How to check a Brembo, RAYS or Garrett part is genuine before you pay

The short answer is that you verify the part with the brand, never with the seller. Every major performance parts maker now publishes a way to do this, and all of it works from a phone in Pune or Guwahati. Ask for photos of the box seal, the code and the engraving before you pay, run the code yourself, and treat a missing seal as a no.

Brakes: scan the code, and remember what Brembo does not make

For its UPGRADE performance kits, Brembo says you scan the QR code on the component or the box with the Brembo Check app for an immediate answer on authenticity. Older stock carries an anti-counterfeit card inside the sealed box. You scratch the silver strip, get a six-digit code, and enter it at www.original.brembo.com along with the card number, the component type and the country of purchase. You can then download a PDF certificate.

Aftermarket discs and pads work differently. Pads have the QR code on the sealing sticker of the box, discs carry it on a product label with what Brembo calls a hologram that cannot be faked. Genuine discs and pads are marked with the Brembo code, the logo and the ECE R90 approval, pads also carry a WVA code, and discs show the minimum thickness as "Min Th". The box must be intact and show no sign of tampering.

Two red flags come straight from Brembo. The company states it does not produce, and never has produced, brake covers, so any cover wearing the name is fake by definition. And the kits are sold as kits, not as a lone caliper. Suspicious products can be reported to academy@brembo.it.

Wheels and turbos: the markings do the work

RAYS put up an alert on its own news page on 19 June 2026 headlined "Beware of counterfeit and unauthorised product circulation", filed under Important Notice. Volk Racing and Gram Lights copies are common, so buy only through the dealer list on the RAYS site and ask for the warranty paperwork.

Garrett gives the most checkable test of the lot. A genuine nameplate shows the customer or Garrett part number, the turbo model, a serial number that encodes the assembly date, batch and facility, and the country of origin. The part number is six digits starting with 4, 7 or 8, then a dash and four more numbers. The first digit after the dash tells you the channel: 0 for OEM, 5 for aftermarket, 9 for remanufactured, with aftermarket units often carrying an S or W suffix. Garrett also uses four distinct box designs for Original Equipment, Reman, RedBoost and Performance.

Genuine still does not mean legal here

Akrapovič's own compliance key explains its EPA, ECE, EC, ABE and spark arrester labels and then says plainly that the "Buyer is ultimately responsible for deciding if a part is legal for buyer's intended use." Its emissions notice goes further, stating that neither Akrapovič nor its subsidiaries make any representation that the products comply with the air or noise emissions laws, or labelling laws, of any jurisdiction. A European marking is not an Indian approval.

Importing a fake has its own cost. Under Rule 7 of the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007, where a customs officer has reason to believe, on a recorded right holder's notice, that imported goods infringe intellectual property rights, he shall suspend clearance. You lose the part and the money.

So, in order: pull the correct part number from the brand's catalogue for your car, check the seller against the brand's authorised dealer list, demand photos of the seal, code and nameplate, verify the code on the brand's own app or site rather than a link the seller sends, keep the invoice and warranty card, and ask the brand or its Indian distributor to confirm the serial number if the part is used.

Sources

• Brembo brakes: guide to recognizing fakes
• Brembo: recognize original products
• Garrett Motion: how to identify genuine Garrett turbochargers
• RAYS: beware of counterfeit and unauthorized product circulation
• Akrapovič compliance key
• Akrapovič emission notice
• Rule 7, Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007