Receiver's Guide to Duties and Taxes

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

 

Type/Form of Organization	Documents to be obtained (Any 2 Documents)
Individual  (Only 1 document is sufficient if it contains both identity and address proof)	(i) Aadhar Card (ii) Passport (iii) PAN Card (iv) Voter's Identity Card (v) Driving License (vi) Bank Account Statement (vii) Ration Card
Company	(i) Certificate of Incorporation (ii) Memorandum of Association (iii) Articles of Association (iv) Power of Attorney granted to managers, officers or employees to transact business on its behalf (v) Copy of PAN allotment letter (vi) Copy of Telephone Bill (i) Bank Account Statement (ii) Electricity Bill (iii) Telephone Bill (ii) Lease/Rent Agreement
Partnership Firm	(i) Registration certificate, if registered (ii) Partnership deed (iii) Power of Attorney granted to a partner or an employee of the firm to transact business on its behalf (iv) Any officially valid document identifying the partners and the person holding the Power of Attorney and their addresses (v) Telephone bill in the name of firm/partners
Trust Foundations	(i) Certificate of Registration, if registered (ii) Power of Attorney granted to transact business on its behalf (iii) Any officially valid documents to identify the trustees, settlers, beneficiaries and those holding the Power of Attorney, founders/managers/directors and their addresses (iv) Resolution of the managing body of the foundation/association (v) Telephone bill