On 26 February 2020, in Mumbai, Australia’s trade minister launched something new: an Australian store on Amazon India. It was part of a trade mission that brought more than 100 Australian businesses to New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru that week, and it was run by Austrade, Australia’s trade agency.
Twelve brands were on it at launch. By October that year there were 37, including Swisse, Capilano, Carman’s, San Remo and Sand & Sky. Swisse was the first to go live.
The store taught every one of those brands the same lesson, and it still applies in 2026. Each of them first had to appoint an importer in India. Austrade helped them do it.
Why an Australian brand can’t just sign up
Indian rules don’t allow a company based abroad to sell straight to Indian shoppers online. Amazon says so on its page for overseas brands, and gives three routes instead:
- An Indian importer or distributor buys your stock, imports it and lists it as the seller, with your authorisation to sell the brand.
- An Indian seller partner that Amazon connects you with lists your products and uses Amazon’s warehouses.
- Your own Indian company imports your goods, registers for GST and sells under your name.
Whichever route you choose, the seller needs an Indian GST number, a PAN and an Indian bank account. For most Australian brands, the importer route comes first, and it is what Austrade still recommends: in its notes from the AAHAR food fair in New Delhi in 2026, it called choosing the right importer critical.
What the trade deal cuts, and what it doesn’t
The India-Australia trade agreement, ECTA, has been in force since 29 December 2022. More than 85% of Australian goods exports to India, by value, went tariff-free on day one. India cuts more tariffs every 1 January, and the next cut is on 1 January 2027. DFAT’s summary for exporters lists the details. For brands selling online, the main points are:
| Product | What ECTA did |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics | The 20% tariff was removed on 29 December 2022 |
| Wool | The tariff was removed on day one |
| Wine (normally 150%) | Cut to 100% for bottles worth US$5 or more, and to 75% for US$15 or more, then down 5 points a year |
| Pasta, breakfast cereals, malt extract | Tariffs phased out over 2 to 6 years |
| Avocados, macadamias, cherries, berries | Tariffs phased out over 6 years |
Three things to know:
- The lower rate applies only to Australian-made goods, with a certificate of origin from an approved issuer such as ACCI, Ai Group or Ozdocs. Repacking imported goods in Australia doesn’t count.
- IGST still applies on top, whatever the duty.
- Your importer claims the lower rate at Indian customs, so they need the certificate before the goods arrive.
What your products need before they reach India
Your importer will deal with these, but they affect your packs and your timeline.
- Indian labels. Packs must show the importer’s name and address, the MRP including all taxes, the net quantity, the month and year, the country of origin and a customer-care contact. Most brands add a sticker in India.
- Food needs FSSAI import clearance, and the FSSAI details on the label.
- Cosmetics must be registered with India’s drug regulator, CDSCO, before they can be imported.
- Electronics, toys and many other products need BIS certification if they fall under India’s quality control orders.
Austrade’s trade commissioner in Mumbai has warned that product registration in India can be slow. Start it early.
Is the Australian store still there?
The store page still loads on Amazon.in, with brands like Swisse, Sukin, Capilano and Sand & Sky. But it looks largely unchanged since about 2022, and we couldn’t find a current Austrade page that mentions it. Don’t plan around it. Plan around your own listings.
Where Indian shoppers are heading
Austrade’s 2026 view is that e-commerce, and quick commerce in particular, is one of the biggest trends in India for the next five years, and that online buying isn’t only for the rich. Quick-commerce apps like Blinkit and Zepto sell from warehouses in each city, so they suit brands whose importer can restock often.
If you sell food, beauty or wellness products, which were the focus of the 2020 store, India’s quick-commerce apps are worth planning for from the start.
Where we come in
Some of the brands on that store have worked with us, including a beauty brand and Sunpower Renewables, the Australian company that makes SR Portables power banks and solar generators. We also set up and run Amazon, Flipkart and quick-commerce accounts for other brands. So we know where foreign brands lose time in India: packs without an Indian MRP, listings written for Australian shoppers, and importers who don’t know how the platforms work.
We are not an importer, and we don’t handle customs. Once your importer or Indian company is in place, we can get you live on Amazon India, with listings, images and A+ content made for Indian shoppers, and then run the account week to week.
For the importer itself, start with Austrade’s India team, which helped the 2020 store’s brands find theirs.
