Selling imported products on Flipkart: what Indian law requires of marketplace sellers, and what we know of Flipkart's own checks

Two sets of rules apply to you. The first is Indian law, which is the same whichever marketplace you use. The second is Flipkart's own seller policy, which can ask for more than the law. This page sets out the law in full and tells you what we could and could not confirm about Flipkart's checks.

What the law asks of you depends on your role:

• Importer-seller. You import and sell. You carry the most duties.
• Brand owner. A factory makes goods under your brand. See also our page for D2C brands.
• Reseller. You buy branded goods from an Indian importer or distributor and resell them. See also our page for distributors.

Whatever your role, you may only sell compliant goods. The BIS Act binds sellers and retailers as well as importers^[2]. The 2026 Legal Metrology penalty covers anyone who sells or offers a non-conforming pack, including through online marketplaces^[3].

Flipkart is a "marketplace e-commerce entity"^[13]; you, the seller, are not an e-commerce entity at all^[13]. The rules instead call you a "seller", meaning the "product seller" of the Consumer Protection Act^[13]. That one cross-reference pulls in product liability, and it sits alongside the BIS, Legal Metrology and EPR definitions in the table. It is consistent with our responsibility table for every business type.

We could not read Flipkart's Seller Hub policy pages directly; they load only inside the seller app. So this section is limited to what third parties report, and we label it that way. Check the current requirements in your Seller Hub before relying on it.

• Brand approval. Integration documentation for Flipkart onboarding reports that the brand approval form asks for the brand name, logo and a trademark certificate or brand authorisation letter. Manufacturers are expected to show a trademark certificate and resellers an authorisation from the manufacturer^[15].
• Category documents. Third-party guides say Flipkart may ask for category-specific licences, such as a BIS certificate for regulated products, before you can list. We have not seen a Flipkart list of which categories need which document.
• Enforcement on Flipkart's own stock. In March 2025, BIS searched a warehouse of Instakart Services, a Flipkart group company, in Delhi and reportedly found about 590 pairs of sports footwear without the ISI mark and date of manufacture^[16]. Footwear is under a Quality Control Order; see footwear QCO.

Whatever Flipkart's checks are, passing them is not a defence under Indian law. A valid listing for goods that lack the Standard Mark is still an offence for the seller^[2].

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 put direct duties on sellers who sell through a marketplace. A seller on a marketplace is not itself an "e-commerce entity" under the rules^[1], but it has its own list of duties.

Under rule 6(4), you must^[1]:

• have a prior written contract with the marketplace;
• appoint a grievance officer, who acknowledges a complaint within 48 hours and resolves it within one month;
• give the marketplace your legal name, the address of your headquarters and branches, website, e-mail, customer care numbers and, where applicable, GSTIN and PAN.

Under rule 6(5), you must give the marketplace, for display^[1]:

• the total price with a breakup of all charges and tax;
• all mandatory notices and information required by law;
• relevant product details, including country of origin;
• the grievance officer's name, designation and contact numbers;
• the name and details of the importer, and guarantees about the authenticity of imported products;
• return, exchange and refund terms, delivery details, and warranties.

You may not refuse to take back goods that are defective, spurious or not as described, or post fake reviews^[1].

The platform's own legal duties explain most of what it asks sellers for. Three matter in practice.

• Accuracy undertaking. A marketplace must require sellers, through an undertaking, to ensure descriptions, images and other content are accurate and match the goods^[13]. When you accept Flipkart's seller terms you give that undertaking, so a wrong spec on a listing is a breach of contract as well as of rule 6.
• Seller details shown to buyers. Flipkart must show your business name, address, customer care number and rating, and on a buyer's written request after purchase give your headquarters and branch addresses^[13]. Keep those details current.
• Repeat-offender records. The platform must try to keep records of sellers who repeatedly list goods removed under copyright, trade mark or IT law^[13]. This is one reason brand approval asks for a trademark certificate or authorisation^[15].

Platforms and sellers have both been on the receiving end. In August 2022 CCPA ordered Amazon to recall 2,265 non-ISI pressure cookers, refund buyers and pay Rs 1,00,000, and had issued notices on the same issue to Flipkart and others and to sellers on those platforms^[17]. The CCPA's 2023 dark patterns guidelines are reported to cover sellers as well as platforms^[18].

Almost always. The legal exemption for suppliers through e-commerce operators, in force since 1 October 2023, covers only sellers within the state turnover threshold who make no inter-State supplies, sell online in one State or UT only, and get a PAN-based enrolment number on the GST portal before selling^[19]. An importer selling to buyers across India does not qualify.

Flipkart also collects tax at source on your sales. The CGST part of that rate was cut from half a per cent to 0.25 per cent on 10 July 2024^[20]. Third-party guides say Flipkart accepts PAN-only registration for some GST-exempt categories such as books, but we could not read an official Flipkart page that confirms the list.

Mostly you. Since 2018, e-commerce entities are reported to be required to display the mandatory pack declarations for the goods they offer^[21]. The same 2017 amendment is reported to place responsibility for the correctness of those declarations on the manufacturer, seller, dealer or importer in the marketplace model, as long as the platform only hosts the information and observes intermediary due diligence^[22].

The declarations themselves are the same as for any retail pack^[23]:

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

Keep the listing and the printed pack identical. A wrong pack draws an improvement notice for a first offence, up to Rs 5 lakh for a second and a fine of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh after that^[3]. A country-of-origin filter for imported products is reported to apply to e-commerce entities from 1 July 2027^[24].

If you import, register under rule 27 within 90 days of starting^[4]. The fee is Rs 500^[4]. See LMPC importer registration.

The BIS rules are the same on Flipkart as anywhere else. For a product under a Compulsory Registration Order, the factory holds the licence^[9], and nobody may sell covered goods without the Standard Mark and registration number^[9]. Before listing, check that:

• the mark shows the R-number and IS number^[25];
• www.bis.gov.in appears on the product or pack^[26];
• the licence covers your brand^[10] and is still valid^[27].

Some products need the ISI mark instead, under a Quality Control Order. Extension boards, for example, fall under the plugs and sockets order in our reading^[28]. See CRS vs ISI vs FMCS and what happens if you sell without BIS.

If you import or own the brand, yes, and possibly three times over.

• E-waste. Offering imported electronic equipment for sale makes you a producer, whatever the sales channel^[5].
• Batteries. Importing equipment with batteries makes you a battery producer^[11]. CPCB says a pure reseller who buys and resells under the importer's brand does not take on the importer's obligations^[12].
• Plastic packaging. Importers and brand owners are covered, and brand owners include online marketplaces and retail chains, other than micro and small enterprises^[6]. Flipkart's own registration does not replace yours.

Registered entities may not deal with unregistered ones under the e-waste rules^[5], so expect buyers and platforms to ask for your registration number. Fees are on EPR registration costs.

• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi products need a WPC ETA per model. It is a self-declaration on Saral Sanchar^[29] costing Rs 10,000 per model^[7].
• Wi-Fi routers and access points also need MTCTE^[30].
• BEE mandatory appliances such as ACs, refrigerators, ceiling fans, TVs and LED lamps^[8] must show the label and QR code at online points of sale^[8]. If BEE finds a non-compliant model online, it directs the platform to de-register it^[8].

Electronics usually need BIS CRS and often WPC; appliances add BEE; toys, helmets, pressure cookers and footwear need the ISI mark under a Quality Control Order. The table covers common imported categories; check your exact model with the approval checker and dates with the QCO deadline checker.

Whatever Flipkart asks for at onboarding, keep this file for every imported product line. It lets you answer a platform query, a BIS or Legal Metrology inspection, or a customer complaint quickly.

• Listing details that differ from the pack. The importer name, country of origin, MRP and month and year of manufacture should match exactly. Responsibility for correctness in the marketplace model is reported to sit with the seller side^[22].
• Using the factory's own-brand licence for a private label. Each brand needs its own CRS application^[10].
• Printing the month of import instead of manufacture. The rules require the month and year of manufacture^[4].
• Leaving out the importer. Rule 6(5) of the E-Commerce Rules expects the importer's name and details for imported products^[1].
• Covering declarations with stickers. Stickers may not alter mandatory declarations, other than a reduced-MRP sticker that leaves the original MRP visible^[4].
• Forgetting the battery EPR number. For imported batteries, it can go on the equipment or its packaging^[43].

Yes. As a product seller you are liable if, among other cases, you gave your own warranty, altered the product, failed to pass on the maker's warnings, or sold goods whose manufacturer is unknown or not subject to Indian law^[14]. Sellers of imported goods are most exposed to that last case. If your brand is on the goods, you are the product manufacturer too^[14]. No action lies against a product seller where the product was misused or modified^[14], so keep warnings in the listing and in the box.

A reseller pays no registration fees; an importer-seller of one wireless gadget typically pays Rs 31,000 or more in its own government fees before testing. Use the compliance cost estimator for your mix.

A seller imports one TWS earbud model and one power bank model under its own brand and sells only on Flipkart.

• BIS. Two CRS registrations by the factory in the seller's brand, one per product category^[31]. The seller is AIR.
• WPC. The earbuds need an ETA^[32]: Rs 10,000. A plain power bank has no radio and is read as needing none^[32].
• EPR. Both contain lithium batteries, so one battery EPR registration as producer covers the seller: Rs 10,000^[45]. Plastic EPR: Rs 10,000.
• IEC and LMPC. Rs 1,000 together.
• Listing. Country of origin and importer details on both listings^[1], matching the pack.

Seller's own official fees: Rs 31,000. The factory's two CRS applications add Rs 1,02,000 plus GST at Rs 51,000 each. Check the labels with the label checker before printing.

Product approvals and EPR come before the first shipment, the Flipkart listing comes after the pack is final, and LMPC registration must be in by day 90^[4]. The table puts the steps above on a calendar.