Seller Account Linked to a Banned Account: Why It Happens and the Fix

A marketplace flags your seller account as linked to a banned account when the two share something: a PAN, GSTIN, bank account, phone, email, address or even the same computer. The fix is to find the shared detail, separate it or explain it with proof, and appeal once through the channel in your notice. Opening another account makes it worse.

Why do marketplaces link accounts?

Think about it from the marketplace's side. A seller banned for fake goods could open a new account the next morning. To stop that, platforms compare every detail of a new or existing account with accounts already closed. When enough details match, the newer account is paused as related.

The trouble is that real life overlaps. Brothers run separate shops from one house. A CA's office address sits on ten registrations. An agency lists products for many sellers from one laptop. The system cannot tell these apart from a banned seller hiding, so it asks you to explain.

The exact rules differ by marketplace and change often. Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho show their seller policy pages only after login, so we could not read them on 13 Nov 2026. The reason given in your own notice is the statement that counts.

What links accounts, and how to answer each link

Why PAN and GSTIN weigh so much

Section 25(6) of the CGST Act says you need a PAN to get GST registration. Section 25(2) gives one registration in a State, with separate registrations allowed for more places of business in that State. So a proprietor with two shops in one State still has one PAN behind both, and normally that PAN can be read inside each 15-character GSTIN.

What does that mean for you? Two accounts on the same PAN are, to the marketplace and to the tax department, the same person. No appeal can turn them into two sellers. A private limited company or LLP, on the other hand, has its own PAN and needs its own GST registration. If you are thinking of that route for a fresh start, read moving from proprietorship to private limited first, and be honest with the marketplace about who owns it.

How to clear the link, step by step

1. Read the notice closely. Note which account it names, the reason, and the appeal channel and deadline.
2. List every detail of both accounts. PAN, GSTIN, bank, phone, email, address, the devices used, and who logged in.
3. Find the overlap. Usually it is one or two items, such as a shared address and Wi-Fi.
4. Decide which case you are in. Separate owners who shared something, or the same owner behind both accounts.
5. Separate what you can before writing. New bank account, own phone, own premises proof, no shared logins.
6. Write a short, honest appeal. Name the relationship, explain why the businesses are independent, and list what you changed. Hiding the relationship is the fastest way to a rejection.
7. Attach proof. Your PAN, GST certificate, bank letter, address proof and supplier invoices, all in your own name.
8. Submit once, through the named channel, and answer follow-up questions exactly.

Same owner behind both? Then the second account usually follows the first. Fix the original problem and appeal that account, using our guide on appealing a suspended seller account.

A worked example

Rakesh and his younger brother Amit sell from the same house in Surat. Each is a proprietor with his own PAN and GSTIN. Rakesh's account was banned after brand complaints. A week later Amit's account was paused as related, with Rs 2,40,000 of payouts on hold.

The links were the home address, the home Wi-Fi, and one old payout that went to Rakesh's bank account in Amit's first month. Amit rented a small room nearby and registered it as his place of business, stopped using the shared connection for seller work, and confirmed his payouts now go to his own account. His appeal said plainly that Rakesh is his brother, that they buy from different suppliers, and attached his own GST certificate, rent agreement and three months of supplier invoices.

The room costs him Rs 6,000 a month. Amit was losing sales of about Rs 9,000 a day while paused, so a ten day pause cost him Rs 90,000, more than a year of rent. And the sales he made before the pause, already reported by the marketplace with TCS against his GSTIN, still had to go into his GSTR-1.

The mistake people usually make

The usual mistake is a third account. A seller whose two accounts are blocked opens one more under a spouse's name, from the same house, with the same products. It gets linked within days and makes the first appeal harder to win.

The second mistake is buying a "ready" seller account from someone else. The account then belongs on paper to another person's PAN, and the risk of losing it, with your stock and payouts, sits with you. Our Seller Intelligence report lists related accounts among the common account problems sellers face.

When should you pay for help? If the appeal turns on separate premises or a new business structure, a Tax Expert can set up the GST registration properly. If brand or legal complaints sit behind the original ban, a lawyer who handles intellectual property is worth the fee.

Frequently asked questions

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