Exporting through Amazon Global Selling: GST, LUT and IEC

To export through Amazon Global Selling, you need an IEC from DGFT, an AD code from your bank, GST registration and a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) filed for the current financial year. With the LUT you ship without paying IGST. You report each export in GSTR-1 as a zero-rated supply, and Amazon stays your shop, not your exporter.

Who is the exporter when Amazon is involved?

You are. Amazon gives you a store in the US, UK or another marketplace, and it offers ways to move the goods. It does not buy your goods and send them abroad in its own name. So customs, DGFT and the GST department all look to you.

That is why Amazon's own export documentation page for Indian sellers lists the IEC, the AD code and the LUT, along with the shipping bill, commercial invoice and packing list. It also mentions an Importer of Record, the party that handles import formalities and duties in the destination country. Ask that question early, because it is set by the buyer's country, not by India.

The three registrations and what each one does

The IEC application itself is covered in how to apply for an IEC online, and the yearly step in the IEC annual update.

How the GST side works

Exports are zero-rated. In plain words, no GST is finally collected on them, and you are not penalised for the GST you paid on inputs. The GSTR-1 FAQ on the portal gives you two routes: export without paying IGST and claim a refund of the input tax credit, or pay IGST and claim a refund of that IGST.

For a small Amazon seller, the first route is usually kinder to cash flow. Nothing is paid up front on the export. The credit you built up on stock, packing and Amazon's fees can then be claimed as a refund, or used against tax on your Indian sales if you sell at home too.

Who can file the LUT? The portal FAQ says any registered person exporting without IGST can, except someone prosecuted for tax evasion of Rs 2.5 crore or more. It is filed under Services, User Services, Furnish Letter of Undertaking, for the financial year you pick, and it expires at the end of that year.

Step by step, from first listing to filed return

1. Get GST registration in the same name as your PAN and bank account.
2. Apply for the IEC on dgft.gov.in. The government fee is Rs 500, paid once.
3. Get the AD code from your bank on your business current account, and have it registered with customs.
4. File the LUT for the financial year before the first shipment leaves.
5. Choose how the goods travel. Amazon's page describes sending stock to its fulfilment centres abroad and a service where a partner carrier handles shipping and customs after pickup.
6. Raise an export invoice in your name for each shipment, stating that it goes under LUT without payment of IGST.
7. Report the export in Table 6A of GSTR-1 for that month or quarter. If the shipping bill details are not ready, file without them and add them later through the amendment section, as the portal FAQ allows.
8. Track the payment into your bank and keep the bank's proof of foreign receipt with your shipping bill.

A worked example

Ravi in Jaipur sends 200 block-printed cushion covers to Amazon's US store through its fulfilment service. His export invoice is for Rs 2,00,000. Say the covers carry 5% GST.

Either way the tax comes back in the end. Without the LUT, Ravi puts Rs 3,000 of fresh cash in and waits for a Rs 10,000 refund. With it, he pays nothing more and waits only for the Rs 7,000 of input credit, or uses it against tax on his Indian sales. Ship every month and that gap becomes a working capital problem.

What changed in 2026

CBIC Circular No. 17/2026-Customs, dated 31 March 2026, removed the Rs 10 lakh value limit for commercial export consignments sent through courier. The circular names e-commerce exporters as the main reason, and says the change also applies to non-e-commerce goods sent by courier. If you were splitting large shipments to stay under the cap, you no longer need to.

The mistake people usually make

The first is assuming Amazon handles the paperwork because a partner carrier picks up the box. The carrier moves goods. The export, the LUT and the GSTR-1 entries stay yours.

The second is shipping in April on last year's LUT. It expired on 31 March. File the new one before the first shipment of the year, or you may be asked to pay IGST on what went out in between.

The third is reporting the export as an Indian sale. A shipment to a foreign fulfilment centre does not belong in Table 7 or Table 14 of GSTR-1. It belongs in Table 6A, with the zero-rated treatment that goes with it.

The fourth is names that do not match. PAN, GSTIN, IEC, bank account and Amazon account should carry the same legal name. A mismatch holds up the AD code and payments.

Can you do this yourself?

Yes, for the IEC and the LUT, if your documents agree with each other. Both are online forms. The parts worth paying for are the refund claim, the first few export invoices, and anything involving the destination country's import rules. For the full set of export registrations across marketplaces, see selling on Etsy from India, which uses the same four registrations.

Frequently asked questions

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