How to verify seller for items ordered on Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc

Placing orders for various goods online is a commonplace for Indians now – but how often do we oversee trivial details on the sale bill/invoice? Couple of those details like GSTIN (Goods & Services Tax Identification Number) and PAN – are mentioned on the invoice and can be used to verify the identity of your seller. While this is not going to save lives – being able to verify the identity of the seller you bought through online using the GSTIN mentioned on your invoice is a nice to have.

Refer the image above – did you notice PAN and GSTIN numbers? These belong to the seller who sold you the goods via the Marketplace, in this case – Amazon. To verify the identity of the seller, you can look up these GSTIN and PAN numbers on GST Database search Tools. Follow the steps below –

Locate and Copy/Note down the GSTIN number from your Invoice. You can usually find link to downloading your invoice in your Order page

• Visit Search GSTIN page and enter the details as needed(Email>GSTIN>Capatcha)
• If the GSTIN entered is valid – you’ll see results that were fetched from GST Database related to the GSTIN, which include the Legal name of Seller’s Business(As Registered with GST), GST Registration date, Nature of business, Scheme, and Status.

• As you can see – the Legal name of the Business in GSTIN search and what the seller has mentioned in the Invoice match. You can also use Search GSTIN by PAN to see GSTIN number linked with a Businesses’ PAN. The process is similar – Enter details as asked on the application page to view results.

Since we’re on the topic of authenticating the seller through details made available on the invoice –  another detail to check for in your invoice is the digital signature. The Seller is supposed to digitally sign the document as a replacement for a physical signature. This Digital signing process has been mandated by GSTN to be put on every GST invoice. You can spot the Digital signature in one of the corners of the document.

It is a good practice to look out for these details when you make purchases on online marketplaces through third party sellers – for an extra bit of assurance while you make purchases using your hard-earned money.