Delaware LLC for Amazon FBA from India

Why do Indian Amazon FBA sellers choose a Delaware LLC?

Selling on Amazon FBA from India is a genuine cross-border product business: you source from manufacturers (in India, China, or elsewhere), ship inventory into Amazon’s US warehouses, and sell to American customers at scale. That mix of overseas suppliers, physical goods, and thousands of buyers you never meet is exactly the situation where a formal US entity earns its keep. A Delaware LLC gives your FBA business a recognised US legal identity that Amazon, US banks, payment processors, and freight forwarders take seriously, instead of you trading as an Indian individual on a US marketplace.

Indian sellers hit specific friction when they try to sell on Amazon.com without a US entity. Opening a US bank account from India as a private individual is hard, payment processors hesitate, and routing disbursements home can be clumsy and expensive. A US LLC solves the structural piece in one move. The company holds the seller account, owns the brand and listings, opens US banking in its own name, and receives Amazon payouts cleanly — funds you then move to India or reinvest into inventory. Delaware specifically is the most widely recognised US formation state, which smooths the bank and processor approvals that trip sellers up most often.

The compliance load for a Delaware LLC is also light: a flat $300 franchise tax, no Delaware annual report for an LLC, and no Delaware state income tax on an LLC with no Delaware operations. Wyoming is a popular alternative for privacy and lower fees, but for Indian sellers who may later add a co-founder, raise money, or sell the brand, Delaware is a clean, defensible default that scales with the business. You can read the broader case for foreign owners on our Delaware LLC for non-residents guide.

How does an Indian seller form a Delaware LLC step by step?

The path is the same Delaware LLC formation sequence a US founder follows, routed so the EIN and banking steps work without an SSN. For an Indian FBA seller it runs in a predictable order, and you can source inventory in parallel so no time is wasted while the paperwork processes.

• Day 0 — Name and structure. You confirm an available Delaware name, usually tied to your brand, and decide whether you are the sole owner or have Indian co-founders. We run the Delaware name check first so nothing stalls at filing.
• Day 1-2 — Certificate of Formation. We file with the Delaware Division of Corporations, the state fee is included in our $397, and your LLC legally exists in about 48 hours, with a registered agent included for year one.
• Weeks 1-4 — EIN. We submit Form SS-4 to the IRS without an SSN. This is the slowest step and the reason the overall timeline runs in weeks rather than days.
• After EIN — Bank, then Amazon. With the EIN you open a US business account, then register Seller Central under the LLC, complete the W-8BEN-E tax interview, and link the account for payouts.

A practical tip for Indian sellers: register the Amazon account in the LLC’s name from the start where you can, so the entity that owns the brand also owns the seller account. The full walkthrough lives on our how it works page, and the federal-ID detail is in our EIN for a Delaware LLC guide.

How do banking and Amazon payouts work for an Indian seller?

Getting paid is the part most Indian sellers worry about, and it comes down to two things: a US business bank account in the LLC’s name, and linking that account inside Seller Central so Amazon can disburse your settled balances. Once your EIN is issued, US fintech banks open business accounts for non-residents entirely online — no US visit required. The common choices are Mercury, Relay, and Wise. Approval is always the bank’s decision and is never guaranteed, so your specialist helps you apply to more than one until you are live with at least one account.

With a US account connected, Amazon deposits disbursements there each payout cycle, and you pay suppliers, freight, and ads from the same balance. Wise and Payoneer are common tools Indian sellers use to move surplus back to an INR account in India at competitive FX, and Wise multi-currency balances help when you pay suppliers in several currencies. Approval rests with each provider. Some sellers also run Stripefor a direct-to-consumer store alongside Amazon; Stripe approval is the provider’s decision too, and we help you present a clean application rather than promise any outcome. For a deeper comparison, see our Delaware LLC banking guide.

Which US bank should an Indian FBA seller apply to?

There is no single best bank for FBA from India — the right one depends on your currencies and how you repatriate funds. Approval is never guaranteed, but the table below reflects which fintech tends to fit which seller profile. Apply where you fit best first, and keep a backup ready in case the first application is declined, because each provider reviews independently.

Whatever you choose, the prerequisites are the same: a formed Delaware LLC, a finished EIN, a clear description of what you sell on Amazon, and details that match across your Indian passport, the formation document, and the bank application. Get those right and many Indian sellers are approved within 1 to 5 business days, then link the account inside Seller Central.

How does a Delaware LLC protect an Indian seller’s personal assets?

Amazon FBA carries real liability exposure that a sole proprietor takes on personally: a product-safety claim, a customer injury allegation, an intellectual-property dispute over a listing, or a supplier contract that turns sour. If you sell as an Indian individual, your personal savings and assets in India could be exposed if something escalates in the US. The core purpose of an LLC — a limited liability company — is to put a legal wall between the business and you personally.

When your Amazon business is owned by the Delaware LLC, contracts, supplier relationships, and customer obligations sit with the company, not with you. If a claim arises, it is generally directed at the LLC and its assets rather than your personal property in India, provided you keep the company properly separate. That separation depends on real habits: keeping LLC money and personal money apart, signing as the company, and maintaining clean books per brand. Used properly, this is one of the main reasons Indian FBA sellers incorporate before they scale. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm your specific protection with a qualified attorney.

What US taxes does an Indian Amazon FBA seller face?

This is where general guidance helps but a CPA matters. By default, a single-member Delaware LLC is a disregarded entityfor US federal tax: the company does not pay income tax, and profit flows to you, the Indian owner. Whether you owe US income tax depends on whether your activity is a US trade or business and whether income is effectively connected to the US (ECI). FBA inventory sitting in US warehouses raises a genuine question about a US permanent establishment, which interacts with the India-US treaty — a fact-specific analysis you should not settle from a guide. For the general framework, see our Delaware LLC taxes overview.

Sales tax is a separate matter, and FBA makes it more involved than for a plain online store. Storing inventory in Amazon’s US fulfillment centers can create economic nexus, with thresholds commonly around $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions per state, though each state sets its own rules. In most states, marketplace-facilitator rules mean Amazon collects and remits the sales tax on your FBA orders, but a registration duty can still arise. Income tax and sales tax are not the same thing, so do not assume Amazon handling one covers the other. Treat multi-state nexus as a question for a US sales-tax professional, and confirm your income-tax position with a CPA who knows Indian Amazon sellers.

What is the 1099-K threshold and how does it apply to FBA?

Indian sellers often see a Form 1099-K referenced inside Seller Central and worry it means new tax. It is simply an information return. A marketplace or payment processor issues a 1099-K when your payments exceed $20,000 in gross volume and more than 200 transactionsin a year. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed the planned $600 rule, so that $20,000-and-200 threshold is what applies — ignore any older article quoting $600 or a $5,000 figure for FBA.

The key point for an LLC owner: a 1099-K reports gross processed payments, not profit, and whether you receive one does not change what is taxable. Your actual taxable income is the profit after cost of goods, Amazon fees, freight, ads, and other expenses, and your CPA reports that regardless of any 1099-K. If your seller account is registered under the LLC with its EIN and the W-8BEN-E completed, the reporting flows through the company rather than your personal name, which keeps your records clean. The 1099-K is a reconciliation tool, not the basis of your tax bill — confirm the treatment with a CPA.

How do the India-US treaty and your Indian filing fit together?

India and the United States have a comprehensive income-tax treaty in force, an advantage Indian sellers have over founders from no-treaty countries. The treaty’s business-profits article generally provides that the US may tax your business profits only where you have a US permanent establishment. For an FBA seller, whether maintained inventory in US warehouses creates a permanent establishment is genuinely fact-specific — not automatically yes or no — and is exactly the question a cross-border CPA should review. We deliberately do not quote specific treaty withholding rates here, because the correct treatment depends on the income type and your circumstances, and a wrong number could cost you.

The treaty also provides a foreign-tax-credit mechanism so the same income is not taxed twice between the two countries — but it does not remove your Indian filing. As an Indian tax resident you are taxed in India on your worldwide income, which includes profit earned through the US LLC. India also has reporting rules for foreign assets, foreign bank accounts, and interests in foreign entities, which can apply to your US LLC and US bank account. The practical setup is two-sided: keep the US side compliant (franchise tax, Form 5472, any ECI position) and report the income correctly in India, claiming treaty credit where allowed. Engage an Indian chartered accountant early so your Indian return, foreign-asset disclosures, and any LRS-related fund movements are handled cleanly. The LLC makes the US business work; it is not a tax shelter and does not change your obligations at home.

What does a realistic Indian FBA Delaware LLC look like?

Picture a seller in India launching a private-label kitchen product on Amazon.com. The first move is forming a Delaware LLC under the brand name, so the entity that owns the trademark and listings is the same entity that signs with the manufacturer. With the LLC filed in about 48 hours, the EIN application goes to the IRS and arrives in 2 to 4 weeks. While that processes, the seller finalises the supplier, orders the first production run, and prepares the listing from India — no time lost to the paperwork.

Once the EIN lands, the seller opens a US business bank account in the LLC’s name, registers the Amazon Professional seller account under the company, and completes the W-8BEN-E tax interview. Inventory ships into FBA warehouses, the listing goes live, and Amazon disburses settled balances to the US account each cycle, from which the seller pays suppliers and ads and moves surplus to India via Wise. Year-one cost is the flat $397 plus Amazon’s own selling-plan and referral fees. Going forward, the seller budgets Delaware’s $300 franchise tax each June 1, files Form 5472 annually, works with a US CPA on ECI and sales-tax nexus as inventory spreads across states, and reports the income in India with a chartered accountant. Nothing here is unusual — it is the standard shape of a well-run Indian FBA business wrapped in a US entity.

What mistakes do Indian FBA sellers make most often?

Formation itself rarely fails — Delaware accepts properly filed paperwork routinely. The friction shows up at the bank, at Amazon, or later at tax time, and the causes are predictable. Knowing them in advance is the easiest way to stay out of trouble.

• Applying to the bank or Amazon before the EIN is issued. A frequent early decline. Wait for the IRS number first.
• Mismatched details. If your name, the LLC name, or the address differs across your Indian passport, the formation document, the bank application, and Seller Central, reviews stall. Keep everything identical.
• Mixing personal and business money. Running supplier and Amazon funds through a personal Indian account weakens the liability separation the LLC exists to provide.
• Ignoring Form 5472.Foreign-owned single-member owners who skip it risk the $25,000 penalty under IRC 6038A. Calendar it every year by April 15, extendable with Form 7004 — see our Form 5472 for Delaware LLCs guide.
• Forgetting the Indian side.Many sellers assume the US LLC ends their tax story. It does not — report the income and foreign assets in India and claim treaty credit with a chartered accountant.

Almost every one of these is avoidable. We help you sequence the steps in the right order, keep details consistent across documents, and apply to a second bank or payment provider if the first declines — because each reviews independently, a no from one is not a no from all.

What about BOI / FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting?

Beneficial ownership reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act has changed significantly and remains in flux. In March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule that removed BOI reporting obligations for US domestic reporting companies. Under that rule, only certain “foreign reporting companies” registered to do business in the US must report, and US domestic entities and US persons are generally exempt from filing.

Because this area is evolving and the rules may shift again, do not treat any summary as final. Before relying on your filing status, confirm the current FinCEN requirements at the source or with a professional. We monitor these changes and flag them to Indian sellers we work with, but the responsibility to file if required ultimately rests with the company owner.

How much does a Delaware LLC cost for an Indian seller, year one and after?

Our service is a single flat fee of $397, and the Delaware state filing fee is already included — there is no separate state charge to add on. That one payment covers the Certificate of Formation, the EIN application, a registered agent for year one, your operating agreement, US bank and Stripe application support, and compliance tracking, all with WhatsApp support in a friendly timezone for India. Amazon’s own Professional selling-plan and referral fees are paid directly to Amazon and are not part of this price.

That makes year two roughly the $300 franchise tax plus about $99 to renew your registered agent. There is no Delaware annual report for an LLC, so the franchise tax is the entire Delaware obligation. Note that the franchise tax for an LLC is a flat $300 — the authorized-shares and assumed-par-value methods you may read about apply only to corporations, never LLCs. Miss the June 1 deadline and Delaware adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month and your LLC loses good standing, which is exactly why we track the date for you. For the full picture, see our Delaware franchise tax page and our Delaware LLC cost breakdown.

How does a Delaware LLC compare to other options for an Indian seller?

A Delaware LLC is not the only way to wrap an Amazon FBA business run from India, but for most sellers it is a clean default. The comparison below is a quick orientation, not legal advice — verify current fees and confirm the entity type with an advisor before deciding.

If you may later build a brand portfolio and raise outside money, investors usually expect a Delaware C-Corp rather than an LLC, so read that guide before locking in. Whichever you choose, you can start the whole process remotely from anywhere in India.