Amazon India Zero Referral Fee Categories: What Qualifies Under ₹1,000 and What Does Not

Amazon India charges a 0% referral fee on products priced under ₹1,000 across more than 1,800 categories, from 16 March 2026, covering over 12.5 crore products. But the zero band is not the same in every category. Some stop at ₹500 or ₹300, and a few, such as mobile phones and laptops, have no zero band at all. This page lists what we could confirm as of 9 November 2026.

Which categories get zero referral fee?

Amazon's press release says zero referral fees apply to "products priced under ₹1,000" in 1,800+ categories. It names t-shirts, shoes, earphones, bed sheets, sarees, electric kettles, coffee tables, chairs, pet accessories, fashion jewellery and toys as examples. The release does not publish a full category list or a list of exclusions.

The full list lives in the referral fee table on Amazon's fee schedule page. Most categories there show 0.00% up to ₹1,000 and a set rate above it. Examples from that table as we read it:

Which categories have a smaller zero band?

Some categories do not get the full ₹1,000. On the fee schedule page, Beauty: Fragrance has 0% only up to ₹500. Mattresses pay 25.5% up to ₹500 and 0% between ₹500 and ₹1,000. Warranty Services pays 10% up to ₹300. Books have their own slabs: 0% up to ₹250, 2% from ₹250 to ₹500, 4% from ₹500 to ₹1,000 and 13.5% above ₹1,000.

The earlier 2025 change only waived the fee under ₹300 for 1.2 crore products in 135+ categories. If you read an older article saying "under ₹300", that is the 2025 rule. See Amazon zero referral fee explained for how the two changes fit together.

Which categories get no zero referral fee?

The fee schedule page lists these as exceptions with no zero band:

E-mail gift cards show 0% in every band. Amazon's press release does not mention these exclusions, so a seller who only read the headline would assume electronics are covered. Earphones are named in the release; a laptop is not covered.

What if my product is priced just above ₹1,000?

The page says referral fees were also cut by 4% to 9.5% in select high-demand categories above ₹1,000, including Apparel, Shoes, Home and Personal care. The exact new rate per category is in the table, not in a single number.

Two things to check before you drop a price to ₹999:

1. Is the price the one the rule uses? Amazon says "priced under ₹1,000". We could not confirm from a public page whether the test uses your listed selling price or the price after a deal or coupon. Amazon publishes this inside Seller Central, and we have not seen it. Test one SKU and read the fee preview.
2. Does the lower price still leave margin after the fees that remain? See below.

What fees still apply at 0% referral?

Referral fee is one part of what Amazon calls the selling fee. The other parts are weight handling, closing and other fees. All fees on the fee schedule exclude GST, and 18% GST applies on the fees.

Amazon's own per-unit examples for products under 500 g:

So an earphone at ₹798 still carries ₹109 of fees, about 14% of the price. "Up to 70% savings" is the best case, not the average.

Other changes on the same page: Easy Ship fees fall by over 20% for products priced below ₹300, and sellers shipping several units in one box can save over 90% on selling fees for the second unit. Closing fees for the Easy Ship and FC channels rise by ₹1 up to ₹500 and by ₹3 above ₹500 from 7 September 2026, as the fee schedule page shows. That page also gives several effective dates (16 March, 10 June and 7 September 2026), so confirm anything date-sensitive with Seller Support.

What do closing and weight handling fees look like at a ₹500 item?

Amazon's fees page says the closing fee starts at ₹2 and depends on price band and fulfilment channel. FC closing fees by group run from ₹14 to ₹27 for items up to ₹300, and ₹15 to ₹23 for ₹301 to ₹500. Weight handling starts at ₹37 per item, billed on the higher of actual and volumetric weight (length x breadth x height in cm divided by 5000), with a 500 g minimum chargeable weight for standard items. Self Ship has no Amazon shipping fee; you pay the courier.

For example, take a ₹450 pair of shorts sent from an FC. The fees page gives the closing fee for that example as ₹15. The referral fee is ₹0 if your category row shows 0% to ₹1,000. Weight handling and any pick and pack fee come on top, then 18% GST on all of it. The page itself says these figures are estimates and that actual fees vary by category, size, weight and services used.

How to check your own category

1. Open the fee schedule page and find your category in the referral fee table.
2. Note the bands (for example up to ₹300, ₹300 to ₹500, ₹500 to ₹1,000, above ₹1,000) and the rate in each.
3. Use the revenue calculator in Seller Central on one live ASIN to confirm the fee Amazon will actually charge.
4. Run your numbers in the under ₹1,000 margin calculator and compare with Amazon seller fees in India.
5. Re-check the table every quarter. The page was edited at least three times in 2026.

FAQ

Is Amazon India's zero referral fee for all sellers? Amazon's release describes it as applying to products priced under ₹1,000 and does not name seller-type conditions. Whether a category qualifies depends on the referral fee table, not on your account type. Check the row for your category in Seller Central.

Do mobile phones and laptops get zero referral fee on Amazon.in? No, on the fee schedule page as we read it. Mobile phones show 5%, laptops 6%, desktops 8% and televisions 6%, with no zero band. Confirm in your Seller Central fee preview, because this is a public page that Amazon updates.

Is the zero referral fee under ₹999 or under ₹1,000? Amazon's own release and fee schedule say "under ₹1,000". Some blogs say ₹999. We could not confirm from a public Amazon page how a price of exactly ₹1,000 is treated, so test with a live listing.

When did Amazon India start the zero referral fee under ₹1,000? The release gives 16 March 2026 as the effective date. The earlier under ₹300 waiver started on 7 April 2025.

Do I still pay GST on Amazon fees if the referral fee is zero? Yes. GST at 18% applies to the fees you do pay, such as closing and weight handling. See GST on marketplace fees. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm with a GST practitioner.

Where is the full category list? On the Amazon.in fee schedule page, in the referral fee table. Amazon's press release does not carry a category list. The table is long and includes rows with dated changes, so filter for your category and read each band.

Check your catalogue against the live table

If you have hundreds of SKUs, sorting them by category band and price is the slow part. Blooprint's Amazon account management team does this review and reprices where the fee maths changes.