Amazon zero referral fee: pricing under ₹1,000 in India
Since 16 March 2026, Amazon India charges no referral fee on products priced under ₹1,000, covering over 12.5 crore products in 1,800+ categories, according to Amazon's announcement. Closing fees, weight handling and fulfilment fees still apply. For D2C brands with hero SKUs near ₹1,000, the price you pick now decides a large share of your margin, more than most ad optimisations will.
This explainer covers what is free, what isn't, and how to price, bundle and advertise around the ₹1,000 line.
What changed, and what didn't
Amazon's seller fee page sets out the current structure:
| Fee | Under ₹1,000 | Above ₹1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | Zero | Category rate, cut by 4–9.5% in select categories (apparel, shoes, home, personal care) |
| Closing fee | Still charged; revised rate card. Self Ship under ₹300 fell from ₹45 to ₹20, ₹300–500 from ₹35 to ₹26 | Still charged |
| Weight handling (Easy Ship) | Still charged; ₹10 lower under ₹300 | Still charged |
| FBA / storage | Still charged | Still charged |
Amazon's own examples show the effect. A ₹999 fashion necklace on Easy Ship went from ₹324 in total fees to ₹100. A ₹798 pair of earphones via FBA went from ₹248 to ₹109. A ₹299 T-shirt only dropped from ₹71 to ₹56, because at that price the referral fee was never the main cost; closing and shipping were.
The takeaway: the waiver matters most for products between roughly ₹500 and ₹999, where the referral fee used to be the biggest line.
The ₹1,000 cliff
The waiver is a hard threshold, not a sliding scale. Price at ₹999 and you pay no referral fee. Price at ₹1,049 and you pay the full category rate on the whole ₹1,049.
A worked example with a hypothetical 12% referral rate (check your category's actual rate in the fee schedule):
- At ₹999: referral fee ₹0.
- At ₹1,049: referral fee about ₹126.
You raised the price by ₹50 and lost about ₹76 per unit. Unless the higher price also lifts conversion (it rarely does), ₹999 wins.
So list every SKU priced between ₹1,000 and roughly ₹1,200 and run this check. For many, dropping to ₹999 earns more per unit and converts better. Amazon.in shows GST-inclusive prices, so confirm in Seller Central that the threshold is read off the same selling price you see.
Bundles: single units vs packs
The waiver changes how packs should be built.
- A two-pack at ₹1,198 crosses the line and pays referral fees on the whole amount.
- Two single units at ₹599 each pay no referral fee. Amazon also says sellers shipping multiple units in one box can save over 90% on selling fees for the second unit.
That doesn't kill bundles. A pack still lifts order value and cuts per-order shipping cost. But a ₹1,100 "combo" that exists only to raise basket size should be repriced to ₹999 or split, with "frequently bought together" and multi-unit discounts doing the basket-building instead.
What it means for your ads
Lower fees raise the contribution margin per unit, which raises the ACoS you can afford. If you set targets using our break-even ACoS method, recalculate it for every SKU under ₹1,000. A ₹799 SKU that used to break even at 18% ACoS may now break even in the high 20s.
Three practical shifts:
- Raise bids on sub-₹1,000 heroes where the new break-even ACoS gives room, especially on high-intent category keywords you previously couldn't afford.
- Don't raise bids blindly on SKUs above ₹1,000. Their economics haven't moved much unless they are in a category that also got a rate cut.
- Push repeat purchase. Low-ticket items such as refills, consumables and accessories now earn enough to make post-purchase messaging worth it. Our RCS playbook for India covers what to send.
Amazon has also said it plans AI agents to help Indian sellers spot opportunities, per a 10 November report of an executive interview. No launch date or feature list has been confirmed, so don't plan around it yet.
What to do this week
- [ ] Export your active SKUs with selling price, category and fulfilment channel.
- [ ] Flag every SKU between ₹1,000 and ₹1,200. Model the per-unit margin at ₹999 against the current price.
- [ ] Check combos and packs that sit just above ₹1,000. Decide whether to reprice, split or keep.
- [ ] Recompute break-even ACoS for all sub-₹1,000 SKUs using the new fee totals from Seller Central's fee preview.
- [ ] Shift budget toward sub-₹1,000 heroes with the most new margin headroom.
- [ ] For SKUs under ₹300, compare Easy Ship and Self Ship closing fees; the gap changed.
FAQ
Does the zero referral fee apply to FBA orders?
Yes. Amazon's own example is an FBA earphone listing. FBA fulfilment and storage fees still apply.
Is there any fee at all under ₹1,000?
Yes. Closing fees and weight handling or fulfilment fees remain. On very cheap items, those are now most of your fee bill.
Should I drop every product to ₹999?
No. Only where the per-unit margin at ₹999, after the waiver, beats your current price. Premium products whose buyers aren't price-led may lose more from the lower price than they save in fees.