Guide

Export documents for a chemical shipment from India

The documents a chemical shipment needs depend on the product, the destination country and how your own customs authority classifies it. That is why the list has to start with your broker, not with a supplier’s standard pack.

The short answer. Ask your customs broker or clearing agent for the list your country requires from the supplier, send that list with the enquiry, and have the supplier confirm in writing which it can issue before you order. Taskon sends the signed Material Safety Data Sheet with the quotation and a batch certificate of analysis with the consignment, and confirms any further document against your list.

Why the list starts with your broker

Import requirements are set by the destination country, and they differ between countries and between products. They also change. A supplier who recites a fixed list from memory may be right for one country and wrong for yours. Your broker knows what your customs will ask for, so their list is the one to work from.

Documents buyers commonly ask about

Buyers of chemicals typically ask a supplier about some of the following. Whether each one applies to your shipment is a question for your broker.

A Material Safety Data Sheet for the product.
A certificate of analysis for the batch being shipped.
Commercial documents for the shipment itself, such as the invoice and packing details.
Any certificate your country asks for on origin, or for the particular product.

Questions to ask your broker before you enquire

A few questions to your own broker before you contact suppliers will save a round of emails later:

How does our customs classify this product, and does that change what the supplier must send?
Does this product need an import permit or a registration in our country before it can be cleared?
Are there labelling or language requirements for the bags or the documents?
Which documents must be originals, and which may be copies or electronic?
Does any document need to be attested or legalised before shipment?

These are questions for your broker, not statements of what your country requires. The answers differ by country and by product.

What Taskon sends

With every quotation, the complete signed Material Safety Data Sheet. With every consignment, a batch certificate of analysis. For anything else on your broker’s list, send the list with the enquiry and we will confirm, document by document, which we can issue, before you order. If we cannot issue one, we will say so at that stage.

Keep the documents consistent

A shipment is held more often because two documents disagree than because one is missing. The product name, grade, quantity and batch should match across every document. There is a separate page on keeping the invoice, COA and MSDS consistent.

Where Taskon ships from

Taskon Industries is a DGFT-registered exporter, IEC AALCT7695Q, manufacturing at Changodar, Ahmedabad. Export consignments leave by road for the Gujarat ports of Mundra or Kandla. See the export overview for the Asian markets we quote.

Buying more than one product? Send the full list and we will quote it as one consignment.

Questions buyers ask

Export documents for a chemical shipment from India: frequently asked questions

What documents are needed to export chemicals from India?

It depends on the product and the destination country. Ask your customs broker for the list your country requires from the supplier, and have the supplier confirm in writing which it can issue.

Does Taskon send an MSDS and a certificate of analysis?

Yes. The signed Material Safety Data Sheet comes with the quotation, and a batch certificate of analysis travels with the consignment.

Can Taskon issue the other documents my broker needs?

Send the list with the enquiry. We will confirm document by document which we can issue before you order.

Who decides what my import needs?

Your own country’s customs authority. Your broker or clearing agent will know the current requirements for your product.