Selling electronics on Amazon and other Indian marketplaces: the licences, labels and EPR registrations you need

This page covers what Indian law requires of someone selling electronics through an online marketplace such as Amazon. It does not describe any marketplace's own seller policies, which can ask for more.

What the law asks of you depends on your role. Most sellers fall into one of three:

• Importer-seller. You import the goods yourself and sell them online. You carry the most obligations.
• Brand owner. A factory makes goods under your brand, and you sell them. Under the EPR rules, selling under your own brand goods made by others makes you a producer^[7][8].
• Reseller. You buy another company's branded goods from an Indian importer or distributor and resell them.

Every seller, whatever the role, must sell only compliant goods. The BIS Act ban covers sellers^[2], and the Legal Metrology penalty for a non-conforming pack covers anyone who sells or offers it, including through e-commerce platforms^[3].

Four sets of definitions decide what you owe: the BIS Act's "person", the E-Commerce Rules' "seller", the Consumer Protection Act's "product seller" and "product manufacturer", and the EPR rules' "producer" and "brand owner". A marketplace seller usually falls inside all four.

The E-Commerce Rules treat Amazon as a marketplace e-commerce entity, a platform that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers^[13]. You, the seller on that marketplace, are expressly not an "e-commerce entity"^[13]. Instead the rules define a seller as the "product seller" of section 2(37) of the Consumer Protection Act^[13], which covers anyone who, in the course of business, imports, sells, distributes, packages, labels or markets a product^[14].

The table sets the definitions side by side. It is consistent with our responsibility table for every business type.

You need the manufacturer's BIS licence. Under CRS, the applicant is the manufacturer and the licence is granted per factory, never to an importer or trader^[1]. No one may sell or distribute covered goods that do not meet the Indian Standard and carry the Standard Mark with a BIS registration number^[1].

Before you list a product, check:

• The mark is on the goods. The CRS Standard Mark must show the R-number and the Indian Standard number^[16]. The website www.bis.gov.in must also appear on the product or pack^[17].
• It is on the packaging for small items. If a product such as earphones is too small, the mark can go on the packaging only^[18].
• E-labels still need a physical label. A device with a screen may show the mark electronically, but a physical label is still needed on the packaging at import, storage and sale^[19].
• The licence covers your brand. A separate CRS application is needed for each brand name unless the brand owner is the same^[11]. A factory's licence for its own brand does not cover your private label.
• The licence is current. After validity, a licence that has not been renewed does not allow the factory to mark or dispatch goods, including stock in hand^[20].

Some products need the ISI mark instead. In our reading, extension boards fall under the plugs and sockets order, with the ISI mark to IS 1293 from 1 June 2022^[21]. See BIS ISI mark.

Under section 29 of the BIS Act as enacted (we have not checked for later amendments), selling notified goods without the Standard Mark is punishable with up to two years in prison or a fine of at least Rs 2 lakh for a first offence, extendable to ten times the value of the goods, or both^[2]. BIS can also order a stop to supply and a recall^[2]. More on marking in our CRS labelling guide.

Every pre-packaged commodity must declare^[22]:

• name and address of the manufacturer, packer or importer;
• country of origin;
• common or generic name;
• net quantity;
• month and year of manufacture;
• MRP (maximum retail price) and unit sale price;
• consumer care details.

Some details matter for electronics sellers:

• Month and year of manufacture, not import. Since 1 January 2024 the rules require the month and year of manufacture^[4]. For electronics, a 2023 amendment is reported to let that date appear anywhere on the retail package, as long as it is visible and legible^[23].
• Unit sale price. G.S.R. 722(E) added the unit sale price alongside the MRP, with effect from 1 January 2024^[22].
• Consumer care. The pack must give a name, address and phone number for complaints, and an e-mail address if available^[4].
• No covering stickers. Stickers may not change the mandatory declarations, except a reduced-MRP sticker that does not hide the original MRP^[4].
• Customary units. A DoCA advisory of May 2026 is reported to allow customary units such as inches next to the SI unit, for example "139 cm (55 inches)"^[24].

If you import, you must also register your name and address under rule 27^[4], pay Rs 500^[4] and, on our reading of rule 27, apply within 90 days of starting^[4]. Since 29 May 2026 a company's application must name the director responsible for violations^[5], and the certificate stays valid until cancelled^[5]. The same amendment requires companies to update their details every year on the online portal, through an option the rule says will be made available^[5].

The rules also reach the online listing itself, though the duties here sit mainly with the e-commerce entity that runs the platform.

• Declarations on the platform. Since a 2017 amendment that took effect on 1 January 2018, e-commerce entities are reported to be required to display the mandatory label declarations for pre-packaged goods they offer^[25]. We have not checked the exact list against the gazette text.
• Country-of-origin filter. A February 2026 amendment reportedly required e-commerce entities to give imported products a searchable and sortable country-of-origin filter from 1 July 2026^[26]. An April 2026 amendment, G.S.R. 312(E), is reported to have replaced that rule and moved the date to 1 July 2027^[27].

In practice, a platform can only display what the seller supplies. Keep the details you enter in your listing identical to the printed pack, especially the importer name, country of origin, MRP and month and year of manufacture. The 2026 penalty for a non-conforming pack applies to anyone who offers it for sale, and names e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces and electronic service providers^[3].

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 rewrote the Legal Metrology Act penalties. For most sellers the change is good news for a first slip and bad news for repeat ones. The Legal Metrology changes were reportedly brought into force from 1 May 2026^[24]; we have not seen the commencement notification.

• Improvement notice. An officer can serve a notice listing what is wrong and how to fix it. If you do not comply, your registration or approval can be suspended or revoked after a hearing^[3].
• Compounding. Most offences can be settled before or after prosecution for a sum not exceeding the maximum fine, and courts act only on a written complaint by the Director, Controller or an authorised officer^[3].
• Fines rise over time. The Act raises the fines and penalties by ten per cent of the minimum amount every three years^[3].

Because the first offence now brings an improvement notice rather than a fine, act quickly on any notice. A second offence on the same pack can cost up to Rs 5 lakh^[3].

If you import or own the brand, almost certainly yes. There are three separate EPR regimes, and a single gadget can trigger all three, because batteries and packaging are carved out of the e-waste rules into their own rules^[7].

Plastic packaging. EPR covers importers of plastic packaging and of products in plastic packaging, and brand owners (other than micro and small enterprises) including online marketplaces and retail chains^[6]. A business operating in one or two states registers with the state pollution control board through the central portal; one in more than two states registers with CPCB^[28]. The application fee is Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on plastic waste tonnage^[29], and annual returns are due by 30 June^[6].

E-waste. A producer includes anyone who sells under its own brand equipment made by others, or offers imported equipment for sale, whatever the selling technique, including as an e-retailer^[7]. Producers file quarterly and annual returns on the CPCB portal by the end of the following month^[7]. Registered entities may not deal with unregistered ones^[7].

Batteries. If you import batteries or equipment with batteries, or sell batteries under your own brand, you are a battery producer^[8]. CPCB's FAQ says an importer has obligations when it sells under its own brand or the imported brand, or supplies others who sell under the importer's brand, but not when buyers resell under their own brand^[12]. Fees run from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 by turnover^[30]. The annual return for FY 2025-26 was extended to 30 November 2026^[31].

All three regimes affect your pack:

• batteries must carry the producer's EPR registration number^[8]; for imported batteries, putting it on the equipment or its packaging is enough^[32];
• plastic packaging must show the name and registration number of the producer or brand owner^[33], which may instead be given in a QR code or barcode from 1 July 2025^[34].

For the portals and fee detail, see EPR registration costs and EPR annual returns.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi products. Earbuds, speakers, smart watches and other wireless devices need a WPC Equipment Type Approval^[9]. For licence-exempt devices it is a self-declaration on the Saral Sanchar portal, with the certificate downloaded on submission^[35]. The fee is Rs 10,000 per model^[9] and the ETA lasts for the life of the model unless revoked^[9]. The importer or authorised Indian representative files it^[36].

LED bulbs. Self-ballasted LED lamps carry a mandatory BEE star label^[10]. The label, with a QR code, must appear on every registered unit at both online and offline points of sale^[10]. BEE's market surveillance covers e-commerce platforms, and for non-compliance found online BEE directs the platform to de-register the model^[10]. A company that sells or imports a mandatory appliance must register with BEE^[10].

Wi-Fi routers. Wi-Fi access points and customer equipment also need TEC MTCTE certification, mandatory since 1 January 2024^[37].

Not sure which apply? Run the product through our approval checker.

As a marketplace seller you need a written contract with the platform, a grievance officer who acknowledges complaints within 48 hours and resolves them within a month, and complete listing data, including country of origin and the importer's details^[15].

Rule 6 also forbids three things that trip sellers up^[13]:

• Unfair trade practices, on the platform or anywhere else.
• Fake reviews. You may not pose as a consumer to review your own goods or misrepresent their quality or features.
• Refusing returns of goods that are defective, deficient, spurious, not as advertised or delivered late (unless the delay was force majeure).

Your advertising must match the product's real characteristics and usage conditions^[13]. Amazon, for its part, must take an undertaking from you that descriptions and images are accurate^[13], and must show buyers your business name, address, customer care number and rating^[13]. If a buyer asks in writing after a purchase, the platform must give them your headquarters and branch addresses for dispute resolution.

The CCPA's 2023 dark patterns guidelines are reported to apply to sellers as well as platforms, and to list 13 specified patterns such as false urgency and drip pricing^[38]. Countdown timers and "only 2 left" banners that are not true are a risk for you, not only for Amazon. The documents Amazon tends to ask for are covered in Amazon India compliance documents.

Amazon's own registration guide asks for a GST number, a pickup address in the state of GST registration, an active bank account and at least one product listing; sellers of GST-exempt goods such as books can register with PAN instead^[39]. This is Amazon's published guide, not a government rule, and it lists no product-compliance documents.

Two GST rules sit behind that:

• Registration. Since 1 October 2023, a supplier of goods through an e-commerce operator can skip GST registration only if its turnover is within the state threshold, it makes no inter-State supplies, it sells online in one State or UT only, and it gets an enrolment number on the GST portal by validating its PAN before selling^[40]. Almost any importer selling nationwide on Amazon fails the one-state test, so plan on full GST registration.
• Tax collected at source. The platform collects tax at source on your sales. Notification 15/2024 cut the CGST part of that rate from half a per cent to 0.25 per cent from 10 July 2024^[41]. You claim it back through your GST returns.

What Amazon checks for product compliance happens inside Seller Central, behind login, and we could not read it. We do know the platform is under pressure. BIS reportedly searched an Amazon Sellers warehouse in Delhi in March 2025 and seized over 3,500 products^[42], after which Amazon India reportedly said it removes non-compliant products^[43]. In FY 2024-25 BIS reportedly found 142 of 344 QCO samples bought online had no valid certification^[44]. Assume a takedown can come at any time and keep your file ready.

Map the approvals for each product before you buy stock, get the importer registrations in place before the first shipment, and leave Legal Metrology registration no later than 90 days after you start importing^[4]. The order below assumes you import your own private-label electronics.

Government fees for a small importer-seller of wireless electronics usually come to tens of thousands of rupees before testing, with the factory's BIS fees and lab charges on top. The table lists official fees; GST is added to BIS fees^[48]. Run your own numbers in the compliance cost estimator.

1. A private-label smartwatch importer with two models. Smart watches are a CRS category under IS/IEC 62368-1^[51], so the factory needs a CRS licence in the seller's brand^[11]. They are exempt from prior MTCTE^[52]. Our research reads them as needing a WPC ETA for Bluetooth^[53]: 2 x Rs 10,000 = Rs 20,000. They contain batteries, so the seller is a battery producer^[54]; with turnover under Rs 5 crore the fee is Rs 10,000^[30]. Add plastic EPR at Rs 10,000 for under 1,000 TPA^[29], IEC Rs 500 and LMPC Rs 500. The seller's own government fees: Rs 41,000, before e-waste EPR and before the factory's BIS fees and testing. Product guide: smartwatches.

2. A reseller of power banks bought from an Indian importer. Power banks are a CRS category^[51]. The reseller imports nothing, so it needs no IEC or LMPC registration. It checks the R-number in the free BIS Care app^[55] and keeps a copy of the registration certificate and its purchase invoices, which BIS accepts to show compliance during surveillance^[56]. Selling under the importer's brand leaves battery EPR with the importer^[12]. Product guide: power banks.

3. An importer of LED bulbs. Self-ballasted LED lamps need CRS registration to IS 16102 (Part 1)^[51] and a mandatory BEE label^[57]. BEE charges Rs 5,000 per model application^[10] and a label fee of Rs 10 per 100 pieces^[10], so 20,000 bulbs cost Rs 2,000 in label fees. The bigger number is the label security deposit of Rs 3 lakh per appliance, or Rs 50,000 for small-scale industry^[10]. The label and QR code must also appear in the Amazon listing^[10]. Product guide: LED bulbs; list of covered goods: BEE star label products.

Keep one folder per SKU with the factory's licence, your registrations and the final pack photos, and keep import records for five years, the period Customs requires for the Bill of Entry and supporting documents^[58].

EPR penalties take the form of environmental compensation (EC), which can be levied on unregistered producers as well as registered ones^[7].

• E-waste. For violations other than an EPR shortfall, producers face EC of Rs 20,000 for a first default, Rs 40,000 for a second and Rs 80,000 for a third^[60].
• Batteries. For breaches such as not filing returns, not following labelling rules or dealing with unregistered entities, EC is Rs 20,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000 for the first three defaults, rising 10% a year^[61].
• Plastic. EC for an EPR target shortfall is Rs 2,900 to Rs 7,900 per tonne depending on packaging category, doubled for a second default and tripled for a third^[62]. Since 2025, breaching the plastic rules also carries a penalty under section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act^[34].

Paying EC does not cancel the obligation; unmet e-waste EPR carries forward^[7].

Most problems trace back to a licence that does not match the listing: wrong brand, wrong model, or expired. The rest come from packs and listings that disagree.

• The factory's licence is in its own brand. A separate CRS application is needed per brand^[11]. Fix: the factory files for your brand; one test report can cover several brands when product and factory are identical^[63].
• A new colour or capacity is listed under an old licence. New models are added by inclusion, Rs 30,000 including one report^[48]. See series guidelines.
• The licence lapsed. An unrenewed licence cannot be used to mark or dispatch goods, even stock in hand^[20]. Late renewal costs Rs 5,000 extra and must be filed within 90 days of validity^[20].
• The model was never registered for surveillance. MeitY's STPI surveillance portal requires manufacturers, AIRs and brands to register each R-number with model details, including the sales channel and MRP^[64].
• A buyer is injured and the foreign maker cannot be reached. A product seller is liable when the manufacturer is unknown, cannot be served or is not subject to Indian law^[14]. A seller is not liable if the product was misused or modified^[14]. Keep warnings and instructions in the box and in the listing.

If you are unsure where your gaps are, a BIS consultant can manage the factory side, or ask us for a free compliance check.