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I am thinking of starting an e-commerce store and want to import goods from India. How do I go about researching legal/tax implications?

I am based in San Francisco. Not really sure where to get started. I am a U.S. citizen but am going to get a permanent/lifetime visa to India (parents Indian). I want to understand the legalities to see if my idea is feasible.

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Ahmed Al

Entrepreneur, Business Mentor & 1 Int. Author

To open an e-commerce unit you need to select your product first, before selecting the country. Then, if you have made up your mind up that India is where you are going to import from, then you will need to figure out where you are importing to. If you are importing to the United States, then you can consult a shipping company for the shipping cost, and a tax adviser or lawyer regarding the tax details/logistics. There are many websites with information. You can Google these things, or you can ask any consultant specialized in that particular area. Also, you need to know how much the cost is. Let's say, from India ports. Again, the logistic companies can handle that. You can also go to elance.com and ask these questions to a lawyer from India, or a lawyer from your country, or a shipping company from there, or from your country. You would pay them per hour. You can find people on elance.com and you would pay them from $10-$15 per hour based on their expertise. They will be able to answer all of your specific questions that you may have.

Answered almost 11 years ago