Your Amazon payout is lower than sales because sales show gross order value, while the payout is net of referral and closing fees, shipping or fulfilment charges, GST on those fees, refunds and return costs, TCS and TDS, and other adjustments. Some orders also settle in a later cycle or are held. Match each line in the settlement report to your seller agreement to find what is normal and what needs a claim.
Payout is not the same as sales
The sales figure on your dashboard is usually the gross value of orders, meaning what customers paid. Your payout is what remains after the marketplace deducts its charges, refunds, taxes collected at source and adjustments, and it covers only the transactions included in that settlement period.
So a gap is normal. The real question is whether every rupee of the gap can be traced to a line in your settlement report and to the terms you agreed. Two things cause most confusion: orders that fall in different periods, and deductions that are not tied to any single order.
Deductions that commonly sit between sales and payout
Most Amazon sellers in India will see some combination of the following in the settlement or payment reports:
- Referral or commission fee: usually depends on category and price band.
- Closing or fixed fee: a per-order charge that may vary by price and fulfilment model.
- Shipping and fulfilment fees: weight handling, pick and pack, or delivery charges, depending on whether you use FBA, Easy Ship or self-ship.
- Refunds and return costs: the amount refunded to the customer, plus any return shipping or fees that are not reversed.
- GST on fees: charged on the marketplace's services, so it increases the total deduction.
- TCS and TDS: tax collected or deducted at source (see below).
- Other items: storage fees, advertising charges if netted, penalties, claim reversals and manual adjustments.
Do not rely on remembered percentages. Fee rates change with category, price, weight and programme, so check your seller agreement and the current rate card in Seller Central, and confirm the latest terms before you dispute anything.
Timing gaps: sold but not yet settled
A month's sales rarely equal that month's payouts. Money is generally released after delivery and after any hold or return window, and the exact cycle depends on your account and the terms in force. Confirm the current cycle in your account.
| Timing reason | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Order delivered but not yet in a settlement | Order-level settlement report, by order ID |
| Order in a return or claim window | Returns report and order status |
| Amount held or reserved | Payment summary, account health or notices |
| Refund processed after the original payout | Next settlement's refund lines |
Timing items are not losses. They reverse in a later period, so track them separately from true shortfalls.
TCS and TDS: deducted, but usually claimable
Marketplaces acting as e-commerce operators may collect tax at source, and these amounts appear as deductions in your settlement. Sellers often count them as lost revenue, but they are generally credited against your tax liability when handled correctly.
Rates, thresholds and the way credit is claimed are set by law and change over time. Check the latest notifications and ask your tax adviser how to match the settlement figures with your GST and income tax records. Keep a monthly record of what was deducted so your books and tax statements agree.
How Flipkart settlements differ
The logic is the same on Flipkart: gross order value less commission, fixed or collection fees, shipping and reverse shipping charges, GST on fees, refunds and tax deductions. What changes is the labelling and the report layout. Column names and fee categories vary by report version, so read the headers of your current payment report and compare them with your Flipkart agreement or rate card instead of assuming they mirror Amazon's.
A step-by-step way to reconcile
- Download the order-level settlement report for the period, not only the summary.
- Start from gross order value and subtract refunds and cancellations.
- Group fees by type and compare each against your rate card or agreement.
- Pull out TCS, TDS and GST lines and match them to your tax records.
- List delivered orders that are missing from settlements and mark them as timing items or open cases.
- Raise a case for unexplained differences, with order IDs, report extracts and the clause you are relying on, then track it until resolved.
On a few dozen orders this works in a spreadsheet. Across thousands, it gets slow and error-prone. MarketplaceMetrics by Fundle reconciles marketplace sales and settlements, checks commissions and fees against agreed terms, and tracks returns and recovery cases. Myntra Excel reports are reviewed today, while Amazon and Flipkart are in scope discussion, so confirm coverage with Fundle before planning around it.
Worked example
Illustrative example only. All figures are made up to show the arithmetic and are not actual rates or results.
| Line | Amount (₹, illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Gross order value | 1,00,000 |
| Less: refunds and returns | -12,000 |
| Net sales | 88,000 |
| Less: referral and closing fees | -14,000 |
| Less: shipping and fulfilment fees | -6,500 |
| Less: GST on fees | -3,500 |
| Less: storage and other charges | -1,200 |
| Less: TCS | -800 |
| Less: TDS | -900 |
| Payout | 61,100 |
The apparent gap is ₹38,900 on ₹1,00,000 of sales. Of that, ₹12,000 is refunds, ₹26,000 is fees, GST and other charges, and ₹1,700 is tax at source. Each part can be verified against a report line. If a fee line is higher than your agreed terms allow, that portion is the claim.
Questions and answers
Why is my Amazon payout lower than my sales figure?
Sales show gross order value. The payout is net of referral and closing fees, shipping or fulfilment charges, GST on fees, refunds, return costs, TCS, TDS and adjustments. Some orders may also fall in a later settlement. The order-level settlement report shows each deduction.
Where can I see the breakdown of my Amazon deductions?
Open the payments or settlement section in Seller Central and download the order-level report for the period, not just the summary. Each fee, refund, tax and adjustment appears as a separate line, which you can compare with your agreement and rate card.
Are TCS and TDS deductions a loss to my business?
Generally not. They are tax collected or deducted at source and can usually be set against your tax liability when recorded correctly. Rates and rules change, so confirm the latest position and the claim process with your tax adviser.
How do I know if a deduction is wrong?
Compare the fee line with the category, price band, weight and programme in your seller agreement or current rate card. If it exceeds what the terms allow, collect the order IDs and report extracts, and raise a case with the marketplace.