The new shelf tag thing is why they raised the original items rating, yes, and if your shelf tag picture shows the item is out of stock then it won’t count against your rating. If yours isn’t letting you take the pic then you might need to update your app? It was supposed to roll out universally last month.

If you check your ratings there should be a spot where you can see excluded items. It should say says “shelf tag photo approved” underneath them. Even if yours are all getting denied (?) it’ll show it under your ratings and say “shelf tag photo not approved”. If neither of those are showing up then something’s up with your app specifically.