Bookkeeping for Ecommerce Sellers in India: The Least You Need to Keep
As an online seller, the least you must keep is every sales and return invoice, the marketplace tax and settlement reports, purchase bills, fee invoices, a stock record, bank statements and your GST returns with challans. GST law asks a registered seller to keep these for 72 months from the due date of the annual return for that year.
- Section 35 of the CGST Act asks every registered person to keep accounts of supplies, stock, input tax credit and tax paid.
- Rule 56 of the CGST Rules adds a stock account (not for composition sellers) and allows electronic records, with a log of every edit.
- Records are kept until 72 months from the annual return due date. For FY 2025-26 that runs to 31 December 2032.
- For FY 2025-26, section 44AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 requires an individual's business books once income tops Rs 2,50,000 or turnover Rs 25,00,000 in any of the three previous years.
- Sellers using the section 44AD presumptive scheme need not keep books under section 44AA, but GST records are still required.
In this guide
Why keep books when the marketplace has all the data?
Because the law puts the duty on you, not on Amazon or Meesho. Section 35 of the CGST Act says the registered person keeps the accounts, at the principal place of business shown in the registration. If a GST officer asks for your stock record for a year, "it is on the seller portal" is not an answer. Accounts close, report formats change, and old months may not be easy to download years later.
Books also earn their keep. Your GSTR-9 is built from them. A bank asks for them when you want a loan. And they tell you whether you are actually making money after fees and returns.
The minimum record set
| Record | Where it comes from | Why you keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Sales and return invoices | Marketplace tax reports (for example Amazon's MTR) | Your outward supplies for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B |
| Settlement or payment reports | Marketplace seller panel | Ties sales to bank credits, shows fees, TCS and TDS |
| Fee and commission invoices | Marketplace, with GST charged | Input tax credit on fees |
| Purchase bills | Your suppliers | Cost of goods and input tax credit |
| Stock account | Your own register or software | Rule 56 requires opening stock, receipts, supplies, goods lost or written off, free samples and closing stock |
| Expense bills | Packaging, courier, ads, rent, software | Profit, and credit where eligible |
| Bank statements | Every account the business uses | Proof of what was actually received and paid |
| GST returns, challans, TCS credit | GST portal | Tax paid and credit claimed |
| Form 26AS and AIS | Income tax portal | Income tax TDS deducted by marketplaces |
Rule 56 also asks you to record the address of every place where your goods are stored. If your stock sits in a marketplace warehouse in another state, read GST registration for Amazon FBA warehouses.
A monthly routine that takes an hour
- Download the reports. In the first week of the month, take last month's tax report, settlement report and fee invoices from each marketplace. Our guides show where for Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho.
- File them by month. One folder per month, one sub-folder per marketplace, file names with the month in them. Never edit an original. Work on a copy.
- Enter purchases. Record each bill and check that the supplier's invoice shows in your GSTR-2B before you claim credit.
- Update the stock record. Purchases in, sales out, returns back, damaged units written off with a note.
- Reconcile. Sales less returns, fees, TCS and TDS should explain every bank credit. The steps are in ecommerce payment reconciliation.
- Back up. Keep a second copy off your laptop.
Do you need full books for income tax?
| Your situation (individual seller, FY 2025-26) | Books under income tax |
|---|---|
| Income up to Rs 2,50,000 and turnover up to Rs 25,00,000 in each of the last three years | Not required by section 44AA |
| Above either limit, not under section 44AD | Required |
| Under section 44AD (turnover up to Rs 2 crore, or Rs 3 crore if cash receipts are within 5%), declaring 6% or 8% | Not required under section 44AA |
| Declaring less than the 44AD rate with income above the tax-free limit | Required, with a tax audit |
These are the 1961 Act rules that apply to the return for FY 2025-26. From tax year 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies; its section 58, the presumptive scheme, points to section 62 for books and section 63 for audit. Check the new limits with your CA before you rely on them.
A worked example
Kavya sells kurtas on Amazon and Meesho. In FY 2025-26 her turnover is Rs 48,00,000, all received by bank transfer. She files under section 44AD and declares 6%, which is Rs 2,88,000. She does not need books under section 44AA.
Does she still need records? Yes, for GST. Her stock record for the year shows this:
- Opening stock 200 units, bought 1,200, sold 950, returned to stock 30
- Closing stock by the books: 200 + 1,200 + 30 less 950 = 480 units
- Closing stock counted: 410 units
70 units are missing. Some were damaged in transit, some lost at a warehouse, but she wrote none of it down. Section 35(6) lets the officer treat goods not accounted for as if they were supplied and work out the tax. At a cost of Rs 500 each, that is Rs 35,000 of value, plus interest. And the credit she took on those units is blocked anyway, because section 17(5)(h) bars credit on goods lost, destroyed or written off.
A one-line entry each time a unit was damaged, with the marketplace's claim reference, would have closed the question. She must keep these records until 31 December 2032, because GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26 is due on 31 December 2026.
The mistake people usually make
The usual mistake is keeping only the bank statement and treating each payout as a sale. The payout is sales less fees, TCS, TDS and returns. Books built from it understate sales, miss input tax credit on fees and never match the TCS figure the marketplace reported to the department.
The second is editing the downloaded reports to "clean them up". Rule 56 says entries are not to be erased or overwritten, and electronic records need a log of edits. Keep the original and correct in a separate sheet.
Spreadsheet, software or a CA?
With one marketplace and a few hundred orders a month, folders and a spreadsheet are enough. With two or more marketplaces, warehouses in other states or a loan in view, accounting software saves time. Hand the year-end work to a CA once your turnover nears the 44AD limit or you plan to claim a lower profit, since that brings books and an audit. Year-end is easier when the months were kept clean. See GSTR-9 for ecommerce sellers.
Sources
- Section 35, CGST Act (accounts and other records): CBIC (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Section 36, CGST Act (period of retention of accounts): CBIC (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Rule 56, CGST Rules (maintenance of accounts): CBIC (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Rule 80, CGST Rules (annual return due date): CBIC (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Section 17, CGST Act (blocked credits): CBIC (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Section 44AA, Income-tax Act, 1961: Income Tax Department (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Tax on presumptive basis under section 44AD: Income Tax Department (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Section 58, Income-tax Act, 2025: Income Tax Department (checked 12 Nov 2026)
How AprilTax can help
The sales side of your books starts with the marketplace reports. Upload them from Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho and the free AprilTax tool prepares your GSTR-1, runs about 30 checks and matches your sales with the TCS your marketplaces reported. You get a JSON file to upload on the GST portal yourself. Start with the free GSTR-1 tool.
Frequently asked questions
What books must an ecommerce seller keep under GST?
How long should an online seller keep GST records?
Can I keep my accounts only in electronic form?
Do I need to maintain books of account for income tax if I sell online?
Is the marketplace settlement report enough as my books?
What happens if my stock record does not match my actual stock?
Where should I keep my books if I sell from home?
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