🇮🇳How to verify a supplier in India
To verify a supplier in India, look the company up for free in the official MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns company name, CIN, registrar (ROC), incorporation date, and directors via the free master-data view.
The official registry
- Registry
- MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- Company ID
- CIN (Corporate Identity Number) / LLPIN
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- Status reads Active or "Strike Off"; separately confirm the GSTIN on the GST portal to check the firm is tax-registered and trading.
Verify it in four steps
1. Open the MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs
MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the official government record of companies in India. Basic name or number search is free.
2. Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its CIN (Corporate Identity Number) / LLPIN. If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
3. Confirm it is active, not struck off
Status reads Active or "Strike Off"; separately confirm the GSTIN on the GST portal to check the firm is tax-registered and trading.
4. Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every India company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine India suppliers, not just the loudest.
Questions
Is checking a India supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a India company have?
Its CIN (Corporate Identity Number) / LLPIN. Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the MCA21, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a India supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader.