Amazon and Flipkart Seller Registration: Documents, GST and Fees

To register as a seller on Amazon.in or Flipkart you need a GSTIN (or, for GST-exempt goods such as books, a PAN), a bank account in the business name, a pickup address in the same state as your GST registration, and at least one product ready to list. This guide walks through the documents, the GST rules that trip up first-time sellers, how marketplace fees actually add up, and what to do in your first 30 days so the first listing sells instead of sitting at page 40.

Before You Register: Decide How You Will Sell

Three decisions shape every form you will fill, so make them first:

1. Which entity sells. A sole proprietor uses personal PAN and a GSTIN linked to it. A partnership, LLP or private limited company uses the entity’s PAN and GSTIN, plus incorporation documents. Switching entity later means a new seller account in most cases, so choose before you start.
2. Where you ship from. Your pickup address must sit in the state where your GSTIN is registered. If you plan to ship from a warehouse in another state, you need GST registration (an additional place of business or a separate state GSTIN) there too.
3. Who ships. On Amazon you can self-ship, use Easy Ship (Amazon picks up and delivers), or use fulfilment centres (FBA, where Amazon stores, packs and ships). Flipkart has a similar split between its own logistics and fulfilment (Flipkart Assured/fulfilment centres). The choice changes your fees and your delivery promise.

For example, a home-based candle maker in Jaipur might start as a sole proprietor shipping from home, while a kitchenware brand in Ludhiana with steady volume might go straight to fulfilment centres.

Documents Checklist for Amazon and Flipkart

Keep scans of everything in one folder before you start.

Item	Amazon.in	Flipkart	Notes
GSTIN	Required for most products; verified during sign-up (can take up to 72 hours)	Required for taxable goods	GSTIN is state-wise and PAN-based
PAN	Needed if you sell only GST-exempt goods without a GSTIN	Needed (personal PAN for proprietors, entity PAN for firms)	Name must match bank and GST records
GST certificate (REG-06)	Upload only if automatic verification fails	Keep ready	Include Annexure A and B
Bank account	Active business bank account for payouts	Account details plus cancelled cheque or statement	Current account in the business name avoids mismatches
Pickup address	Must be in the same state as your GST registration	Same principle applies	Add each warehouse separately
Contact details	Mobile (OTP) and email	Mobile and email	Use a business email you check daily
Signature and ID proof	As asked during verification	As asked during verification	Clear colour scans, not phone photos at an angle
Brand documents (optional)	Trademark application/registration for Brand Registry	Brand approval documents for some categories	Needed later if you want brand protection tools

Amazon’s own seller registration guide lists the flow: create an account, enter and verify your GST number, choose a store name, add a pickup address, pick a shipping method, add your bank account, set a default tax code and list at least one product. Flipkart’s seller hub is at seller.flipkart.com. Its sign-up screens follow the same order: mobile and email, GSTIN, then pickup, bank and listing details. Its screens change often, so follow the live portal rather than old screenshots.

The GST Rules Every New Online Seller Should Understand

This is where most confusion sits, because the e-commerce rules are different from the usual turnover threshold.

Why marketplaces ask for GST even if your turnover is small

Under the CGST Act, people who supply goods through an e-commerce operator that collects tax at source have traditionally had to register for GST regardless of turnover. That is why both marketplaces made GSTIN the default requirement.

The 2023 relief for small intra-state sellers

From 1 October 2023, Notification 34/2023-Central Tax exempts some small suppliers of goods from registration when they sell through e-commerce operators. The conditions are strict:

• Your aggregate turnover must stay within the registration threshold that applies in your state.
• You can sell only within your own state. No inter-state supplies through the operator.
• You can operate in only one state or union territory.
• You must declare your PAN, business address and state on the GST portal and obtain an enrolment number, which the marketplace then uses in place of a GSTIN.

In practice, a seller who wants to reach buyers across India will still need regular GST registration. The enrolment route suits hyper-local sellers, for example a Pune bakery selling only to Pune buyers. Check whether the marketplace supports enrolment-number sellers in your category before you build a plan around it.

GST-exempt goods

Amazon’s registration screen has an option for sellers who “only sell tax-exempted products such as books”. You then provide PAN details instead of a GSTIN. If even one product in your catalogue is taxable, you need a GSTIN.

Tax collected and deducted by the marketplace

Marketplaces collect GST TCS on your net taxable sales (0.5% since 10 July 2024) and deduct a small income-tax TDS on gross sales (0.1% since 1 October 2024). Both show up in your GST and income-tax credit statements. Claim them; many first-year sellers forget. Rates and section numbers change, so confirm the current figures with your CA.

How Marketplace Fees Add Up

Never price a product by adding a margin to your cost and hoping. List every deduction first. Here is how Amazon describes its fee types on its fees and pricing page:

Fee	What it is	Amazon’s published example or starting point
Referral fee	Percentage of selling price, set by category; starts at 0%	Baby apparel sold at Rs 1,450 at 7% = Rs 101.50
Closing fee	Flat fee per item, based on price band and shipping channel	Varies by band; Amazon announced increases of Rs 1 (items up to Rs 500) and Rs 3 (above Rs 500) from 7 September 2026
Weight handling fee	Shipping fee for Easy Ship and FBA orders	Starts at Rs 37 per item shipped
Pick and pack (FBA only)	Fulfilment centre handling	Rs 17 per unit for standard items up to 1 kg
Storage (FBA only)	Monthly warehouse space	Rs 50 per cubic foot per month
GST on fees	Charged on all of the above	18%

Amazon also advertises zero referral fee on a large set of products, but the disclaimer limits it to select categories and an average selling price band of Rs 0 to 500. Read the fee schedule for your exact category and price.

On Flipkart, the big change is commission. Flipkart’s 8 July 2026 announcement extended zero commission to all fashion products at every price point. Before that, the fashion waiver applied to products priced up to Rs 1,000. Zero commission does not mean zero cost. Shipping, fixed or collection fees and returns can still apply, and they vary by category. Your seller dashboard’s rate card is the only number that counts.

A worked pricing example

Say you sell a cotton kurta (illustrative numbers only; check the live rate card for your category):

• Product cost including packaging: Rs 420
• Target selling price: Rs 899
• Marketplace fees (commission or referral, closing, shipping), say Rs 140 before GST
• 18% GST on those fees: about Rs 25
• GST you owe on the sale itself (depends on the HSN rate for the item)
• Allowance for returns: fashion return rates can be high, so budget for return shipping and unsellable stock

Work out what lands in your bank account per order, then subtract product cost and a return allowance. If the answer is thin at Rs 899, raise the price, cut packaging cost or bundle items. Use a GST calculator to separate the tax portion of your selling price before you do this maths.

Step-by-Step Registration on Both Marketplaces

Amazon.in

1. Go to sell.amazon.in and click Start Selling. Sign in with a new email or reuse an existing Amazon customer account. A fresh business email keeps things cleaner.
2. Enter your 15-digit GSTIN. If you sell only exempt goods, choose the tax-exempt option and enter PAN details instead.
3. Choose your store name. It must be unique on Amazon. Pick something you can also use as a brand on packaging and social media.
4. Add the pickup address in your GST state.
5. Choose Easy Ship or Self Ship (you can add fulfilment later).
6. Add your bank account and set your default product tax code.
7. Create your first listing, either by matching an existing catalogue page or creating a new one for your own brand.
8. Launch the store once verification is complete.

Flipkart

1. Go to seller.flipkart.com and start registration with your mobile number and email (OTP verification).
2. Enter your GSTIN and business details. The legal name pulled from GST records should match your bank account.
3. Add your pickup address and confirm the display (store) name.
4. Add bank details and complete any KYC or signature step shown.
5. Choose your category and list products. Some categories need brand or quality approval before you can sell.
6. Complete any onboarding training the dashboard asks for, then go live.

Flipkart’s help centre inside the seller dashboard has the current list of restricted categories. Check it before you buy inventory. Selling in a gated category without approval gets listings blocked.

Your First Listing: What Actually Moves the Needle

Title

Follow the category’s title style. Usually: Brand + product type + key attribute + size/colour/pack. “Shree Candles Soy Wax Jar Candle, Lavender, 200 g, Pack of 2” beats “Best Candle for Home Decor Gift Aroma Relaxing”. Keyword stuffing can get a listing suppressed.

Images

• Main image on a pure white background, product filling most of the frame, no text or watermarks.
• Secondary images: scale shot (in a hand or next to a common object), close-up of material, packaging, a lifestyle shot and a simple infographic showing size.
• Shoot in daylight near a window. A clean phone photo beats a dark DSLR one. Compress very large files before upload so they process faster.

Bullet points and description

Answer the five questions buyers ask in reviews: what size, what material, how to use or wash it, what is in the box, and who it suits. Every vague bullet turns into a return.

Price and stock

Launch at a sensible price, not a loss-making one. Keep enough stock to avoid going out of stock in week one. Running out early kills momentum in the marketplace’s ranking.

The First 30 Days After Going Live

Week	Focus	Actions
Week 1	Clean setup	Test-order your own product with a friend’s account; check packaging, invoice and delivery time
Week 2	Visibility	Run a small sponsored-products campaign on 3 to 5 exact keywords; set a daily cap you can afford to lose
Week 3	Conversion	Read search terms and returns; fix titles, images or size charts that cause confusion
Week 4	Reconciliation	Match each payout to orders, fees, TCS and TDS; note any deductions you do not understand and raise a ticket

Keep a spreadsheet with order ID, selling price, fees, GST on fees, TCS, TDS, payout and product cost. After 30 days you will know your true margin per product.

Building demand outside the marketplace

Marketplace search is crowded. A brand presence of your own (Instagram, a WhatsApp catalogue, local press when you launch something genuinely new) gives buyers a reason to search for you by name. If you have a real story, such as a craft cluster you source from or a first-of-its-kind product, our guide on how to write a press release in India shows how to pitch it. The free distribution options are worth a look before you pay for anything.

Common Mistakes That Delay Registration or Payouts

• Name mismatches. GST legal name, PAN name and bank account name should match. “Sharma Traders” on GST and “Rakesh Sharma” on the bank account causes holds.
• Wrong state address. A pickup address outside your GST state will be rejected.
• Listing restricted products. Some categories, such as certain health, beauty, food and electronics items, need approvals, licences (for example FSSAI for food) or brand authorisation.
• Copying catalogue images. Using another brand’s photos leads to policy strikes.
• Ignoring returns. Not setting up a returns address or not inspecting returned items quickly eats margin.
• Not filing GST returns. Your marketplace sales and TCS appear in GST data. Mismatches with your own returns trigger notices.

Fee schedules, GST notifications and marketplace policies change often. Treat the figures here as a starting point, check the official seller pages on the day you register, and ask a GST practitioner about your specific situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell on Amazon or Flipkart without GST?

Yes, in two cases. If you sell only GST-exempt goods (Amazon’s example is books), you can register with PAN details. And small suppliers within the state threshold can sell within their own state using a PAN-based GST enrolment number under Notification 34/2023, if the marketplace supports it. Selling to buyers in other states needs regular GST registration.

Is seller registration free?

Amazon’s fee pages list per-sale charges (referral, closing, shipping and fulfilment fees), not a sign-up charge, and Flipkart’s onboarding is also widely described as free to start. Either way, your real cost is the fees on each sale plus optional spends such as ads and fulfilment. Confirm on the live portal and check the rate card for your category.

How long does Amazon seller registration take?

Amazon says account setup takes about 15 minutes if your documents are ready. GST verification can take up to 72 hours, and you can keep going with other steps while it is pending.

Do I need a current account, or will a savings account work?

Marketplaces ask for an active bank account in the seller’s name. A current account in the business name avoids name-mismatch problems and keeps business money separate, which your CA will thank you for.

Can I use one GSTIN to sell from warehouses in two states?

No. GST registration is state-wise. To dispatch from a second state, you need GST registration in that state, and the pickup address must match.

Should I start on Amazon, Flipkart or both?

Start where your category’s buyers already shop and where your fee maths works. Many sellers launch on one, learn listing and operations for a month or two, then add the second with the same catalogue.

Your Next Move

Gather your GSTIN or PAN, bank details and pickup address today. Shoot proper photos of your first three products and build a fee sheet for each before you register. Once you go live, review your numbers weekly for the first month. That habit will do more for your margin than any trick in a seller forum.