How to Verify a Distributor Is Authorised Before You Buy ICs

A supplier's website shows the logo of a large semiconductor company and calls itself an "authorised channel partner". The quotation comes from an Indian private limited company, the invoice asks for payment to a second company, and the goods will ship from Hong Kong. Which part of that deal, if any, is authorised?

The logo cannot answer that. Authorisation is a contract between a component manufacturer (the OCM) and a specific distributor, and it has edges: certain product lines, certain regions, certain legal entities. A buyer has to check that the actual transaction falls inside those edges. This guide sets out how to do that in a way that leaves a record your quality team and auditors can follow.

What "authorised" actually means

The ECIA, the electronics distribution industry body, summarises SAE AS6496 (the anti-counterfeiting standard for authorised distribution) by defining authorised distribution as transactions conducted by a manufacturer-authorised distributor within the terms of its distribution agreement. JEDEC's JESD243, written for manufacturers, describes those agreements as covering the distribution region, the products or lines, and how the manufacturer's warranty flows down. Both point to the same practical limits:

• A distributor authorised for one manufacturer is not automatically authorised for another.
• Authorisation can stop at a border. A group can be franchised in Singapore and not in India.
• An affiliate or subsidiary may need its own standing.
• An authorised distributor can still sell stock it bought outside its agreement. That sale is not authorised just because of who made it.

SAE revised the standard as AS6496A (current on SAE's site when checked in October 2026). ECIA's summary of the revision says it adds a disclosure duty: when a distributor sells a part it is not authorised for, for example in a particular geography, it must tell the customer, so the customer knows the manufacturer's warranty will not apply. Do not rely on every seller knowing or following that rule. Ask directly: "Is this transaction within your current agreement with this manufacturer, for this part and for delivery to India?"

Why it matters is set out plainly by manufacturers. Texas Instruments says parts bought outside its authorised network may be counterfeit, modified, past its recommended shelf life or badly stored, and that it gives no warranty or support on them. Analog Devices says it fully supports parts bought through its authorised distributors, including quality, reliability and failure-analysis support.

Step 1: write down every legal entity

Before looking at any manufacturer website, list the companies involved:

• the company named on the quotation;
• for an Indian seller, its GSTIN and registered address;
• the bank account holder;
• the company issuing the invoice;
• the company that owns the stock;
• the ship-from company and location; and
• the company that will handle warranty claims and returns.

In a global distribution group these can legitimately differ, but the relationship should be explainable and documented. For Indian entities, check the GSTIN on the GST portal's Search Taxpayer page and confirm that the legal name matches the quotation. Confirm bank details by calling a number you found independently, never one taken from the same email that sent the bank details, and repeat that call whenever the bank details change.

A brand name with no identifiable contracting entity cannot go on your approved vendor list.

Step 2: find the entity on the manufacturer's own channel page

Go to the manufacturer's website directly rather than through a search advert, and look for "Where to buy", "Distributors" or "Sales offices". Search by the distributor's group name and by the exact legal entity, filter to India or Asia-Pacific, and note whether the page separates catalogue (online) partners from production distributors.

The pages differ. When checked in October 2026, TI's ordering FAQ listed Arrow (all regions except Japan), DigiKey, Mouser and Macnica as authorised distributors, Tokyo Electron Device for Japan, and separate channels for obsolete parts (Rochester Electronics), wafer and die (Micross) and aerospace and defence customers. Analog Devices' page listed online partners, regional distributors and Rochester for obsolete or surplus parts. Lists like these change, so read the current page each time rather than relying on an old screenshot or this article.

Save a dated PDF or screenshot of the page with its URL into the purchase file. If anyone later asks why the award was made, the file should show what was checked and when.

Step 3: resolve mismatches in writing

Suppose "ABC Electronics India Pvt Ltd" sends the quote, but the manufacturer's page lists "ABC Distribution Asia Pte Ltd". Do not assume they are the same thing. Write to the manufacturer's published sales office or contact form:

"Is ABC Electronics India Pvt Ltd authorised to sell your part family X to customers in India, and will this purchase carry your normal warranty and support?"

Give the quote reference and MPN if you can. Ask the distributor, separately, to explain how the Indian company relates to the listed one: sales affiliate, billing agent, or something else. Distribution agreements are usually confidential, so expect a confirmation email rather than the contract. A reply from the manufacturer's own domain carries far more weight than a certificate the distributor printed itself.

Step 4: record authorisation line by line

A single quotation can cover a dozen brands, and a distributor can be franchised for some of them and buying others on the open market. Add these fields to your quote comparison for every line:

Never label a whole quote "authorised" when only some lines are. Ask for written disclosure of every exception, and route those lines through your open-market controls, which are covered in our guide to spot buying.

Step 5: use authorised-only search sites carefully

TrustedParts.com, run by the ECIA, only shows a distributor's stock for a manufacturer once the distributor has supplied proof of authorisation for that manufacturer in each region it serves. Accepted proof includes a manufacturer letter or agreement, an email from the manufacturer's domain, or a listing on the manufacturer's website, and TrustedParts says it re-verifies these periodically. That makes it a good cross-check for an exact MPN.

General aggregators work differently. Octopart flags authorised sellers, but its own classification page warns that it may mark a distributor as authorised because it is an ECIA member, and tells buyers to double-check with the manufacturer.

Whichever site you use, record which distributor showed the offer, which regional site you were on, the date of the stock figure, and the entity that finally quoted. An aggregator helps you find an authorised offer. It does not approve the supplier or guarantee that a later quote sent by email comes from the same stock.

Step 6: agree the shipment paperwork before the PO

Ask what will arrive with the goods and write it into the order:

• a distributor certificate of conformance naming the manufacturer and MPN;
• an invoice and packing list that reference your PO line;
• date and lot codes, where the manufacturer supplies them;
• original manufacturer packaging and labels;
• the warranty and failure-analysis route; and
• how product change and end-of-life notices will reach you.

"CoC available" can mean anything from a one-line seller declaration to a controlled document tied to traceability records. Settle which one you are getting before you award the order. The detail of what a CoC should contain is covered in our date code and CoC guide.

Step 7: recheck when anything changes

Verify at first approval, before adding a new manufacturer to a supplier's scope, after any change of legal entity or region, and on a regular cycle for critical parts. Recheck straight away if a quote's source changes after the PO, or if the distributor becomes vague about where stock is coming from.

Record the approval scope in the vendor list: legal entity, site, manufacturer, product family, region, transaction type, evidence date and any restrictions. "Approved distributor" with no scope invites misuse a year later. Authorisation is one input to supplier approval, not the whole of it; our guide on supplier capability evaluation covers the rest.

Three arrangements that need extra care

Authorised resellers. Some manufacturers appoint resellers or catalogue partners with narrower rights than a full distributor. ECIA's AS6496 summary notes that an authorised reseller is not treated as an authorised distributor under that standard. Record the manufacturer's own term for the relationship and its warranty position.

Master distributors. ECIA notes that a master distributor may or may not be an authorised distributor, and that a distributor buying from one should confirm with the manufacturer that the product counts as authorised distribution. If your supplier buys through a master distributor, ask for that confirmation.

Authorised aftermarket manufacturers. For discontinued parts, a manufacturer may license die, tooling or production rights to an aftermarket company. Check the licence with the original manufacturer and confirm whose warranty applies; do not treat the company as an ordinary broker, or as an ordinary franchise.

Each of these is legitimate when documented. Trouble starts when a familiar word is used to hide where the stock really came from.

Warning signs that should pause the order

• The seller will not name the manufacturer or its upstream source.
• The manufacturer's directory does not list the seller for your region.
• An "authorisation certificate" has no manufacturer contact, scope or date.
• Payment is requested to an unrelated company with no clear reason.
• The seller claims "global" authorisation but cannot point to a manufacturer listing.
• Stock described as authorised becomes "partner stock" after the PO.
• Full manufacturer warranty is promised on open-market material.

None of these proves the parts are fake. Each one means the deal is not yet what it claims to be. If no authorised stock exists at all, see our guide on fake stock and ghost inventory before trusting any open-market availability figure, and browse component distributors on forUdyog to widen the list of channels you check.