Before you list imported products on Flipkart: the compliance checklist for sellers, from seller details to BIS, labels and EPR

Flipkart is a marketplace: it hosts sellers who own the goods. Under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which apply to marketplace and inventory models alike^[1], a seller on a marketplace has its own duties, separate from the platform's. This checklist covers those legal duties plus the product approvals that decide whether a product can be sold at all.

It does not reproduce Flipkart's own seller policies, which change and are not public in full. Where we mention Flipkart's onboarding, it is reported, not official. If you also sell on Amazon, most of this overlaps with before listing on Amazon; for the seller's view of Flipkart, see compliance for Flipkart sellers.

Fifteen checks cover a lawful Flipkart listing: five about you as a seller, six about the product's approvals and four about the pack. Each has a rule and a usual failure. Work down the table before the first unit goes to a Flipkart warehouse.

Set up the seller entity first, then confirm the product, then the pack, then the listing. Doing it in this order means nothing is printed or shipped before the approvals behind it exist.

The BIS Act prohibits selling, storing or exhibiting for sale notified goods without a Standard Mark under a valid licence^[3], and the Act's definition of person includes sellers and retailers^[3]. A Flipkart listing is exhibiting for sale. For what happens otherwise, see selling without BIS.

Rule 6(5) of the E-Commerce Rules requires a marketplace seller to give the platform, for display, the total price with breakup, all mandatory notices required by law, product details including country of origin, the grievance officer's details, and the importer's name and details with guarantees of authenticity^[1].

Stock sent to a marketplace warehouse is stock stored for sale. In March 2025 BIS searched an Instakart (Flipkart group) warehouse in Delhi and reportedly found sports footwear packed without the ISI mark and date of manufacture^[29]. Use the product label checklist for the full list.

Flipkart sells far more than electronics, and the BIS route differs by category: electronics use CRS (Scheme-II, self-declaration), while toys, helmets, pressure cookers, footwear and cookware use the ISI mark (Scheme-I, with factory inspection). The table shows the rule for common imported categories; CRS vs ISI vs FMCS explains the difference.

A seller in Delhi wants to import a private-label power bank from a factory abroad and sell it on Flipkart. Power banks are a CRS category under IS 13252 (Part 1)^[47], so the order of work matters:

1. Brand on the licence. The factory applies for, or extends, its CRS licence to cover the seller's brand. A separate application is needed for a different brand owner^[23], and BIS targets 20 working days once the file is complete^[23].
2. Registrations in parallel. The seller registers for battery EPR before importing^[16] (Rs 10,000 if turnover is under Rs 5 crore^[48]), plastic EPR for the packaging^[17], and Legal Metrology within 90 days of starting imports^[10].
3. Artwork. The factory prints the Standard Mark with the R-number, the importer's declarations and the battery EPR number on the box^[18][4][6].
4. Clearance. Customs checks BIS registration for CRS goods and may sample the consignment, according to a CBIC instruction^[49].
5. Listing. The seller enters the country of origin and importer details^[1] and keeps the licence copy and Bill of Entry in the compliance file.

Nothing goes to the Flipkart warehouse until steps 1 to 4 are complete, because storing for sale is itself covered by the BIS prohibition^[2].

A Mumbai seller imports 2,000 plastic building-block sets for children aged 6 to 12. Toys are not electronics, so the CRS checks do not apply, but the toys checklist is stricter at the port. Here is the order of work.

1. Licence. The Toys QCO covers products intended for play by children under 14^[9], and the factory needs a BIS Scheme-I licence to use the ISI mark^[9]. The seller checks the CM/L licence number in BIS Care^[15]; an ISI licence number is written below the mark as 'CM/L-' followed by digits^[50].
2. Port. A sample is picked from each toy consignment for an NABL-accredited lab, and the goods may be cleared on condition they are not sold until it passes; a failed consignment is sent back or destroyed at the importer's cost^[37]. At Nhava Sheva, JNCH asks for a No Use Bond equal to the assessable value and a test report within two months of assessment^[51].
3. No listing until the sample passes. The stock can sit in the seller's warehouse, but it must not reach a Flipkart warehouse or go live until the bond is cancelled.
4. Pack and listing. The box carries the ISI mark, the importer's name and address^[10], country of origin and MRP^[4]. Plastic EPR applies to the packaging^[17].
5. Samples for development. If the seller later wants prototypes, the QCO lets BIS-certified or applicant manufacturers import up to 300 units a year for R&D, not for sale^[52].

The full product view is on importing toys; the standards are explained under IS 9873 Part 1.

If a buyer complains, a regulator samples your product or the platform asks for proof, you need to answer quickly. During BIS market surveillance a trader may need to show the registration certificate and source-of-procurement documents^[53].

The product checks stay the same; the seller duties change. A brand selling its own stock directly is an inventory e-commerce entity under the E-Commerce Rules^[1], and must itself display return, refund, warranty and grievance information^[1]. It also cannot refuse returns for defective or spurious goods^[1].

On Flipkart, by contrast, the platform displays what the seller provides, and the seller's duties are in rule 6^[1]. Many brands do both. If you do, keep one compliance file per model and use it for both channels. See compliance for D2C brands and compliance for distributors for the other common set-ups.

These are the numbers a Flipkart seller of imported goods must meet. Put them in a calendar on day one.

Hold the listing and fix the cause at its source. The table pairs each common failure with the fix and the page that explains it.

• BIS. Contravening section 17 is punishable with up to two years' imprisonment or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh, extendable to ten times the value of the goods^[3]. BIS officers can search premises and seize goods^[58]. In FY 2024-25 searches reportedly reached 22 e-commerce warehouses, seven of them Instakart's^[8].
• Legal Metrology. Wrong declarations on goods offered through online marketplaces draw an improvement notice for a first offence and up to Rs 5 lakh for a second^[5].
• BEE. For non-compliance found online, BEE directs the platform to de-register the model^[7].
• The platform. Marketplaces remove listings they consider non-compliant; Amazon, for example, reportedly said it removes non-compliant products after the 2025 searches^[59].

The approval checker and HS code approval finder list what a product needs. The label checker tests box artwork against the BIS, LMPC and EPR marking rules. The compliance cost estimator prices any missing approval. For costs in detail see EPR registration costs and LMPC registration costs. If the supplier's papers do not add up, ask for a free compliance check.