Two different games
Selling domestically on Amazon.in and selling globally from India are not the same decision wearing two hats. Domestically, Amazon settles in rupees, GST registration covers most requirements, and you can be live in days. The moment you target the US, UK or UAE marketplaces through Amazon Global Selling, you become an exporter — and exporters in India live inside a registration chain. Nobody explains the order, which is why most first-timers stall for months. This is that order.
The registration chain, in the order that works
Each step assumes the previous one exists. Skipping ahead is what creates rejection loops.
- PAN and a current account. Your PAN is the tax identity everything else attaches to. Open a current account at a bank that handles foreign exchange — an Authorized Dealer bank — because later steps happen on this account.
- GST registration, then a Letter of Undertaking (LUT). GST registration is the base layer. The LUT is the part sellers miss: registering under LUT lets you export without paying IGST upfront on every shipment. Without it you pay IGST first and claim refunds later — a cash-flow tax on your own business.
- IEC — the Import Export Code. Issued online by the DGFT, mandatory for commercial exports from India. There is no Global Selling without it; do it early because it is the identifier customs, your bank and courier paperwork will all ask for.
- AD Code, then ICEGATE registration. Your bank issues an AD (Authorised Dealer) Code letter — a 14-digit code tied to your account. You then register that code with customs on the ICEGATE portal for each port you will ship from. Unregistered port = your shipping bill cannot be generated = your box does not fly.
- Enrol in Global Selling inside Seller Central. Create or link your account at sell.amazon.in, choose your marketplaces, and keep an internationally-enabled card ready for the professional plan fee. For most first-time exporters, UAE or the UK are gentler first markets than the US — strong demand for Indian goods, shorter logistics routes.
The money trail
Global marketplace settlements arrive as foreign inward remittances, and India treats that money as export income — which is good news, but only if your paperwork agrees with itself. Keep the FIRC (foreign remittance certificate) trail for every settlement and reconcile it against your shipping bills; your bank and your CA will both ask. Export incentives such as RoDTEP exist for many product categories, but only when your documents are consistent.
Budget honestly for: the professional selling plan fee, referral fees per marketplace, FBA or self-ship freight, and — the one nobody prices in — returns from halfway across the world.
What actually trips first-time exporters
- Name mismatches. The legal name across PAN, GST, IEC, bank account and Seller Central must match exactly. One abbreviation difference can freeze verification or remittances for weeks.
- Shipping from an unregistered port. Your AD Code registration is per-port. Add a new courier hub? Register it first.
- Destination-market compliance blindness. Indian paperwork gets your box out of India. It does not get a health, toy, food or skincare product into the US or EU — those markets have their own claim and labelling rules, with FSSAI-style equivalents on their side.
- Choosing FBA too early. Test demand merchant-fulfilled or with a small FBA shipment before committing container-scale inventory.
The listing still decides
Once the chain exists, your copy carries the sale — and destination-market rules are stricter than home ones. Claims that pass quietly in India ("ayurvedic cure", "doctor recommended") are regulated language in the US and EU. Write from facts you can substantiate, and scan your listings before you ship inventory against them.
Fees, registration rules and incentive schemes change frequently. Verify current requirements on the DGFT portal, ICEGATE, your bank and Seller Central before committing money.