How to Startup E-commerce Business in India and Get Registered with FlipKart, Amazon and Snapdeal

How to Start E-commerce Business in India with Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon & Legal Pre-requisites, Procedural Pre-requisites and Much More

Jointly Authored by CA Ankit Gulgulia (Jain) | Mr. Rahul Poptani

E-commerce business is one avenue where everyone wants to be today. The sheer potential and widespread it offers can be very good source of startup ventures. In such a case it becomes quite essential that you know the path on which you may travelling in order to foray into e-commerce business. This post will exactly cater to this need of yours.

You can read this post to understand so as to:-

a) How can you startup your own e-commerce business In India

b) What are the Legal Pre-requisites required for the e-commerce business

c) What are the procedural pre-requisites for e-commerce business In India

d) How to sell your products on several marketplace platform like Flip-kart, Amazon, Snapdeal or Paytm etc

e) How to increase your sales by choosing these e-commerce websites

f) How to start your own e-commerce website marketplace and procedure you need to do

g) Can the startup process be outsourced to Third Party Companies or Consultants

How can you startup your own e-commerce business In India

To start your own e-commerce business, you need to first understand the various business models that are available as an option to you. For example, you may:-
a) Sell the inventory to your customers via E-commerce marketplace websites like Snapdeal, flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Paytm and many others.

b) You may create your own website and sell through that website (Requires more efforts – We will discuss this)

c) Or you may simply yourself become a marketplace and invite other sellers to sell through your website

Whichever option you choose has its pros and cons and requires due study and ground work in light to the products / services you intend to sell. Not to forget, like any startup the journey will have its hiccups and requires ability to even bear losses for some period of time (Most Biggies are in Losses still ! Mind You !)

Now, to start your e-commerce (assuming you start small and grow stage to stage basis), one needs to have few prerequisites on both legal and procedural end. This is what we discuss in the coming section of the article.

What are the Legal Pre-requisites required for the e-commerce business

First – You must have a commercial entity registered in India. It can be a proprietorship Firm or Partnership Firm or LLP or Limited Company. It is better to register a private limited company for E-commerce company since the same gives you limited liability considering the wide spread nature of business.

Second – You must register the entity under Service Tax / Sales Tax / Central Excise / LBT etc as applicable to the states in which the vendor is located / selling. Once you are done with the tax authority registration you are now legally ready to sell / serve.

Third – I personally suggest that you register your brand / Trademark. You never know how big one can grow. These matters shall be addressed at the initial stage only.

Fourth – Get a Website and server (if you want +1 Level !) – Not Mandatory Though.

Fifth – Get a Logo and register the same.

Sixth – Industry Based Licenses are to be obtained

Seventh – Once you tie-up with e-commerce platform, you need to amend your Registration under VAT to include the warehouse of such e-commerce where your inventory is stored and then marketed from there.

What are the procedural pre-requisites for e-commerce business In India

First – We suggest you to have to a premise from where the operation can be carried out. Though one may imagine working from home but that can be only for short initial duration and you would have to look for premise considering the inventory (not held at the warehouses of these e-commerce platform companies), the registrations involved and also to develop a sense of credibility.

Second
– Get the knitty gritties of the product and better to go for online cataloguing of your product portfolio with or without photoshoots etc (Though Photoshoots are preferred and sometimes even mandatory pre-requisites for e-commerce platform companies). If you yourself intend to start your website then all your rules … But still images play a part.

Third – Approach the e-commerce platform where you intend to sell and understand their commercial structure. The crucial factors shall be the commission (or TDR) that they charge, freight and other charges

Fourth – Register with such e-com companies, the more the better but should suit your needs and shall cater to the product you sell.

How to sell your products on several marketplace platform like Flip-kart, Amazon, Snapdeal or Paytm etc

Now once we have discussed the above, it is important to understand how to register and start selling on these websites. Though these websites do their bit to make the process simple (you are there real customers – don’t forget that) but still it is better to have information on the process. The same is as under:-

First – Get the Brand Approval

Second – Get the Product Listed by uploading the relevant Xcel to their respective portals

Third – Approval from the e-commerce companies

Fourth – Mentioning Qty , Price, Dispatch Period and other details.

Fifth – Getting your product live and selling on the such websites

Easier said than Done ! The process will further involve multiple sub-processes which makes the tasks sometimes challenging.

Further, the vendor is required to keep a very close eye on his portal to ensure due deliveries and other obligation being met out. The precise the delivery the better. Some e-commerce co’s may engage it’s own pick up directly from the vendor by charging separate fees for loading in the commission itself.

How to increase your sales by choosing these e-commerce websites

Few Simple Steps:-
a) Have good Quality Products
b) Have Broad Range of Products
c) Give more options to Buyer
d) Good Catalogues will be significant Add-on
e) Delivery period to be curtailed to the least possible
f) Return Policy to be customer friendly
g) Among others, you do the above processes consistently – Day IN Day OUT !

How to start your own e-commerce website marketplace and procedure you need to do

The process is more tougher but if you get it right that it is worth the pain. To do this, you need following additional points to kept in mind over and above what we have discussed above in this article.
A) Get a website
B) Get a Payment Gateway
C) Get online presence
D) Marketing and Advertisements programs like Adword etc
E) A central storage hub (potential state / city wise as you will grow) to do smooth storage and dispatch process.
F) You may subsequently link the Logistics to your websites
G) Don’t forget two Things – Smooth Delivery and Navigation coupled by option and best price are still the key

Can the startup process be outsourced to Third Party Companies or Consultants?

Startup process to any organization can be full of challenges but it is discussed earlier, it is worth the pain considering the exponential potential it offers to growth. The answer to the above question in most cases is YES that there are independent third party executioners or consultants who do a hand holding exercise for the startups or the vendors who intend to sell on these platforms. The process of appointing a correct executioner may depend on several factors including the experience of your relevant segment of product and of course ideology to approach such marketing on E-commerce companies.

We hope the above article cleared some Air ! Share your Feedback with us at  

ankitgulgulia@gmail.com

About the Authors (Jointly Authored by)

CA Ankit Gulgulia | Mr. Rahul Poptani

CA Ankit Gulgulia – He is Chartered Accountant by Profession and caters to Taxation and Corporate Laws. He can be reached at ankitgulgulia@gmail.com or +91-9811653975

 
Rahul Poptani – He is Independent E-commerce consultant having rich experience of startup and integration with Major E-commerce companies as vendor. He can be reached at poptani@ymail.com or +91-9711020907

Disclaimer :- Purely personal views. Only for Information purpose.