Get D-U-N-S number for free and fast in India

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Update: Since this post got viral and many people have actually used it, I decided to post this on my Quora blog too. So that I can increase the reach of this information. Kindly upvote and share the post on Quora too. (Link: Get D-U-N-S number free and fast in india)

I have received a lot of mails, comments and messages related to this and I am afraid I can’t answer them here, since I rarely post here or even login to this blog. So I request you to message me on Quora, if you need to ask something or just wanted to talk to me. I do not mind getting comments here, but I’ll be extremely slow in responding here. My Quora profile can be found here – Abhishek Jain

Copyright Notice:  If you’re reposting any part of this post or the complete post to any other website (or any other publishing media) apart from Quora, you’ll need a written permission from me. In most cases I’ll give the permission for free, if there’s no commercial use involved. On Quora, the content of this post is licensed under CC BY 3.0 license. You’re free to use the information to get your DUNS number though.

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If you’ve ever applied for Apple’s developer account under your company’s name, then you’d know how painful it is to get a D-U-N-S number. And if you’r company is registered outside USA, then it gets even tougher.

When you contact Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)  to assign your organization a D-U-N-S, they actually try to sell you their plans. I tried to get DUNS for my startup in India and that’s what their Mumbai branch replied to me –

Dear Sir / Ma’am,

Greetings from Dun & Bradstreet

We have attached the Questionnaire for your perusal. The price for DUNS is Rs 15000/ + Taxes@12.36%. Total Rs 16854/-.

Kindly send the below

a) Filled signed & stamped questionnaire (all pages to be signed & stamped)
b) Certificate of incorporation / Partnership
c) Electricity / Phone Bill (latest utility bill)

Details appended below for your payment
Payment Terms: Demand Draft / RTGS / NEFT Only.

The DD should be in the favor of Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd.
Total Amount: – Rs 16854/- (15000 +1854 @12.36% taxes)

Kind Attn.:- Ms. XXX / Ms. XXX
Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd
ICC Chambers,
Saki Vihar Road,
Powai, Mumbai 400072. INDIA

Alternatively, the following are the RTGS details

Account Name: DUN & BRADSTREET INFORMATION SERVICES INDIA PVT LTD
Bank Name: xxxxxx
Bank Branch Address: FORT HOUSE, 4TH FLOOR, UNIT NO. 1,224, D.N. ROAD, FORT, MUMBAI – 400001
Beneficiary Bank A/c No: xxxxxxx
Type of Bank A/c: CURRENT A/C
NEFT IFSC Code: – xxxxx
RTGS IFSC Code: – xxxxxx

Kindly send us the snapshot of the transaction & the reference number.

The TAT for obtaining DUNS is 8-10 working days, post receipt of payment & all mandatory documents.

For Document Related queries please contact- xxxx

For Payment related queries please call- xxxxx

Do revert in case of any further clarification.

 

Serious-Lee?

 

And when I argued that the service is free and they shouldn’t take money for that, this is what I got in reply –

 

Dear Sir,

“The DUNS service in India is chargeable and the price quoted to you is the minimum cost for the same which is INR 15000 + ST. DUNS number is a location specific identifier for existence of a business in that location and is valid for the lifetime as long as the business is in existence and operational from the same location with the same trade style. The TAT for obtaining DUNS is 8-10 working days, post receipt of payment & all mandatory documents.

Having said that please note that many organizations within India and outside as well can request for a report on a registered / unregistered entity from the D&B database for any location / company globally and in absence of you keeping the same up to date, D&B shall compile information on your company from public sources on best effort basis when we receive a request and prepare a report on your company to meet the requirement of the party seeking this information. Hence it is advisable that post obtaining the DUNS number that you also keep the information up to date at least on yearly basis with us to have a better control on information being circulated from D&B office. However the prerogative of the same lies with the company.

Hope the same addresses your concerns pertaining to DUNS and registration with D&B.

Do let us know in case you need any further understanding or clarity on the same.”

 

NO!!!

However as per Apple’s instructions, the service should be free. So I searched on internet for this and found that people actually have no clue at all. If you argue a lot they reduce the price to INR 8K too. This is actually if you want to quicken the process to obtain the number. Usually it takes up to 30 days to get the number if you apply through the free route, however if you pay, they’ll do it in less than 5 days.

 

So I contacted few experts and they suggested me a hole in this system. The quickening process is actually free for Government organizations, contractors who are going to apply for USA government contracts and research institutes who will be applying for a grant from universities. So I registered as a Government contractor on their website (it’s not illegal since I intend to apply for USA Government contracts in future, probably after 30-40 years and they didn’t show me any terms and condition which mentions the wrongfulness of this way, I actually checked all the documents ).

I didn’t receive any mails from them and after two days when I tried searching for my company in their database using Apple’s developer site, they actually send me my DUNS. I used it and after voice confirmation from Apple’s executive, I was allowed to make payments.

In case you’re finding the webpage for free registration, this is the link which I’ve used –

D-U-N-S Application (Use Firefox, since Chrome is not supported)

So instead of 30 days, I got D-U-N-S in 3 days that too without paying any penny to the D&B’s infamous Mumbai branch. I hope my post will help everyone to fight back those sales guys.

Hell yeah!!

 

Stay tuned for more helpful resources.

Do visit us at Noob Games to know more about us.

Thanks for reading,

Abhi