To verify an Indian supplier or exporter, work through six layers in order: who they are, what they are registered as, whether they can make the product, what they have shipped before, what a visit shows, and how they behave when money is involved. Each layer catches a different kind of failure, and skipping one leaves a gap that scammers and careless traders both use.
Supplier verification in India is mostly free public-record work followed by one paid or personal step, the site check. If you only want the legal-name and registration part, how to verify an Indian exporter covers it. This article is the full sequence and what each step can and cannot prove.
Step 1: fix who you are dealing with
Before checking anything, collect the supplier's full legal name, registered address, PAN, GSTIN and IEC in writing. Ask for them on a company letterhead or a signed document, not just in a chat message.
Then compare. The name on the quotation, the invoice header, the bank account and the registrations should all be the same legal entity, or clearly related. A trade name on the website that differs from the legal name is normal. A bank account in a third party's name is not. Mismatches are the first thing to resolve, and an unhappy answer to a polite question tells you a great deal.
Step 2: check each registration at its source
Every Indian business that exports should leave traces in public registers. The lookups below are free and do not need you to log in, as far as we could confirm in October 2026. Portal layouts change, so follow the menu names on the live site rather than any screenshot.
- IEC (Importer-Exporter Code): the DGFT portal has a status enquiry, and customs systems have a similar one. It shows whether the code exists and is active. See how to check an IEC code.
- GST: the Search Taxpayer page on the GST portal shows the legal name, trade name, status and principal place of business for a GSTIN. See verifying the GST number of an Indian supplier.
- MCA: if the supplier says it is a private or public limited company or an LLP, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs company master data shows incorporation date, status and directors. Proprietorships and partnerships will not appear there.
- Udyam: the Udyam portal has a verify option for registration numbers. It confirms a small-enterprise registration exists, which is useful but self-declared.
Step 3: test whether they actually make the product
A registration proves a business exists. It does not prove it manufactures what you want. Ask for a live video walk-through of the production line, with you choosing where the camera points, and ask questions only a producer can answer: which machine makes this, what is the daily output, where does the raw material come from, what is the rejection rate.
A trader can answer some of these by repeating what the factory told them. Follow-up questions expose it quickly. If you are unsure which you are talking to, read how to tell a trader from a manufacturer.
Step 4: look for a track record you can check
Ask for the names and contact details of two overseas buyers in your region who will take a call. Ask for redacted shipping documents, such as a bill of lading, showing past exports of the same product. A supplier with real volume will usually have these; a new exporter can still be honest but should say so.
Order a paid sample and have it tested, then compare it with what the first lot looks like. That is the earliest point where a supplier's actual quality, rather than its sales material, becomes visible.
Step 5 and 6: the site check and the payment test
Nothing replaces someone standing in the premises. A site check confirms the address, the plant, the stock and whether the people there answer to the company you are dealing with. What a factory audit should contain lists what an audit report must cover, and you can send an agent or inspector instead of travelling yourself.
The payment test is simple: pay only to a bank account in the verified legal entity's name, confirm bank details by phone on a number you found independently, and never change them on the strength of an email. Our guide to checking bank details on an invoice goes through it.
What a clean result still does not tell you
Passing all six steps shows the supplier is real and probably able. It does not guarantee that every lot will match the sample. Quality drift after the first container is its own problem, covered in why quality drops after the first container.
Treat verification as the start of control, not the end. Keep checking samples, lots and loading for as long as you buy.
How we work
We find and audit manufacturers, give you a shortlist of five to ten real ones, check samples and documents, have lots tested, and supervise production and loading. You pay the factory directly, and we take nothing from factories. Our fee is one written fee agreed in advance. If you want the checks above done for a specific supplier, book a free sourcing review.