diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade-business-selection.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade-business-selection.spec.ts
index 86117d306..1400c069d 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade-business-selection.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade-business-selection.spec.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,27 @@ describe('ETradeService business selection', () => {
     expect(data.businesses?.[0].activity).toBe('Export trade in minerals');
   });
 
+  it("takes the selected licence's trade name as the company name", () => {
+    const { service } = build();
+    const data = service.extractRegistrationData(
+      {
+        LicenceNumber: 'MT/AA/14/670/128936/2007',
+        TradeName: 'Pave Freight Forwarding',
+      } as ETradeBusinessInfo,
+      companyInfo(),
+    );
+    expect(data.companyName).toBe('Pave Freight Forwarding');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to the registered name when the licence has no trade name', () => {
+    const { service } = build();
+    const data = service.extractRegistrationData(
+      { LicenceNumber: 'x', TradeName: '  ' } as ETradeBusinessInfo,
+      companyInfo(),
+    );
+    expect(data.companyName).toBe('PAVE LOGISTICS AND TRADING P L C');
+  });
+
   it('lists every licence for the picker, code prefixes stripped', () => {
     const { service } = build();
     const data = service.extractRegistrationData(
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade.service.ts
index fac57238a..5bbcefb7b 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/companies/services/etrade.service.ts
@@ -102,10 +102,16 @@ export class ETradeService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * `companyInfo` carries the registered organization name (`BusinessName`);
-   * `businessInfo` only carries the licence's `TradeName`. Pass both so the
-   * company name resolves to the legal entity rather than the trade name — and
-   * never to `ManagerNameEng`, which is the manager's personal name.
+   * `businessInfo` carries the selected licence's `TradeName`; `companyInfo`
+   * carries the registered organization name (`BusinessName`). The company name
+   * resolves to the trade name of the licence the customer picked — a TIN
+   * routinely trades under a name that is not its registered one, and the
+   * business they selected is the one they operate as here. `BusinessName` is
+   * the fallback, because eTrade leaves `TradeName` blank on plenty of licences.
+   * Never `ManagerNameEng`, which is the manager's personal name.
+   *
+   * Callers that need the legal entity (tax filings, EIMS seller details) must
+   * read `companyInfo.BusinessName` themselves — it is not this field.
    */
   extractRegistrationData(
     businessInfo: ETradeBusinessInfo,
@@ -115,7 +121,7 @@ export class ETradeService {
 
     return {
       companyName:
-        companyInfo?.BusinessName?.trim() || businessInfo.TradeName?.trim() || "",
+        businessInfo.TradeName?.trim() || companyInfo?.BusinessName?.trim() || "",
       licenceNumber: businessInfo.LicenceNumber,
       statusDescription: businessInfo.StatusDescription,
       dateRegistered: businessInfo.DateRegistered,
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-seller-cache.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-seller-cache.service.ts
index be3e3aa8e..7afe644a1 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-seller-cache.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/eims/eims-seller-cache.service.ts
@@ -118,7 +118,11 @@ export class EimsSellerCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
         woreda: data.woreda,
       });
       this.cached = {
-        LegalName: data.companyName || undefined,
+        // The *legal* entity name, not the licence's trade name that
+        // `data.companyName` now carries — an EIMS seller is filed under its
+        // registered name.
+        LegalName:
+          companyInfo?.BusinessName?.trim() || data.companyName || undefined,
         Phone: data.mobilePhone || data.regularPhone || undefined,
         Region: geo?.Region,
         Wereda: geo?.Wereda,
diff --git a/packages/types/src/freight/etrade.ts b/packages/types/src/freight/etrade.ts
index c23492413..2af992b04 100644
--- a/packages/types/src/freight/etrade.ts
+++ b/packages/types/src/freight/etrade.ts
@@ -76,9 +76,14 @@ export interface ETradeBusinessOption {
 
 export interface CompanyRegistrationData {
   /**
-   * The registered organization name — `ETradeCompanyInfo.BusinessName`, falling
-   * back to the licence's `TradeName`. Never the manager/owner's personal name;
-   * that is {@link managerName}.
+   * The selected licence's trade name — `ETradeBusinessInfo.TradeName`, falling
+   * back to the registered organization name (`ETradeCompanyInfo.BusinessName`)
+   * when eTrade leaves the licence's trade name blank. Never the manager/owner's
+   * personal name; that is {@link managerName}.
+   *
+   * NOT the legal entity name: a TIN often trades under a different name, and
+   * some hold several licences with different trade names. Anything that needs
+   * the registered name (tax/EIMS) must read `BusinessName` directly.
    */
   companyName: string;
   licenceNumber: string;