Amazon's own documentation uses the term VPOB — virtual principal place of business — inside its state-expansion material. Sellers shorten it to VPOB. Whatever it is called, the sequence Amazon requires is fixed, and getting the order wrong is the most common reason FBA onboarding stalls.
This page sets out that sequence, the compliance reality behind it, and the specific points where sellers lose weeks.
Why an Amazon seller needs this at all
Three provisions, stacked:
Section 24(ix), CGST Act. A person supplying goods through an e-commerce operator required to collect TCS must register compulsorily, irrespective of turnover. Amazon collects TCS. There is no threshold to hide behind.
Section 25(1). Registration is state-wise. There is no pan-India GSTIN.
Section 2(85). A fulfilment centre where your stock is stored is a place of business, so it has to appear on a registration.
Put together: to send stock to an Amazon FC in Karnataka, you need a Karnataka GSTIN, and that FC must be declared on it. Our GST guide for e-commerce sellers covers the wider compliance picture around TCS and returns.
The sequence, in the only order that works
Confirm the state is genuinely needed — stock will actually be stored there. Shipping to customers in a state from your home-state stock does not require a registration there.
Obtain a documented address in that state. Agreement in your entity's legal name naming a specific cabin or desk, plus an ownership document and an NOC that expressly permits GST registration.
File FORM GST REG-01 declaring that address as your principal place of business. Select the nature of possession that matches your documents, and select the business activity truthfully — office or place where books are kept, not warehouse.
Complete Aadhaar authentication. If flagged, complete biometric authentication and document verification at a designated GST Suvidha Kendra within 15 days of submitting Part B, or no ARN is generated.
Receive the GSTIN and download REG-06.
File a core-field amendment under Rule 19 adding the Amazon fulfilment centre as an additional place of business.
Upload the updated REG-06 showing the FC as APOB into Seller Central.
Only then send stock.
Step 6 is where most sellers lose time, because they assume the GSTIN alone is enough. It is not — Amazon's FBA onboarding asks for a certificate that shows the FC address. Our APOB amendment service handles that filing.
The three routes Amazon documents for the APOB step
Route | How it works | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
Certified service provider | An Amazon-listed professional files the amendment and shares the ARN | Least effort; you are still the applicant and still responsible for what is filed |
Amazon's auto-apply tool | You enter portal credentials and OTP; the ARN is generated for you | Fast, but you are handing over portal access — review what is submitted afterwards |
Self-filing on the portal | Standard core-field amendment under Rule 19 | Full control; you must track approval and re-upload the new REG-06 yourself |
Whichever route you use, the certificate that lands in Seller Central must actually show the FC address. An ARN is not a certificate. Amazon will keep the account gated until the updated REG-06 is uploaded.
Where Amazon sellers actually get stuck
Problem | What is really going on |
|---|---|
Registration granted but FBA still blocked | The FC has not been added as APOB, or the updated REG-06 has not been re-uploaded |
Application queried on the address | Address string differs between the agreement, the ownership document and the REG-01 field |
Asked to appear in person unexpectedly | The application was flagged for biometric authentication under Rule 8(4A) |
FC address changed and shipments rejected | Amazon reallocated fulfilment centres; the APOB list on the GSTIN is now stale |
GSTIN suspended months later | Returns not filed for that state, or the address no longer holds up |
The fourth row deserves attention because it recurs. Marketplace fulfilment centre lists change. Keeping the APOB list current is an ongoing obligation under Rule 19, not a one-off task, and it is exactly the kind of thing that goes unnoticed until stock is refused. Never copy an FC address from a blog or from memory — take it from Amazon's own current documentation for your account.
The travel question nobody answers honestly
VPOB marketing promises a fully remote process. Under Rule 8(4A), an application flagged by the portal's risk analysis goes to biometric Aadhaar authentication in person at a GST Suvidha Kendra.
There is a facility to attend in your home state instead of travelling, but per the GST portal's Aadhaar FAQ it applies only to a Promoter or Director of a Public Limited, Private Limited, Unlimited or Foreign Company. It is unavailable where that person is also the Primary Authorised Signatory, and unavailable to proprietorships, partnership firms and LLPs entirely.
Most Amazon sellers are proprietors. For them there is no home-state route at all — if flagged, someone attends a GSK in the state of registration. Plan for the possibility across your expansion states rather than being surprised in one. Our walkthrough of physical verification and biometric authentication covers the appointment itself.
After you are live
File returns for every state GSTIN from the effective date, including nil returns in months with no supply. Non-filing is a leading cause of suspension and will cut you off mid-season.
Accept TCS credit in each state and reconcile it against Amazon's settlement reports rather than assuming it flows automatically.
Move stock between your own premises and an FC on a proper e-way bill showing declared addresses at both ends.
Keep the APOB list aligned as Amazon opens, closes or reallocates fulfilment centres.
Renew the address agreement before it expires and keep the current copy on file.
Running six or eight state GSTINs is a real monthly workload. Our e-commerce GST return filing service and marketplace reconciliation support exist because this is where sellers stop coping in spreadsheets.
Sellers who also list on Flipkart or Meesho face the same structure with different paperwork — the additional place of business step is identical, and our e-commerce accounting support covers the multi-marketplace books.
Government references
CGST Act, 2017 — sections 2(85), 2(89), 24(ix), 25(1), 29, 52.
CGST Rules, 2017 — Rules 8, 8(4A), 9, 19, 21, 25.
CBIC Instruction No. 03/2025-GST dated 17 April 2025.
CBIC Circular No. 61/35/2018-GST — storage premises as an additional place of business.
Amazon Seller Central — FBA onboarding and state-expansion documentation. Check the current page for your account before filing.
