Verify an Indian company before you pay it

A new supplier wants an advance. A job offer asks for a deposit. An email says the bank account has changed. Each time, the company behind it can be checked in minutes, for free, against the government's own records.

Why the check matters

Fake vendor invoices, deposit-first job offers and changed-bank-details emails all rely on the same gap: the payer never confirms that the company is real, active and the one being paid. India's public registers close most of that gap without a paid database.

None of the checks below needs anything the counterparty has not already given you: a company name, a CIN, a GSTIN or a Udyam number on an invoice, a letterhead or an email signature.

Step 1: the company register (MCA)

On the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal, mca.gov.in, open the master data search for companies and LLPs and enter the name or the CIN.

Status should read Active. Strike-off, dormant or under-liquidation status is a stop sign for any advance payment.Date of incorporation matters when a company that is weeks old is asking for a large advance.Registered office should match the address on the invoice or offer letter.

The CIN itself carries information. Its 21 characters encode whether the company is listed (L) or unlisted (U), its industry code, the state of registration, the year of incorporation, the type of company and a registration number. Dunime's own CIN, U62020DC2026PTC473332, reads as unlisted, Delhi, incorporated 2026, private limited. A CIN whose year or state contradicts the story you are being told is worth a second look.

Step 2: the GST registration

On gst.gov.in, use Search Taxpayer and enter the GSTIN. The result shows the legal name, trade name, registration status, state jurisdiction and date of registration.

The GSTIN contains the PAN. Characters 3 to 12 of a GSTIN are the business's PAN, and the first two digits are the state code. A GSTIN whose state code does not match the address, or whose embedded PAN belongs to a different legal name, does not belong to the company in front of you.Cancelled or suspended registrations should not be charging GST on an invoice.

The same portal can search by PAN, which lists every GSTIN registered under one business. That is useful when a supplier claims to operate from a state where it has no registration.

Step 3: the MSME claim (Udyam)

If a business claims to be a registered MSME, the Udyam portal, udyamregistration.gov.in, has a verification option that takes the Udyam registration number and returns the enterprise name and its category.

Read Udyam for what it is: a self-declared registration built on PAN and GST data. It confirms that the enterprise exists and how it classifies itself. It is not a licence, a rating or a guarantee of quality.

The red flags that should stop a payment

Names that do not match across the MCA record, the GST record and the bank account's beneficiary name. UPI apps show the registered payee name before you confirm; read it.A personal bank account for a payment to a company.Bank details changed by email. Confirm on a phone number you already had, never on the one in the email.Urgency plus a large advance from a company incorporated recently.

The register will not tell you a company is honest. It will tell you when it is not the company you think you are paying.

If something does not add up

Do not pay. If money has already moved or an attempt was made, report it on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in, and tell your bank immediately. A suspected fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp message can also be reported through the Chakshu facility on the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi portal.

Questions people ask

How can I check if an Indian company is real? Search its name or CIN in the company master data on the MCA portal (mca.gov.in) and confirm the status is Active and the registered address matches. Then confirm its GSTIN on gst.gov.in using Search Taxpayer.

How do I verify a GST number? Use Search Taxpayer on gst.gov.in. Check the legal name, status and state. Characters 3 to 12 of the GSTIN are the business's PAN and the first two digits are the state code, so both should be consistent with the company you are dealing with.

Does Udyam registration prove a business is trustworthy? No. Udyam is a self-declared MSME registration. Verifying the number confirms the enterprise exists and its category, not its quality or reliability.

From DunimeCounterparty checks are part of how we investigate and audit. See what an engagement covers.→