Business Expansion on eBay

[cobracable-india]

Hi folks,

I have been selling small items on eBay for about six months now. Till now, since the items were low priced, I never cared to obtain a S.T. No. or any other legal formalities, but now I wish to go for some seriuos business. Therefore, I feel that I should know what all I need to do before I start selling high priced items.

My major concerns are:

1. Should I send an invoice bearing my S.T. No. with each of my shipments and add VAT? Will this be acceptable to the buyer since he will have to pay VAT plus some octroi etc. if the parcel is accompanied with a bill.

2. How do I ensure that I don't suffer loss of parcel in transit? I have asked my courier and they don't offer insurance.

3. What else needs to be done for international selling?

I want to learn the best practices my senior sellers are using so that I don't have to face any legal problems later.

Any help will be highly appreciated,

Thanks,

Anil
Tayal's Mega Shop

[emailswarup]

Hi,

ebay has option to automaticaly include S.T and others. Some sellers charge that as per rules and the buyers know that before bidding. I think some buyers prefer tax paid bills for smart items.

For international sales its better to have IEC. You may contact with the Director General of Foreign Trade office (DGFT) of your area. Its easy to get IEC if you have the documents right. You can do it on your own ( at least I got my IEC without any agents support). The charges are also very reasonable. .
Best Regards 😄
Swarup
Kolkata

[cobracable-india]

Hi Swarup,

Thanks for your reply. One concern still remains whether its necessary to include a tax paid bill with the parcel and hence declare this as a commercial transaction especially when the value of the item is high. Will the parcel be stuck in octroi etc.. if not accompanied by a proper invoice showing the correct value and VAT separately?

Please tell me by your experience whether you have faced any such problem.

Regards,

Anil