Get legal & compliant
Register, get GST-ready, protect your name, and clear the licenses you need to sell.
What founders use for get legal & compliant, ranked by how many answers lean on it.
- Answers the practical follow up question a founder hits right after GST: can I even take payments without one. Written by a... PhonePe Business Article Payment Gateway Without GST: Can You Accept Online Payments? PhonePe
- Spells out the actual cost of treating GST as optional: the penalty math under Section 122, the 18% interest clock, and the... Masters India Article Penalty for Not Registering or Late Registering Under GST Masters India
- Written by a payment company that onboards thousands of small sellers, so it frames GST registration around the real founder... Razorpay Learn Article GST Registration for Small Business - Minimum Turnover, New Rules & Benefits Razorpay
- The clearest global explainer of economic nexus, the international equivalent of India's e-commerce mandate: the idea that... Stripe Article Introduction to US Sales Tax and Economic Nexus Stripe
- Shopify's own 2026 guide to US sales tax makes the same core point GST does for India: the platform will not register or remit... Shopify Article Ecommerce Sales Tax: Complete Guide for US Businesses (2026) Shopify
- A tax compliance vendor's FAQ that lays out registration timing cleanly: register before you start selling in a jurisdiction,... Avalara Report Sales Tax Registration FAQ Avalara
- If a D2C brand ever ships direct to Europe, this explains the EU's equivalent to India's threshold question: a EUR 10,000 cross... amavat Article VAT OSS Threshold Explained: What Happens After EUR 10,000 amavat
- Explains the newest fast track (effective November 2025, Notification 18/2025) that most CA firm websites have not caught up... TaxGuru Report All About New GST Registration Rule 14A: 3-Day Auto Approval TaxGuru
- Written for the exact reader of this question, the D2C founder about to sell on a marketplace, and confirms Amazon's own... Amazon Seller Blog (sell.amazon.in) Article Documents Required for Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration Amazon
- Address proof is the single most common reason a solo application stalls; this walks through reading a REG-03 clarification... myHQ Blog Article GST Registration Rejected? Complete Fix and Reapply Guide myHQ
- Worth bookmarking before you start: the actual toll free number and grievance channels for when the portal itself breaks, an... ClearTax Article GST Helpline Number and Email ID ClearTax
- If you want the whole GST landscape in one sitting rather than piecing it together from blog posts, this is a short, current,... Amazon Kindle Book GST for Small Business and Startups: Essential Compliance and Practical Strategies for MSMEs in India Akhila S
- GST rules change often, Rule 14A itself only launched in November 2025, so subscribing keeps you from registering under a... Substack Newsletter GST News GST News
- Razorpay writes this for the same founders opening a payment gateway account right after GST registration, so the document set... Razorpay Learn Article Documents Required for GST Registration: A Checklist Razorpay
- One of the more complete entity-by-entity breakdowns available, useful if you are still deciding between registering as a... IndiaFilings Article GST Registration Documents Required for Businesses IndiaFilings
- Written specifically for online sellers, this covers the document gap founders discover only after they are already live, that... ComplyLocal Article Additional Place of Business (APOB) in GST: Add Amazon and Flipkart Warehouses ComplyLocal
- Many D2C brands incorporate as an LLP before scaling to a private limited company, and the document set for an LLP (LLP... myHQ Article GST Registration for LLP: Step-by-Step Guide (2026) myHQ
- Written by a business banking platform that watches founders go through registration constantly, this is a practical... OPEN Money Blog Article GST Registration: 10 Common Issues and Fixes Open Financial Technologies
- A tax practitioner's plain-language breakdown of the same CBIC instruction on the day it dropped, useful as a five-minute... X (FinTaxPro) Thread CBIC issues Instruction No. 03/2025-GST to streamline GST registration processing FinTaxPro
- Once your GSTIN comes through, this is the single-volume reference Indian tax professionals actually keep on their desk, worth... Taxmann Book Taxmann's GST Ready Reckoner V. S. Datey
- The government's own FAQ on the composition levy, straight from the department that writes the rules. Use it to check any... CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) Report Frequently Asked Questions on Composition Levy CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs)
- The actual CGST Rules governing composition, not a third party paraphrase. A five minute read before you trust any summary... CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) Article Composition Rules CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs)
- India's most widely used tax platform, kept current, and the cleanest single reference for exact rates and turnover limits... ClearTax Article GST Composition Scheme: Rules, Turnover Limit, Rate, Benefits ClearTax
- Goes straight at the exact question a maker selling online is asking: does composition even work if I'm on a marketplace, and... Busy.in Article GST Composition Scheme Rules for E-commerce Sellers and Online Retailers Busy.in
The questions
Registering your business 6
The right entity to sell and to raise.
I'm just starting out, should I register as a proprietorship, LLP, or private limited company?
4 →
Once I've decided on Private Limited, what's the actual step-by-step to incorporate it?
4 →
Is it worth applying for Startup India / DPIIT recognition, and what does it actually get me?
4 →
I'm a solo founder with no co-founder, does an OPC (One Person Company) make more sense than an LLP?
4 →
Beyond incorporation, what other registrations do I actually need before I can legally take my first order?
4 →
All 6 questions in Registering your business →
GST registration & basics 6
Get GST-ready before your first online sale.
Do I need a GST number before I make my very first sale, or can that wait?
20 →
What's the actual step-by-step to register for GST myself, without paying a CA?
18 →
What documents do I need lined up before I start the GST application?
16 →
I'm a small maker just starting out, does the GST composition scheme make sense for me?
20 →
How long does GST registration actually take and what does it cost?
18 →
All 6 questions in GST registration & basics →
GST across states & e-commerce 7
Place of supply, TCS, and selling pan-India cleanly.
Do I actually need a GST registration to sell online, or can I start without one?
4 →
A customer in another state ordered, do I charge IGST or CGST + SGST?
4 →
Why is Amazon/Flipkart holding back a cut of my payout, what is this TCS?
4 →
I store stock in a 3PL or Amazon FBA warehouse in another state, do I need a separate GST registration there?
4 →
What HSN code and GST rate apply to my product, and where do I look it up?
3 →
All 7 questions in GST across states & e-commerce →
Trademark & brand IP 6
Own your name before someone else does.
Should I trademark my brand name before I even launch, or can it wait till I have traction?
4 →
How do I check if my brand name is already taken before I fall in love with it?
4 →
What trademark class do I actually file under for my D2C brand, just one, or more?
3 →
How much does trademark registration actually cost and how long does it take in India?
3 →
What's the difference between the ™ I'm already using and getting an actual registered ®?
3 →
All 6 questions in Trademark & brand IP →
Product licenses & certifications 6
FSSAI, cosmetics, BIS, drug, legal-metrology, get legal to sell.
I'm selling packaged food/snacks online, what FSSAI license do I need, and does my turnover matter?
4 →
I make skincare/cosmetics at home or with a small manufacturer, do I need a CDSCO license before I can sell?
2 →
I import or sell gadgets/electronics, what's this BIS CRS mark I keep hearing about?
3 →
What exactly has to be on my product label/pack to be legally compliant under Legal Metrology?
3 →
How do I even figure out which licenses apply to MY specific product, is there a single checklist?
3 →
All 6 questions in Product licenses & certifications →
EPR & sustainability compliance 6
Plastic EPR, packaging rules, and green claims that hold up.
Do I actually need EPR registration for my D2C brand's plastic packaging, and what happens if I skip it?
3 →
What's the actual step-by-step to register for EPR on the CPCB portal?
4 →
What are the recycled-content and QR code traceability rules I need to hit in 2025-2026?
3 →
Can I call my packaging 'eco-friendly' or 'sustainable' on my product page without getting into trouble?
3 →
Where do I actually source compostable or plastic-free packaging in India without blowing my per-order cost?
3 →
All 6 questions in EPR & sustainability compliance →
Data privacy & the DPDP Act 6
Handle customer data legally under India's DPDP Act.
Do I actually need to worry about DPDP as a small D2C brand, or is this a big-company problem?
3 →
What exactly counts as valid consent under DPDP for my checkout and signup forms?
3 →
What do I need to put in my privacy policy, and how do I actually draft one?
4 →
What tools should I use to get DPDP-compliant without hiring a lawyer for every step?
2 →
What actually happens to my brand if I don't comply, what are the real penalties?
3 →
All 6 questions in Data privacy & the DPDP Act →
Business insurance & risk 6
Cover product liability, inventory, and shipping risk.
Do I actually need product liability insurance as a small D2C brand, or am I overthinking it?
3 →
What does product liability insurance in India actually cost and cover?
3 →
My marketplace is asking for liability insurance before I can keep selling, what do I actually need to show them?
3 →
How do I insure my inventory against fire, theft, or damage sitting in a warehouse?
3 →
What about goods lost or damaged in transit or shipping, is that covered separately from warehouse insurance?
3 →
All 6 questions in Business insurance & risk →
Counterfeits & IP enforcement 6
Stop fakes and hijackers on marketplaces and your store.
How do I get my brand onto Amazon Brand Registry and Project Zero to fight counterfeits?
3 →
What's Flipkart's equivalent, and how do I actually report a fake or unauthorised listing there?
3 →
Someone's hijacked my own product listing and is undercutting my price, what do I do?
3 →
Do I need a trademark before I can even start protecting my brand, and how do I register one in India?
2 →
My brand is being sold as fake on Instagram and WhatsApp, not just on marketplaces, what do I do?
3 →
All 6 questions in Counterfeits & IP enforcement →
eChai Partner Brands
The partnership →