It can be either of two -
1. You own a portal for sell; or
2. You register as seller on e-commerce website.
Following general steps are required to be followed to set-up online business in India for selling globally, with little variation subject to above situation.
- Choose the appropriate business structure: While investment in case of 1st option, 2nd may require relatively lesser investment. Based on actual requirement and business scale, you need to decide the business structure for your business. (Popular forms: Sole Proprietorship Firm, Partnership Firm, Limited Liability Partnership, Private Limited Company & One Person Company)
- Business formation: Based on the selected business structure, you need to follow process of formation or incorporation. Where proprietorship firm is easiest to form, other forms need to be set-up in accordance with provisions of respective law.
- Open Bank Account: Once your business entity is set-up, you need to open current bank account for routing business transactions and also for obtaining other registrations.
- Government and Tax Registrations: As far as exports is concerned, GST registration, Import-Export Code and filing Letter of Undertaking[1]will be necessary. Although, other registrations may be necessary, these 3 will be must for one. (Other registrations include Shop & Establishment, Professional Tax, etc.)
- Website related: If you are to own your own portal, first you need to register a domain in the business name. Then, you must require documents such as Website Policy, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, etc.
- Trademark Registration: e-Commerce sites like Amazon compels the sellers to register their brand name under trademark to maintain the distinct identity of all sellers. Therefore, while opting for 2nd option, this is compulsory.
- Also, for the one who own their portal are required to protect their brand name to establish distinctness. One must note that domain registration does not amount to brand protection.
- After completing all these requirements, you are good to start the selling. This may not necessarily exhaustive list because based on your business facts, a little variations may be invited. However, these are basic pointer for any business under this.
Although, it is a long list of formalities, these can be simplified with assistance of professionals. If you need one, you can simply connect with LegalWiz.in expert to help you in hassle-free manner.
If you still have any query regarding this, feel free to drop in comment box.
This answer was originally posted to my another answer on Quora[2].
Footnotes