Use the official MCA master data or a company record site to confirm a company exists, is active and who its directors are. Then use a buyer check for behaviour: FundRaksha Trust gives a free GST check, and its paid reports add the filing record, court cases, tribunals and FIRs, the owner's credit score and supplier-reported defaults, ending in a give-credit, caution or avoid decision. Trust also covers proprietorships and firms, which have no MCA record.
What a company record can and cannot tell you
| Question | Company record (MCA, Zauba-type sites) | Buyer check (GST, court, defaults) |
|---|---|---|
| Does the company exist and is it active? | Yes | Partly, through GST status |
| Who are the directors? | Yes | Trust shows associated people and promoter or director financials |
| Is it filing GST returns? | No | Yes |
| Has it been sued or had cheques bounce? | No | Yes, court cases, tribunals and FIRs |
| Has it left suppliers unpaid? | No | Yes, supplier-reported defaults |
| Proprietorships and partnerships | Not covered | Covered through GSTIN |
Start with the official record
For a company or LLP, the official source is the MCA master data, which shows the company's status (Active, Strike Off, under liquidation and so on), date of incorporation, registered office and directors. Read our guide to MCA master data. Third-party sites present the same public records in an easier format; if you use one, check the date the record was last updated, because filings can lag.
If the buyer is a company, the GSTIN's PAN (characters 3 to 12) should be the company's PAN, and the 4th PAN character should be C. See GSTIN format explained.
Then check behaviour
| Trust report | Price | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Basic GST check | Free, no sign-up | GST status, legal and trade name, registration date, constitution and nature of business |
| Advance GST report | 129 RP | GST health score and compliance risk, filing record with delays and missing returns, registered contacts, associated people and places, Aadhaar, eKYC and e-invoice signals, defaults reported by other suppliers |
| GST + Financial report | 499 RP, charged when ready | Everything above plus the owner's credit score and loan repayment record, promoter or director financials, court cases, tribunals and FIRs, and a give-credit, caution or avoid decision |
Each Trust report weighs these signals into a decision: safe to give credit, give credit with care, or avoid credit. The owner's credit record is fetched only with the owner's consent, and failed checks are refunded. Read how to verify a buyer before giving credit for the full sequence.
Worked example
A Bengaluru electronics distributor is asked for ₹9 lakh of credit by a private limited company in Pune. The company record shows it is Active, incorporated six years ago, with two directors. That settles identity. The Trust GST + Financial report then shows regular GST filing, no court cases and no supplier reports, and the owner's credit record is clean: "safe to give credit". The distributor offers 30 days with a ₹5 lakh limit to start. Had the company been a proprietorship, there would have been no company record at all, and the Trust report would have been the main check.
When the company record is out of date
Company records depend on filings, and some companies file late or not at all. If the last balance sheet on record is several years old, that is itself information: a company that has stopped filing with the MCA may be in difficulty. Check the GST filing record, which is monthly or quarterly and therefore more current, before relying on old company data.
Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-10-21. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.