You are about to send money to a company that will buy goods in a country you have never visited, in a language you do not read, and clear them through a process you have not seen. It is worth twenty minutes of diligence.
Verify the basics first
- An IEC, and a GSTIN — ask for both, and check the GSTIN on the GST portal.
- A customs broker licence, if they say they file bills of entry themselves. Many agents outsource this and do not mention it.
- A real address you could drive to. Not a coworking desk in another city.
Any legitimate operator will send these without hesitation. Reluctance is the answer.
The questions that actually separate them
- “Who files my bill of entry, and where?” If clearance happens in another city and the cargo is trucked to you afterwards, that is an extra handling stage, extra days, and nobody local when customs raises a query.
- “What will I pay after the goods arrive?” A freight rate without destination charges is not a quote.
- “Will you tell me if this product needs certification?” The right answer includes “and sometimes that means telling you not to order it.”
- “Do I see the goods before they ship?” Photographs and video before loading is the only point at which a problem is still the supplier’s to fix.
- “Do I get the assessed bill of entry, or a summary?” You should see the actual document. It shows what was declared and what duty was paid.
Warning signs
- A single all-in price quoted before anyone has seen the product. Duty depends on the HS code — if they have not asked what it is, the duty in that number is a guess.
- Pressure to under-declare the invoice value. It is the importer, not the agent, who carries that liability.
- No written breakdown separating goods, freight, duty, IGST, clearance and delivery.
- Payments requested to a personal account.
On the GST invoice
You should end up with one GST invoice covering the consignment, with the duty challan attached. For your books that is a domestic purchase, and the IGST on it is input tax credit if you are registered. An agent who cannot produce that is creating an accounting problem for you later.
We are happy to be asked all of the above. Ask for the licence copy any time — the registrations are on the contact page so you can verify us before you send a rupee.