Selling on Amazon.com with a US LLC from India: What to Sort Out First

A US LLC is not required to sell on Amazon.com. You can open a seller account as an individual, and many Indian sellers do. The reasons to form an LLC are narrower: you want a business name on the account, a US EIN and bank account, protection if a product causes a claim, and a clean structure if the business grows. If that is your case, this is the order to do things in, and the points where sellers lose weeks.

Amazon's requirements and fees change, so check them in Seller Central before you pay for anything.

Before you open the account

1. Form the LLC and get the EIN. The name on the seller account must match the name on the formation documents and the IRS letter. See LLC formation for non-residents and the EIN service.
2. Have a way to receive payouts. Amazon pays into a bank account. A US account in the LLC's name is the cleanest. Some sellers use a payment service that gives them US bank details.
3. Keep a card and a phone ready. Amazon charges a monthly fee for a professional seller plan and verifies your phone.
4. Prepare ID and address proof. Amazon checks the identity of the account holder, usually with a passport and a live video check, and the address.

The step that trips people up: the tax interview

Amazon asks you to complete a tax interview before it releases funds. For a US LLC owned by one person who lives outside the US, the correct form depends on how the LLC is treated for US tax. A single-member LLC is normally ignored for income tax, which means the owner, not the LLC, is the taxpayer. For a foreign owner that usually points to a W-8 form instead of a W-9. People who guess here are the ones who later get a tax hold on their funds. Ask a tax professional what applies to you, and answer the interview consistently with how the LLC is actually set up.

Where the stock sits changes your US tax

This is the part most "sell on Amazon from India" guides skip.

• If you use Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), your inventory sits in the US. Selling goods from US warehouses is likely to count as running a business in the US, and the profit is then taxed in the US. That means US tax filings for you even though you live in India.
• If you ship each order yourself from India, the position can be different, and so are your customs obligations.

Neither is better in every case. Decide with a tax adviser before you send a pallet to a warehouse, not after.

Sales tax and marketplace rules

Amazon collects and sends sales tax for orders on its marketplace in most states. That does not always remove your own obligations. If you hold stock in a state, you may need to register there and file returns, even when Amazon collected the tax. States set these rules separately. Check the states where your inventory is stored.

Shipping from India

If goods leave India, you need an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) and the usual export paperwork. Indian exporters also have to think about how foreign payments are received and reported. A customs broker or a chartered accountant handles this better than a formation company.

Brand, barcodes and product risk

• Products need valid barcodes from GS1, not ones bought from a reseller, or listings can be removed.
• If you want Amazon Brand Registry, you usually need a trademark application or registration for the brand. That is a separate process from forming the LLC.
• A product can cause injury or damage. An LLC helps separate your personal assets, but it does not replace insurance for product liability. Amazon asks for it once sales pass a set level.

A sensible sequence

1. Form the LLC and obtain the EIN.
2. Open the bank account.
3. Complete the seller account and the tax interview with advice.
4. List a small number of products first.
5. Choose FBA or self-shipping after you have seen real sales and costs.

We form the LLC, get the EIN and help with the US business bank account. The tax, customs and marketplace parts need specialists, and we say so rather than guessing.