You sell a product at ₹499. Amazon's fees, shipping and GST take ₹135 before your product cost is even counted. You expected that money to reach you.
Most sellers count two charges. There are five. By the end of this guide you will know what each one is, how it behaves at different price points, and how to price around it. It is written for anyone doing up to ₹5 lakh a month on Amazon India.
Every order carries the same five charges. Some are percentages, some are flat, and one sits on top of the others.
The first two are the ones sellers underestimate. The others tend to be noticed only when the payout arrives.
The referral fee is Amazon's commission. It is calculated on the total selling price, and the percentage depends on your category.
Fees change from time to time. Treat every figure in this article as a guide, and confirm current rates on Amazon India's fees and pricing page before you fix a price.
In apparel and innerwear, the referral fee is 0% up to ₹1,000. Above ₹1,000 it rises to roughly 18–19%.
So the same product can be charged 0% at ₹999 and 18% at ₹1,001. On a ₹1,001 item that is about ₹180 gone for a ₹2 price rise.
This is the most misunderstood rule for apparel sellers. If your product sits near ₹1,000, check which side of the line it falls on before you print the MRP.
Outside apparel, most categories pay between 8% and 24%. Electronics and appliances usually sit higher, home and kitchen mid-range, books and media lower. Each category has its own schedule, and some change rate by price band the way apparel does.
Take these as illustrations, not a full list. Check your own category in Seller Central.
A referral fee of zero does not make the order free. The closing fee, shipping and GST on fees still apply, and so does GST on the sale.
On a ₹499 innerwear set the referral fee is nil, and Amazon still takes a visible slice.
The closing fee is a flat amount on every order. It does not care about your margin or your category. It only looks at your price band and how the order is fulfilled.
| Item price | Easy Ship | Self Ship |
|---|---|---|
| ₹0–300 | ₹2 | ₹20 |
| ₹301–500 | ₹23 | ₹26 |
| ₹501–1,000 | ₹48 | ₹51 |
| Above ₹1,000 | ₹79 | ₹101 |
FBA closing fees are roughly ₹19–₹30 in the ₹301–1,000 range, depending on the fee group.
A new seller should start with Easy Ship. Amazon handles pickup and delivery, you do not need to send stock to a warehouse, and the costs are easier to predict.
At ₹499 the closing fee on Easy Ship is ₹23. At ₹501 it is ₹48. A ₹2 price increase costs you ₹25, and about ₹29.50 once GST is added.
So price just below the band, not just above your cost. The same jump happens at ₹300 and ₹1,000.
Amazon charges 18% GST on every fee it bills you: referral, closing, shipping and storage. It is added on top of the fee, not on the product price. This is a different tax from the GST on your product.
On a ₹23 closing fee, the GST is ₹4.14. That is why the example below shows ₹27.14.
If you are GST-registered, you can claim this back as input credit. If you are not, you absorb it as a cost.
Selling on your own site too? Read up on payment gateway charges, which add their own layer.
For apparel, GST on the sale is 5% up to ₹1,000 and 18% above it. Other categories vary.
Rates and slabs change with government notifications. Confirm with your CA before pricing.
Here is one order, sold at ₹499 through Easy Ship.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Selling price | ₹499 |
| Product cost (COGS) | −₹135 |
| Referral fee (0% under ₹1,000) | ₹0 |
| Closing fee ₹23 + 18% GST | −₹27.14 |
| Shipping (Easy Ship) | −₹60 |
| Packaging | −₹12 |
| Ads per order | −₹70 |
| GST on sale (5%) | −₹24.95 |
| Return/RTO buffer (8% of unit cost + two-way freight) | −₹22.57 |
| Net profit | ₹147.34 (29.5%) |
The seller keeps ₹147.34 per order, a 29.5% margin, after every charge. The line that hurts most if you get it wrong is returns, because a bad month of RTOs can eat far more than the buffer.
Doing this by hand for every product is slow and easy to get wrong. The free Amazon India profit calculator does it live.
Enter your selling price, product cost, referral fee, closing fee, shipping, packaging, ad spend per order and return rate. It returns profit per order, margin and break-even price.
No. It ranges from about 8% to 24% depending on category, and some categories, like apparel, change rate by price band. It is calculated on the total selling price. Check your own category in Seller Central, because Amazon revises these rates from time to time.
It is a flat fee on every order, based on your price band and fulfilment method. On Easy Ship it runs from ₹2 for items up to ₹300 to ₹79 above ₹1,000. It applies even when the referral fee is zero, and GST is added on top.
Yes. Amazon charges 18% GST on every fee it bills you, added on top of the fee. A GST-registered seller can usually claim it back as input credit. An unregistered seller absorbs it as a cost. Confirm your position with your CA.
No. It applies to every order. Only the amount changes with price band and fulfilment method. You can reduce its impact by pricing just below a band, such as ₹499 instead of ₹501, but you cannot remove it.
Usually because the calculation counted two charges instead of five. Shipping, GST on fees and GST on the sale are easy to miss, and returns can reverse part of a sale. Open the Fee Preview and compare it with your numbers line by line.
Not necessarily. The FBA closing fee looks lower, roughly ₹19–₹30 between ₹301 and ₹1,000, but you also pay for storage and must send stock in. For a new seller, Easy Ship is simpler to start with and easier to predict.
Know all five charges, not just two. Price against the band, not only against your cost. Open the Fee Preview before you commit to a price.
Fees and rates change, so check current figures before you rely on any number here. If you also export, read about selling on Amazon US.
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