Buyers and importing authorities rarely ask whether you are organic. They ask for two documents: a scope certificate that says what you are certified for, and a transaction certificate that says this particular lot is organic. They do different jobs, and confusing them is how shipments get held.
The certificates in one line each
- ScopeYour certified status — issued annually by your certification body on Tracenet
- TCOne consignment's status — required for every transaction of organic product
- PTCProvisional TC — issued before export, completed with transport details after shipment
- CodeEach certificate carries a unique verifiable code from Tracenet
Test your understanding first — tap each card:
"Our scope certificate proves this shipment is organic."
It proves you are certified for the year. Each consignment needs its own transaction certificate.
"Domestic sales don't need transaction certificates."
They do — at every transaction until the product is packed for the consumer.
"A TC is issued as soon as we ask for it."
Only after complete original documents are submitted, and after any upstream TCs from other certification bodies are verified.
The Scope Certificate
The scope certificate is issued annually by your certification body on Tracenet, in the prescribed format. It establishes that you, as an operator, are certified under NPOP for a defined scope for that year. It does not, on its own, say that any particular bag, drum or container is organic — that is the transaction certificate's job.
Because it is annual, the scope certificate has an expiry that matters operationally: a lapsed scope certificate stops everything downstream, and changing certification body has to be started at least 45 days before it expires (covered in the final chapter).
The Transaction Certificate
NPOP is unambiguous on who needs one: certification bodies issue TCs for all transactions, and it is mandatory for every organic operator involved in transacting organic products, in the domestic or the export market, to take a TC.
- TCs are issued on Tracenet in the prescribed format, after the operator has provided all the required documents.
- The certification body must take reasonable measures to verify that the information is correct and that the documents have been submitted in original.
- Where the product was sourced and certified by another certification body, the original TCs for that purchase must be verified before yours is issued.
Domestic sales are not exempt. If organic product is meant only for the Indian market, a TC is still mandatory at each transaction until final packing into the consumer pack. After that, the stock is closed as domestic consumption.
Following One Consignment Through the Chain
harvest"] -->|"TC within
5 working days"| B["Trader or
processor"] B -->|"TC within
3 working days"| C["Exporter's
processing unit"] C --> D["Provisional TC
(no transport details)"] D -->|"Goods shipped"| E["Export TC
(within 7 working days)"] E --> F["Importer abroad"]
Each certificate draws on the one before it. The certification body issuing your export TC is looking back up the chain for the TCs that brought the organic material to you — and NPOP forbids a certification body from issuing any certificate unless it is assured of the chain of custody where earlier steps were certified by other bodies.
The Provisional Transaction Certificate
A Provisional Transaction Certificate carries all the details of a particular organic consignment except the transportation details, and is issued before export. Once the goods have shipped, the transport details are entered and the transaction certificate for export is issued.
In practice the PTC is what lets the paperwork run alongside the logistics: it settles everything about the lot while the shipping details are still being finalised.
Check your own deadline:
This interactive tool needs JavaScript. The rules it applies are set out in the text of this episode.
Why TCs Get Delayed
| Cause | What it means |
|---|---|
| Incomplete documents | The timelines only start once everything required has been submitted |
| Physical verification | The time limits do not apply where risk analysis calls for physical verification |
| Upstream TCs from another body | Must be verified in original before your TC is issued |
| Quantities that do not reconcile | The volume requested exceeds what the certified chain can account for — the subject of episode 13 |
Once product is packed into the final consumer pack, or a TC has been issued, certification bodies are not ordinarily obliged to inspect it further. They are, however, obliged to act where information suggests the standards have been, or may be, violated at those later stages. A certificate is not a shield against what happens to the product next.
Before you request a transaction certificate
- Invoice and packing-list quantities agree with the TC request
- Upstream TCs for every lot are in hand, in original
- The requested quantity fits within your certified stock balance
- Your scope certificate covers the product and is still valid
For the timelines your certification body must meet, see choosing a certification body. When the ledger itself will not let a TC through, the stock ledger mismatch guide covers the fix. Next: TraceNet, the system all of this runs on. KrushiFlow validates these fields and submits farmer records to the portal in bulk.