Amazon and Flipkart tighten seller fees before festive

Amazon’s seller cancellation charge is now tied to order value. Orders below Rs 10,000 attract 10 per cent of order value, Rs 10,001 to Rs 50,000 attract 8 per cent, Rs 50,001 to Rs 1 lakh 5 per cent, and above Rs 1 lakh 2 per cent. An additional 18 per cent GST applies on the charge. Free Press Journal reports the structure took effect on 17 August. Storyboard18 gives no date for this part.

The charge is triggered by seller-initiated cancellations not tied to a customer request, and by automatic cancellations when a shipping confirmation deadline is missed. Free Press Journal specifies failure to dispatch and confirm within 24 hours of the estimated shipping date.

The reports differ on scope, which decides who is exposed. Both agree the charge applies to Easy Ship and Self Ship. Storyboard18 additionally reports it covers Fulfilment Center and Seller Flex. Treat the narrower pair as confirmed and the wider set as single-sourced.

Separately, Amazon closing fees rise from 7 September, up Rs 1 on products priced Rs 500 or below and up Rs 3 on products above Rs 500. Commission rates are not part of either change.

Flipkart’s revised penalties took effect on 23 August. A missed dispatch deadline costs Rs 30 per shipment. A Rs 60 charge also applies, and the sources describe its trigger differently: Storyboard18 calls it an order cancellation or a platform cancellation after three missed deadlines, while Free Press Journal calls it an order cancellation after receipt. The Rs 90 figure covers an order that misses the dispatch deadline and is then cancelled, which is the Rs 30 and Rs 60 cases combined, not a third penalty. Storyboard18 alone reports the penalties do not apply during a seller’s first three months on the platform.

Amazon said “Seller-driven cancellations represent less than 1% of orders on Amazon.in”. Vinod Kumar, Trustee, Forum for Internet Resellers, Sellers and Traders (FIRST INDIA), said “Marketplaces should establish clearer responsibility for fulfilment failures before imposing charges.”

A percentage of order value is not a flat fee: the rate falls as value rises, so the charge bites hardest inside the lowest band and lightest above Rs 1 lakh, stepping down at each boundary. Two things to check this week: which of your SKUs sit just above a band boundary, and whether your dispatch confirmation process can hold a 24-hour clock through a festive surge.