For an Indian export, a certificate of origin comes from an authorised issuing body or chamber, the Spices Board covers spices and spice products, and APEDA covers other agri and processed foods. Which body matters depends on the product, not on the supplier's preference.
Ask your supplier to name the body and registration number for each item before you order. The answer also tells you whether the supplier is properly set up for export.
Who issues a certificate of origin in India?
A certificate of origin states that the goods were produced in India. In India it is issued by authorised bodies, such as chambers of commerce and export promotion councils, through the government's common digital platform for origin documents. The exporter applies with its invoice and details of the goods.
There are non-preferential certificates, which just state origin, and preferential ones tied to a trade agreement. They are not the same document. Which certificate of origin you need depends on whether you intend to claim a reduced duty.
What does the Spices Board cover?
The Spices Board of India is the statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that regulates and promotes spices. Exporters of spices generally need to register with it. For some products and markets, it also issues quality or analysis certificates.
It covers the spices it lists in its schedule, which include the main seed and whole spices. For the cases where a Spices Board certificate is mandatory, see the Spices Board quality certificate. Ask the supplier for its registration and check it with the Board.
What does APEDA cover?
APEDA is the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. It registers exporters of products such as fruits, vegetables, processed foods, cereals and other scheduled agri goods, and sets up export promotion. It also oversees some product-specific export rules.
A supplier of dehydrated onion or garlic, mango pulp or groundnuts is more likely to deal with APEDA than with the Spices Board. Some products sit under more than one body, so the supplier's answer should be specific. Our guide to what APEDA registration is explains how to check it.
How to check the registrations are real
- Ask for the registration or certificate number and the name of the registered entity, and check that the name matches the seller on the invoice.
- Look up the registration on the issuing body's own website or ask the body to confirm it.
- Check the date: registrations can lapse if not renewed.
- Compare the registered address and legal name with the manufacturing site you audited. A match is not proof that they manufacture, but a mismatch is a warning. See how to tell a trader from a manufacturer.
Why the split matters for a first order
Buyers often ask for "the export certificate" as if there were one. In practice a single shipment can carry a certificate of origin from a chamber, a Spices Board registration for the exporter and an APEDA registration for a processed ingredient in the same container.
If you do not say which of these your market expects, the supplier will supply what is easiest, not what your customs broker needs. Write the list into the purchase order, with the name of the body that must issue each one. Then ask for scans of the drafts before the goods are loaded, so that a spelling or code mismatch is fixed at the factory and not at your port.
Next step
Registrations and origin certificates are quick to verify and easy to skip. We check them as part of supplier selection, together with the factory audit. To see how that would work for your product, book a free sourcing review.