Amazon India changed four things about what it costs to sell in 2026, and they did not arrive together. Two cut your costs, two raise them, and one of the cuts has an expiry date. Read in isolation, each looks small. Read together, they change the price at which a product is worth listing — especially under Rs 1,000, where most of the movement is.
The four changes at a glance
| Change | Effective | Who it affects | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero referral fee under Rs 1,000 | 16 March 2026 | 12.5 crore+ products, 1,800+ categories | Cost down |
| Order-value cancellation fees | 17 August 2026 | Easy Ship and Self Ship orders | Cost up |
| Closing fee increase | 7 September 2026 | FBA, Easy Ship and Seller Flex | Cost up |
| Try FBA fee waiver | 27 Jan to 30 Sep 2026 | Sellers new to FBA | Cost down, temporary |
1. Closing fees went up on 7 September
Amazon raised closing fees by Rs 1 per item on products priced up to Rs 500 and Rs 3 per item above Rs 500, across Fulfilment by Amazon, Easy Ship and Seller Flex. Amazon attributed the change to higher fuel and logistics costs.
Per unit it looks trivial. At volume it is not:
- A Rs 399 product selling 1,000 units a month now costs Rs 1,000 more a month to sell.
- A Rs 799 product selling 500 units a month costs Rs 1,500 more a month.
The one to watch is the product priced just above Rs 500. The September increase is Rs 3 there but only Rs 1 at Rs 500 or below, and the base closing fee also steps by price band — so check Amazon's current rate card for your category before deciding whether a Rs 519 product should be a Rs 499 one.
2. Cancellation penalties now scale with order value
Since 17 August 2026, cancelling an Easy Ship or Self Ship order costs a percentage of the order value instead of an amount tied to your category referral rate: 10% below Rs 10,000, 8% up to Rs 50,000, 5% up to Rs 1 lakh and 2% above that, plus 18% GST on the penalty.
Two details catch sellers out. The fee applies when Amazon auto-cancels an order because you did not ship and confirm it within 24 hours of the estimated ship date — not only when you cancel it yourself. And it does not apply to cancellations the buyer requests. We cover the tiers, the GST and how to stay clear of it in the full cancellation fee guide.
3. Zero referral fees under Rs 1,000
From 16 March 2026, Amazon stopped charging a referral fee on more than 12.5 crore products priced under Rs 1,000, across 1,800+ categories — up from about 1.2 crore products priced under Rs 300 in 2025. Easy Ship fees also dropped by more than 20% for products under Rs 300. Amazon puts the total saving at up to 70% of selling fees.
Note what did not go to zero. Closing fees and shipping still apply, and the closing fee just rose. A sub-Rs 1,000 product now pays no referral fee but a slightly higher closing fee, so recalculate rather than assuming "zero fees". What the zero referral fee means for new sellers works through Amazon's own examples.
4. The Try FBA waiver, which ends today
Amazon's Try FBA promotion waived Pick & Pack, Weight Handling and Closing fees for India-based sellers trying Fulfilment by Amazon for the first time — for 60 days from the first FBA offer going live, up to 100 units or Rs 10,000, whichever came first. The referral fee was still charged.
The promotion window runs until 30 September 2026. It was already extended once, from 31 March, so check the Try FBA page for whether it has been extended again before planning around it.
What to do this week
- Re-run your price floor on every SKU under Rs 1,000. The referral saving is usually larger than the closing fee rise, but confirm it per product rather than assuming.
- Look for products priced just above Rs 500. The closing fee step at Rs 500 is where a small price change moves the fee.
- Fix dispatch before the festive peak. A missed ship date is now a percentage of order value plus GST, and Amazon triggers it automatically.
- Stop cancelling orders to fix stock errors. Keep listed stock honest instead — every seller-side cancellation now carries a penalty.
If the fee arithmetic is taking more time than the selling, our Amazon account management service runs pricing, dispatch and account health as a routine.
Sources
Checked on 30 September 2026. Fees change often, so confirm the current figure for your category in Seller Central before repricing.