How to verify a pharma supplier before you place an order

Five checks, in this order: the Drug Licence, the GST number, the premises, one small order, and what arrives with the goods.

The first two take ten minutes and rule out most of the problems. The last one tells you more than the other four together, because it is the only check that measures behaviour rather than paperwork.

1. The Drug Licence

Ask for the licence number and the state that issued it. Not a scan of a certificate — the number, so you can look it up. Then check three things on it:

• the name on the licence matches the name that will appear on your invoice;
• the address matches the address the goods will dispatch from;
• the category covers what you are buying. A wholesale licence covers supply to trade; Schedule C and C(1) items need the corresponding licence.

A supplier who treats this question as an insult is not a supplier. Everyone legitimate in this trade is asked it weekly. If you are on the other side of the same question, the documents you will be asked for are the same three.

2. The GST number

Verify the GSTIN on the government portal. It takes under a minute and tells you the registered trade name, the state, the registration date and whether the registration is active.

Two mismatches matter. If the trade name differs from the name on the Drug Licence, ask why before you pay. If the state differs from the dispatch address, ask which entity is actually invoicing you. Neither is automatically wrong — groups do run multiple registrations — but both need an answer you understand.

An inactive or cancelled registration is where you stop. You will not get input credit, and that is the smaller problem.

3. The premises

An address on a website is a claim. Look it up on a map and see whether it is an industrial address with stock behind it or a room in a commercial complex. Both exist in this trade legitimately, but a wholesaler with 200 products and no warehouse is buying to order, and your delivery date depends on somebody else’s.

If you can visit, visit. If you cannot, ask for a photograph of the racking and the dispatch area rather than the reception. It is a small request and the response is informative either way.

4. One small order

Place the smallest order the supplier will accept, on a normal working day, with a delivery date attached. Then watch four things:

1. Did the quote come back when they said it would? A supplier who is slow before the money moves does not get faster after.
2. Did they tell you what was out of stock, unprompted? This is the single best signal in the trade. Partial availability is normal. Discovering it from the delivery challan is not.
3. Did the dispatch date hold? One order does not prove a pattern, but a missed first date usually does.
4. Did the packing survive the transport? Look at the outer carton, then the strips inside it.

A small order costs you a freight charge. A wrong supplier costs you a customer.

5. What arrives with the goods

Open the consignment and check the paperwork before the stock:

• Tax invoice with the GSTIN, matching what the portal showed you.
• Batch number and expiry for every line, matching the strips.
• Remaining shelf life. Near-expiry stock at an attractive rate is the oldest trick in wholesale. Agree a minimum remaining life in advance and check it on arrival.
• Quantity against the invoice. Short-shipping that is never mentioned is a pattern, not an accident.

If you have to make a phone call to get documentation that should have been in the box, you will be making that call during an audit too.

What certificates do not tell you

ISO 9001 says a quality system is documented and audited. It does not say the stock is in the warehouse today. A registration certificate says the entity exists, not that it holds inventory. A brochure showing a facility says somebody has a photograph.

Certificates are a floor, not a ranking. Their absence disqualifies a supplier. Their presence tells you almost nothing about the thing you actually care about, which is whether the goods arrive on the date you promised your own customer.

Run the same test on us

It would be a strange article to write and then not answer. Chemo Remediess is a manufacturer, wholesale trader and supplier — ISO 9001 certified, GST registered, operating from Plot No 224, HSIIDC Industrial Area, Rai, Sonipat–131029, Haryana since 2000. The listing on Google Maps carries the same address and phone number as this site. We stock 77 formulations across 23 therapeutic ranges, and 5 of those 77 are supplied on request rather than from live stock — we will tell you which on the call.

Ask us for the licence numbers and the GST number and we will send them. Then place a small order rather than taking our word for any of it.

Common questions

How do I check whether a pharma company is genuine?

Verify the Drug Licence number with the issuing state authority, verify the GSTIN on the GST portal, check that the registered address is a real premises, and place one small order before committing to volume.

Can I check a Drug Licence number online?

Several states publish licence details on their drugs control portals, though coverage and search quality vary. Where the portal does not help, the licence number, the issuing state and the licensee name can be confirmed with the department directly.

What paperwork should come with a pharmaceutical consignment?

A tax invoice showing the GSTIN, and batch number and expiry date for every line, matching the strips in the box.

What minimum shelf life should I accept?

Agree it in writing before the order rather than arguing after delivery. What is reasonable depends on the product and how fast your own book moves.

Is ISO 9001 enough to trust a supplier?

No. It confirms a documented quality system, not stock availability or dispatch discipline. Treat it as a minimum rather than a recommendation.

This article sets out practical checks a buyer can run before ordering. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for confirming licence details with the issuing State Drugs Control Department.