Tools and Guides
What documents should you ask an overseas distributor to show you?
A distributor's presentation is written by the distributor. These are the documents that turn a claim into something you can check, and the limit of what each one proves.
A distributor sends a company profile, a photograph of its warehouse and a bank letter. None of it answers the question that decides the appointment: can this company import your product for resale, and will it pay you. The documents below are what replace that profile. Ask for all of them in one request, and expect some to be refused. The refusal is information too.
1. Identity and registration
| Document | What it proves | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Company registration extract (in Indonesia, the NIB record) | That a legal entity with this name exists, where it is registered and whether it is active. | That it trades at the volume it claims, or that it is the entity that will sign your agreement. |
| Deed of establishment and latest amendments | Ownership, directors and any change of name or capital. | That the person emailing you has authority to bind the company. |
| Tax registration | That the company is registered for tax under this name. | Its payment behaviour or its compliance history. |
Verify the registration at the source rather than in the PDF the distributor sent. In Indonesia the business number (NIB) and licence status are recorded in the OSS system, and a screenshot is not the same thing as a current record. Ask for the registry extract yourself; it is cheap and it names the legal entity your agreement will bind.
2. Permission to import
| Document | What it proves | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Import licence record (in Indonesia, the NIB licence page showing API-U or API-P status) | Which import category the company holds. | That the category matches importing your goods for resale. |
| Product-specific registration or approval | That the product or product type is registered, and in whose name. | That your models are covered, or that the registration is current. |
| Customs broker appointment (PPJK) | Which licensed broker clears the company's goods. | Who owns the goods, or who carries the import risk. |
The licence category is where a satisfactory-looking file most often breaks. In the illustrative case used on this site, the records show API-P status, which is the producer import category, while the appointment asks the company to import finished goods for resale. That is a question to resolve, not a conclusion. It belongs to the company and to a qualified Indonesian specialist, and it should be resolved in writing before the appointment is signed.
3. Money and conduct
| Document | What it proves | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Two to three years of financial statements | The reported position on the date they were prepared, if they are audited. | Current solvency, or whether the figures were audited at all. Ask which. |
| Bank reference letter | That a banking relationship exists. | A credit limit, payment history or willingness to pay you. |
| Two supplier references, with contact details | How this company has paid named suppliers. | Anything, until you speak to the referees yourself. |
Contact the referees directly and ask three questions: how long they have supplied this distributor, what the payment terms are, and whether they would appoint it again. A reference letter that routes back through the distributor is not a reference.
4. Commercial reality
| Document | What it proves | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Recent import records or shipment history, redacted | That goods were imported, of what kind, on what dates and by which importer. | That the same route works for your product or your classification. |
| Resale price list and target margin | What it expects to sell at and what it expects to make. | That the price is achievable, or that the list is current. |
| Draft distribution agreement and authority to sign | The terms being proposed and who can commit to them. | That the terms are lawful or commercially sound. That is a lawyer's question. |
Ask once, in writing. One request list, a deadline and a named person. A distributor that supplies redacted copies quickly is telling you something useful. One that supplies a glossy profile and no registry extract is telling you something too.
How to check what you are given
- Check the name, not the logo. Every document should name the same legal entity that will sign. A trading name, a parent and a subsidiary are three different counterparties.
- Check the date. A licence, a registration and financial statements all have one. A document without a date cannot be relied on six months from now.
- Check the source. Registry, licence and product registration records can be obtained or confirmed at the registry or ministry. Do that rather than accepting the copy you were sent.
- Record the gap. If a document is missing, write down what it would have proved and who can supply it. That list is the part of the file that protects you.
Red flags, in order of how often they matter
- A registry extract that names a different entity from the one negotiating with you.
- An import licence category that does not fit importing your goods for resale, with no specialist view on the route.
- References that route back through the distributor, or no referee contact details at all.
- A refusal to provide a registry extract, described as confidential. It is a public record in most markets.
- A resale price list without a date, or a margin that assumes a landed cost nobody has calculated.
Document requirements differ by market and by product. The Indonesian references on this page were read on 30 October 2026, with the amendment register checked on 31 October 2026. A real check states the date each line was read.