CRES is the Certificate of Registration as Exporter of Spices, issued by the Spices Board of India. It is mandatory for any business exporting spices from India, so a spice supplier without a valid CRES should not be the exporter on your shipment.
Checking it takes a few minutes. It is one of the first things to ask for before you pay an advance.
What the Spices Board is
The Spices Board is a statutory body under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It promotes Indian spice exports, registers spice exporters and runs quality evaluation laboratories. Spices are outside APEDA's scope and come under the Board instead. See what APEDA is.
The Board publishes a schedule of the spices it covers. Common seed spices and spices such as cumin, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, chilli, turmeric, black pepper and cardamom are on it. If your product is unusual, or is a blend or extract, check the current schedule on the Board's website.
Who needs a CRES
The CRES is held by the exporter of record, the business named as shipper on the export documents. That may be the processor itself, or a merchant exporter that buys from processors.
If the processor you audited is not the exporter, find out who is, and check that business too. Read how to tell a trader from a processor.
How to check a CRES
- Ask for a copy of the certificate.
- Check that the name and address match the contract, the invoice and the bank account.
- Check the validity date printed on it.
- Check that the same business holds an Importer Exporter Code from DGFT.
- If anything looks wrong, contact the Spices Board through its official website to confirm.
Why it matters for your shipment
A spice shipment needs a registered exporter. If the exporter's CRES has lapsed, or the shipper is a business without one, problems can surface at export. By then you may have paid an advance and planned your stock around the arrival date.
The CRES is also a useful cross-check. It ties a legal name and address to the business offering you spices. Compare it with what the supplier has told you about itself.
- Is the CRES in the name of the company on the invoice?
- When does it expire, and will it cover the shipment date?
- Who will be named as shipper on the bill of lading?
- If a merchant exporter is involved, which processor packs the goods?
What a CRES does not prove
A CRES is a licence to export spices, not a quality check. Your specification, the supplier audit and independent lab tests do that work.
- That the exporter processes the spice itself.
- That the goods meet your specification or your country's residue limits.
- That the spice has not been treated with ethylene oxide. Read why EU buyers reject ETO treatment.
- That the facility holds any food safety certification.
How we help
We check the CRES, IEC and FSSAI licence of every spice supplier we put forward, and we confirm who the exporter of record will be. Then we audit the facility and test samples at NABL-accredited labs. Ask for a free sourcing review.