Indian Herbal Supplier Due Diligence Checklist

Why Structured Due Diligence Matters for Indian Herbal Sourcing

India is the world’s largest exporter of herbal ingredients and botanical extracts, supplying markets across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. The supply base is large and varied — which is precisely why structured verification is essential before placing a first order.

Without a defined process, buyers routinely encounter suppliers who present professional documentation on email but cannot perform at the production stage: certificates from unaccredited bodies, COAs unsupported by third-party testing, or trading houses listing hundreds of SKUs they do not actually stock. This checklist runs through six layers in sequence. Work through each one before advancing to the next.

Layer 1: Legal Entity Verification

Before reviewing any product documentation, confirm the business is legally constituted and authorised to export.

IEC (Import Export Code): A 10-digit identifier issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Government of India. No Indian entity can legally export goods without one. Search the IEC on the DGFT public portal at dgft.gov.in, confirm the legal name and address match what the supplier has provided, and confirm the status is active.

GSTIN (Goods and Services Tax Identification Number): Searchable on the GST portal at services.gst.gov.in. The legal name on the GSTIN should match the name on all other business documents exactly.

CIN (Company Identification Number): For incorporated companies (not proprietorships or partnerships), the CIN is searchable on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal at mca.gov.in. Use it to confirm the date of incorporation, registered office address, and active status.

[Certain] A supplier who declines to share their IEC or GSTIN, or provides one that does not match on the relevant public portal, should not proceed to sampling.

Layer 2: Export Licensing and Regulatory Standing

Confirm the supplier holds all export-side authorisations relevant to your ingredient and destination market.

• For food-grade botanical ingredients, check that the supplier holds or can obtain FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) registration covering the ingredient category.
• For plant-based raw materials subject to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), confirm the species is not listed or that the supplier holds the appropriate CITES export permits.
• Phytosanitary certificates are required for agricultural plant materials entering the EU, UK, USA, GCC, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, among other markets. Confirm the supplier’s facility is registered with the relevant Indian state plant quarantine authority to issue these certificates.

Layer 3: Quality Certification Review

This is where the most common misrepresentation occurs. Request originals or issuer-confirmed copies of every certificate claimed.

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice): India has multiple GMP standards in circulation. WHO-GMP (Technical Report Series 986, Annex 2) is the most widely accepted internationally. USFDA-compliant GMP (21 CFR Parts 111 and 117) applies to dietary supplement and food manufacturers supplying the US market. EU-GMP applies to inputs into licensed medicinal products in Europe. Schedule M is India’s domestic pharmaceutical standard and carries less international recognition on its own. Confirm which standard the certificate covers and verify the issuing body is accredited — see our complete guide to verifying an Indian GMP certificate for the verification steps.

ISO 9001 / ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000: Quality management and food safety management standards. Confirm the scope of the certificate explicitly covers the ingredient category you are sourcing.

HACCP: A mandatory prerequisite for food-ingredient suppliers into most regulated markets. Confirm it is current and covers the production area for your ingredient.

Organic certification: For organic-claimed ingredients, require both the umbrella certificate (NOP for the USA, EU Regulation 2018/848 for Europe, India NPOP) and the lot-specific Transaction Certificate (TC). The TC proves the specific batch is certified; the umbrella certificate alone does not.

Third-party lab reports: COAs cross-verified by an independent NABL-accredited or internationally recognised laboratory (Eurofins, SGS, Intertek, Bureau Veritas) carry significantly more weight than self-issued in-house COAs. Where the ingredient has an active-content specification (curcuminoids, piperine, silymarin, etc.), request a third-party HPLC report. For the Lakadong Turmeric cluster specifically, our quality testing and certification guide covers the applicable standards in detail.

Layer 4: Product Documentation Review

Request the following for the specific ingredient and, where possible, the specific production lot:

COA (Certificate of Analysis): Should state the ingredient name, botanical name, batch or lot number, manufacturing and expiry dates, assay values for key actives, heavy metal limits (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury as a minimum), microbial counts (TPC, yeast and mould, Salmonella, E. coli), and pesticide residue results. Cross-reference assay values against published pharmacopoeial monographs (USP, BP, or IP) or your own internal specification.

TDS (Technical Data Sheet): Describes the ingredient’s physical and chemical properties, recommended storage conditions, solubility, and handling requirements.

SDS (Safety Data Sheet): Required by most buyers’ regulatory and logistics teams. Should comply with GHS (Globally Harmonised System) format. Confirm it carries a preparation date within the last five years.

Packing specification and label draft: Confirm net weight, gross weight, pack configuration, and label content matches your import documentation and labelling requirements.

For a structured framework on testing Lakadong Turmeric lots specifically, see our Lakadong Turmeric quality testing checklist.

Layer 5: Commercial and Capacity Verification

Due diligence covers commercial fitness as well as regulatory standing.

Production capacity: Ask for the annual production or export capacity for the specific ingredient, not just general catalogue availability. Small trading companies often list hundreds of SKUs but source on a spot basis from the wholesale market — which creates supply chain risk on lead time and consistency.

Lead time: Confirm standard lead time for a commercial order and for a sample separately. A supplier unable to provide a clear lead time is a reliability signal.

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): Confirm the MOQ that triggers the quoted price, and whether trial quantities are available at sample pricing or at a different rate.

Payment terms: Standard terms in Indian botanical export are 30 to 50 percent advance, balance against shipping documents or on delivery. Payment terms requiring 100 percent advance — particularly to a personal bank account rather than a company account — are a significant risk indicator.

Bank details: Confirm the beneficiary name on the bank account matches the company name on the IEC and GSTIN exactly.

Layer 6: Red Flags — Stop and Re-evaluate

If you encounter any of the following during the review process, stop and seek independent verification before proceeding:

• GMP or organic certificates issued by certification bodies that cannot be traced to a recognised national accreditation authority (NABCB, UKAS, DAkkS, ANAB, or equivalent).
• COAs with perfectly rounded assay values (e.g. exactly 95.00 percent curcuminoids) without a supporting independent lab report.
• Refusal to share IEC number or GSTIN for public-portal verification.
• Pressure to advance to a purchase order or advance payment before documentation has been reviewed and independently verified.
• Sample quality that does not match the COA submitted prior to sampling.
• Communication routed exclusively through unnamed intermediaries with no visibility of the actual manufacturing entity.

Working with Ayris Global

Ayris Global pre-qualifies every Indian herbal ingredient supplier against this checklist before presenting them to international buyers. Buyers receive a verified documentation package — GMP certificate, third-party COA, IEC, and relevant organic or phytosanitary certificates — without the sourcing overhead.

Contact Ayris Global to discuss your ingredient requirements.