On 26 February 2020, in Mumbai, Australia’s trade minister launched an Australian store on Amazon India. It was part of a trade mission. That week, the mission brought more than 100 Australian businesses to New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Austrade, Australia’s trade agency, ran the store. Twelve brands were on it at launch.
By October that year, there were 37. They included Swisse, Capilano, Carman’s, San Remo and Sand & Sky. Swisse was the first to go live.
Each of those brands first had to appoint an importer in India. Austrade’s India team helped them find and appoint one. That lesson from the store still applies in 2026.
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. It gives three routes instead:
- An Indian importer or distributor buys your stock, imports it and lists it as the seller. You authorise them to sell your brand.
- An Indian seller partner lists your products and uses Amazon’s warehouses. Amazon connects you with this partner.
- 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. It’s also what Austrade still recommends. In its notes from the AAHAR food fair in New Delhi in 2026, Austrade 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. The next cut is on 1 January 2027.
DFAT’s summary for exporters lists the details of these tariff cuts. 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 |
- The lower rate applies only to Australian-made goods. Repacking imported goods in Australia doesn’t count. The goods also need a certificate of origin from an approved issuer, such as ACCI, Ai Group or Ozdocs.
- IGST still applies on top of the tariff, whatever the tariff is.
- 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. On each pack, your importer must show its name and address, and the MRP including all taxes. It must also show 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 need registration with India’s drug regulator, CDSCO, before your importer can import them.
- 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. So start it early.
Is the Australian store still there?
The store page still loads on Amazon.in. It shows brands like Swisse, Sukin, Capilano and Sand & Sky.
But it looks mostly 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 is one of the biggest trends in India for the next five years. Austrade says this is especially true of quick commerce. It also says 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.
Food, beauty and wellness products were the focus of the 2020 store. If you sell any of them, India’s quick-commerce apps are worth planning for from the start.
Where we come in
We’ve worked with some of the brands on that store, including a beauty brand and Sunpower Renewables. Sunpower Renewables is 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.
They lose time on packs without an Indian MRP and on listings written for Australian shoppers. They also lose time with importers who don’t know how the platforms work.
We’re 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.
We can create your listings, images and A+ content for Indian shoppers. Then we can run the account every week.
To find your importer, start with Austrade’s India team.
