much is at stake.

Product-level issues affect one product. A warning lets it keep showing, though its performance may be limited. A disapproval stops it showing until you fix it. Unresolved warnings can turn into disapprovals.
Account-level issues affect every product. A warning gives you a warning period to fix the problem. A suspension stops all your products showing across Google.
Preemptive item disapproval mixes the two. When prices or availability don't match your website, Google disapproves the products likely to be affected, and an account review is needed to clear it.

What disapprovals cost in sales#

Put a rupee figure on your disapprovals to decide which fixes come first.

Illustrative example: a brand's full catalogue would bring ₹10,00,000 a month from Shopping ads and free listings.

The feed holds 1,000 products, and 8.8% are disapproved, the Indian average
Disapproved products would have sold as well as the rest
The reasons follow the benchmark split

At 8.8%, 88 of the 1,000 products can't show.

Sales lost = monthly sales × share disapproved = ₹10,00,000 × 8.8% = ₹88,000 a month

Reason	Share	Sales lost
Price or availability mismatch	40%	₹35,200
Missing or wrong identifiers	25%	₹22,000
Policy	17.5%	₹15,400
Images	15%	₹13,200
Other	2.5%	₹2,200
Total	100%	₹88,000

Price and identifier problems are data fixes, so they're usually the quickest to clear. Together they're worth ₹57,200 of the ₹88,000 here.

Where do you see why products aren't showing?#

Open Products under Products & store, then select the Needs attention tab. Every product with an issue is listed there, with a Fix option that opens its details and the steps to clear it.

Account issues: these appear in a banner at the top of Merchant Center. You can also select View setup and policy issues on the Needs attention tab. The Notifications section lists setup and policy issues too.
Summary cards: the top of the Needs attention tab shows the issues with the biggest impact and how many products each affects.
The full list: below the cards, the "All products that need attention" table lists every product with an issue. Filter it by issue, status, title or click potential, and download any view as a file.
Low-impact issues: a toggle for priority fixes hides issues with little or no impact. Turn it off to see everything.
Issue Details Page: open it from an issue card. It explains the cause, shows lost click potential and example products, and offers actions such as automatic fixes or an appeal.
View history: this shows how product statuses changed over time, by period and country. Use it to see whether disapprovals started after a price change, a sale or a theme update.

Fix products with high click potential first, because they're the most likely to bring sales. Setting up Merchant Center and linking it to Shopify is covered in our guide to Google Shopping and Performance Max.

How do you fix the four common disapprovals?#

Make the feed match the website for price, stock and identifiers, replace images that break Google's rules, and remove health claims Google doesn't allow.

Price and availability mismatches#

Make the feed, the product page and the checkout show the same price and stock status. Google's crawler compares the feed price with the price in the page's HTML or structured data.

Include GST: for India, Google requires the price attribute to include GST and to match the landing page and checkout pages.
Load the price with the page: Googlebot reads the HTML your server returns, so a price added later by JavaScript can cause a mismatch.
Show one price to everyone: keep the price the same whatever the shopper's location, device, browser or cookies.
Match the variant: each variant's link must open the page with that variant already selected, at the feed's price.
Use the lowest price for a range: if the page shows a price range, send the cheapest value.
Keep stock in sync: advertise only products you have in stock. On Shopify, if the feed stops updating, Google suggests turning the app's sync off and on again.

To fix one product, select its title on the Needs attention tab, select Edit product, correct the price and save. To fix many, download the list of affected products, correct your data source and upload it again.

If the whole account is under preemptive item disapproval for price mismatches, fix the pattern behind them. Then select I fixed the issue and request a review. It takes 7 business days, and a failed review can start a cool-down of 7 business days before you can ask again.

Missing or wrong identifiers#

Send the GTIN printed on the product if the manufacturer assigned one. Products with a missing or incorrect GTIN may have limited visibility.

Barcoded products: GS1 India is the only authorised body for barcodes starting with 890. If your packs carry one, send that number. Google checks GTINs against GS1's rules, including the check digit, so never make one up.
Own-brand products: if you're the only seller, your product generally won't have a GTIN, so leave it out. Send the brand and MPN instead. Use your store name as the brand if you make the product or it's private label.
No identifiers at all: set identifier exists to "no" only for products, such as custom goods, that truly have none. Google warns products marked "no" when it finds evidence that an identifier exists.

Image issues#

Use a clean photo of the actual product, at least 500 x 500 pixels. Google has announced that this minimum applies to all products from 31 January 2027, and it recommends about 1500 x 1500 pixels.

Remove promotional text, watermarks, borders and logos that cover the product.
Replace placeholder or generic images with a photo of the product itself.
Turn on automatic image improvements to let Google try to remove overlays. It's off by default. Go to Products under Products & store, select the Automations tab, find image improvements, select View details and switch it on. If you don't like an edited image, upload a new one.

Policy disapprovals#

Rewrite the claim, or take the product out of the feed. Google's Shopping policy on healthcare and medicines bars false or misleading health claims. It also bars unapproved products marketed as preventing, curing or treating a disease. Which health, supplement and skincare claims are allowed in India is covered in our guide to ads in those categories.

How do fixed products get approved again?#

Google re-checks a product automatically once you edit it in your data source or in Merchant Center. Googlebot re-crawls disapproved products over the next few hours or days, and you can speed that up.

Request website check: on the product's page, under What needs attention, select Request website check. Google may take up to 12 hours, and you can't send another request in that time.
I disagree with the issue: if you think Google is wrong, select it, give a reason or upload documents, then select Request review. Reviews take up to 7 business days, and you may only get one chance to disagree.
Bulk appeal: for some issues you can appeal many products at once. Remove every product that does break the policy first, because a failed bulk appeal can limit later appeals.

Approved products can show across Google within 24 hours.

Why do accounts get suspended for misrepresentation?#

Google suspends an account when the store isn't upfront with shoppers about who runs it, what it sells or what they'll pay. In the past 12 months, 13% of Indian D2C Merchant Center accounts were hit by a misrepresentation suspension.

The policy covers four areas:

Unacceptable business practices, such as a false business name or contact details, or offering products you can't deliver
Misleading or unrealistic offers, such as "miracle cure" claims or a false link to another brand or a government body
Omission of relevant information, such as a missing or unclear return and refund policy, missing shipping information, or costs not shown before purchase
Unavailable offers, such as products that aren't in stock or deals that have ended

Google treats misrepresentation as egregious. It suspends the account on detection, without the 7- or 28-day warning most other violations get. It may check your website, your accounts and third-party sources, and it can act on regulatory warnings and impersonation complaints. Google says: "Accounts are only reinstated in compelling circumstances, and when there's good reason."

What a suspension costs#

A suspension removes every product at once, so the loss grows with each day the account stays down.

Illustrative example: the brand with ₹10,00,000 a month of sales from Shopping ads and free listings is suspended.

A month has 30 days, so sales run at ₹33,333.33 a day
The account is reinstated after the average 10.5 days from the review request
Days spent fixing the site before the request aren't counted

Sales lost = ₹33,333.33 × 10.5 days = ₹3,50,000

If the first review fails, each extra week offline costs about ₹2,33,333 (₹33,333.33 × 7).

What should an Indian store show before a review?#

Show the same business name, address, phone and email everywhere, plus a full return and refund policy, GST-inclusive prices and a checkout that works. Reviewers check that product details, business information, policies and contact information are accurate and consistent. The most common causes of suspension are a missing return and refund policy, too little contact information, and misrepresenting the business or its products.

Check	What Google wants	What Indian rules add
Business identity	The same legal name, address, phone and email on the website and in Merchant Center	The legal name and the address of the headquarters and all branches
Contact	Contact details easy to find before checkout, in the footer or on a contact page	Customer care and grievance officer contact details, plus the grievance officer's name and designation
Returns and refunds	What the shopper must do, when returns are accepted, the time limit and when the refund arrives, including for change of mind	Return, refund, exchange, warranty, delivery and return shipping cost details
Price	Feed price matches the page and checkout, including GST, with all costs shown before purchase	The total price with its breakup, including delivery charges and tax
Checkout	A working, secure checkout with at least one conventional payment method	Available payment methods and any fees
About the business	An About us page, your own branding and up-to-date certifications	No separate rule

The Indian column comes from Rules 4 and 7 of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which cover a brand selling its own stock online.

How do you request a misrepresentation review?#

Fix the website and account first, complete identity verification if Google asks, then select I fixed the issue and Request review. Google says reviews take up to 7 business days. Among suspended Indian D2C accounts, 48.5% are reinstated at the first review. Reinstated accounts wait 10.5 days on average from the review request.

Audit the website: put contact details, the shipping policy and the return and refund policy in the footer. Remove placeholder text, fix broken links and make sure checkout works on HTTPS.
Match your business details: use the same business name, address and contact details on the website, in Merchant Center and in your Google payments profile.
Update Business info: in Merchant Center, go to Settings and select Business info. On the Details tab, find the Business details card, select Edit business details and verify your phone number.
Fix the feed: make prices, availability and product details match the website exactly.
Complete identity verification if asked: check the Needs attention tab for a request to upload an ID or business documents. Google often requires this before the review button works.
Keep at least one product in the feed: the review button stays unavailable while your data source is empty.
Request the review: go to Products, select the Needs attention tab, then View setup and policy issues. Select I fixed the issue, then Request review. On Shopify, you can also request a re-review from the Settings tab of the Google & YouTube app.
Watch for the email: Google emails you when you request the review and when it's finished. The status moves from Review requested to Under review, and then to approval or Review not approved.

Select I disagree with the issue only if you're sure you didn't break the policy. You may get one chance to disagree, and you may need proof, such as a contract showing you're an authorised reseller.

If the review fails#

Use the waiting time to fix whatever the review found. Google's help says a one-week cool-down may begin if your issues aren't resolved by the second review attempt. The Request review button is greyed out until it ends, and the cool-down may get longer after each further failed review.

The Needs attention tab shows the date the cool-down ends.
Your account stays suspended throughout.

With fewer than half of accounts reinstated at the first review, make the first request the complete one.

FAQ#

Should you open a new Merchant Center account after a suspension?#

No. Google advises against deleting a suspended Merchant Center account and opening a new one for the same business. Deleting the account doesn't fix the suspension, and the new account can be flagged and suspended too. Fix the website and product data, then request a review on the existing account instead.

Can Google support end a cool-down early?#

No. Google's help says support can't bypass or shorten a Merchant Center cool-down period, and contacting support doesn't start an account review. Only the Request review button in Merchant Center does that. Check the Needs attention tab for the date the cool-down ends, and use the time to fix every issue.

Which documents does Merchant Center identity verification need?#

Google may ask for a personal ID, such as a passport or driving licence, and business registration documents, such as a tax certificate. The legal name and address must exactly match your Merchant Center or Google payments profile. Upload clear, current original photos showing all four corners; photocopies and screenshots are rejected.

Why do products get disapproved when a sale starts?#

A sale changes the website price before the feed catches up. Send the sale price in the sale price attribute and set the sale price effective date, with the correct time zone. While the sale is active, Google shows the sale price as the current price, so a wrong date or time zone shows the wrong price.

Will automatic item updates stop price mismatch disapprovals?#

Only for a few products. Automatic item updates let Google correct price, availability and condition from your product pages, and they're on by default. Google says they fix temporary problems for a small share of products and don't replace regular feed updates. Keep your Shopify feed syncing prices as they change.

Does cash on delivery count as a payment method for Merchant Center?#

Yes. Google's Merchant Center guidelines list payment on delivery as a conventional payment method, alongside cards and invoicing. The store still needs a checkout that shoppers can complete. If you charge a COD fee, show it before purchase, because Google's misrepresentation policy requires the full cost to be clear.