Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms for Shipment Clearance
All shipments sent from or received into India need KYC documents (Government recognized Identity and Address proof) to be presented to Customs during shipment clearance (reference: Customs Circular No. 9/2010).
Absence of these documents will mean clearance delay as shipments will go into Customs Bond until KYC documents are provided by the shipper or consignee based in India.
The below table provides more information about KYC documents required for shipment customs clearance. As a shipper or consignee, you can refer to the type of document that you need to submit based on type of your organization – in the table below.
| Extract of Circular No.9/2010 – Customs dated 8th April 2010 on KYC norms for Courier issued by Indian Customs | |||
| Please see documents applicable for your type of Organization (Client/ Customer Identification Procedure) | |||
| Features to be verified and documents to be obtained from clients/ customers | |||
| Sl. No | Form of organisation | Features to be verified | Documents to be obtained Note: Any two of the documents listed below |
| 1 | Individual | (i) Legal name and any other names used (ii) Present and Permanent address, in full, complete and correct. | (i) Voter’s Identity card (ii) Driving licence (iii) PAN card (iv) Passport (v) Bank account statement (vi) Ration card |
| 2 | Company | (i) Name of the company (ii) principal place of business (iii) mailing address of the company (iv) telephone, fax number, e-mail address. | (i) Copy of telephone bill (ii) Copy of PAN allotment letter/ PAN Card Copy (iii) Certificate of incorporation (iv) Memorandum of Association (v) Articles of Association (vi) Power of Attorney granted to its managers, officers or employees to transact business on its behalf |
| 3 | Partnership firm | (i) Legal name (ii) Permanent address, in full, complete and correct. (iii) Name of all partners and their addresses, in full complete and correct. (iv) telephone, fax number, e-mail address of the firm and partners. | (i) Telephone bill in the name of firm/ partners (ii) Registration certificate, if registered (iii) Partnership deed (iv) Power of Attorney granted to a partner or an employee of the firm to transact business on its behalf (v) Any officially valid document identifying the partners and the person holding the Power of Attorney and their addresses |
| 4 | Trusts, Foundations | (i) Name of trustees, settlers, beneficiaries and signatories (ii) Name and address of the founder, the managers, Directors and the beneficiaries, in full, complete and correct. (iii) Telephone and fax number, e-mail address of the trust, founder and trustees. | (i) Telephone bill (ii) Certificate of Registration, if registered (iii) Power of Attorney granted to transact business on its behalf (iv) Any officially valid document to identify the trustees, settlers, beneficiaries and those holding the Power of Attorney, founders/ managers/ directors and their addresses (v) Resolution of the managing body of the foundation/ association |