Amazon Vendor Central vs Seller Central: Key Invoicing Differences

Quick Answer: Vendor Central uses a wholesale invoicing model where Amazon raises a Purchase Order and you invoice Amazon as your B2B customer. Seller Central uses a retail model where you generate invoices for end customers. The compliance requirements, invoice formats, GST obligations, and tooling are substantially different between the two platforms.

If you have ever worked with both Amazon Vendor Central and Seller Central, you know they feel like two completely separate products — because they effectively are. The invoicing workflows are built on different commercial relationships, which means different GST implications, different document formats, and different automation approaches.

This guide covers the critical differences so you can ensure you are using the right approach for the right platform.

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The Fundamental Commercial Difference

Vendor Central (1P — First Party): Amazon buys products from you wholesale. Amazon is your customer. You supply goods against Amazon's Purchase Orders and invoice Amazon's legal entity (typically Amazon Seller Services Private Limited for Indian vendors). Amazon then sells those goods to end customers at its own determined price.

Seller Central (3P — Third Party): You sell products directly to Amazon customers through Amazon's marketplace. Amazon is your service provider, not your customer. You pay Amazon fees (referral fee, FBA fee, etc.) and receive proceeds from customer purchases.

This distinction fundamentally changes every aspect of invoicing.

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Invoice Direction

Aspect	Vendor Central	Seller Central
Who invoices whom	You invoice Amazon	You invoice end customers
Invoice recipient	Amazon (B2B invoice)	Individual consumers (B2C invoice)
GST document type	Tax Invoice (B2B)	Tax Invoice or Bill of Supply
ITC eligibility	Amazon claims ITC on your invoice	Customer may or may not claim ITC

On Vendor Central, your invoice is a B2B GST tax invoice with Amazon's GSTIN as the recipient. This means Amazon can claim Input Tax Credit on the GST you charge — this is the normal B2B supply chain model.

On Seller Central, most of your end customers are consumers who cannot claim ITC. Amazon generates the invoice on your behalf using your GSTIN (if you are registered under GST) for orders where the customer is a GST-registered business.

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Who Creates the Invoice?

Vendor Central: You create and submit the invoice. Amazon does not generate an invoice on your behalf — you are responsible for uploading or entering your invoice in the Vendor Central portal under Payments > Invoices. This invoice must comply with GST rules including correct GSTIN, HSN codes, invoice serial number, etc.

Seller Central: Amazon generates invoices on your behalf for end customers through the GST Invoice Filing feature. You provide your GSTIN in account settings, and Amazon's system auto-generates compliant invoices for each order. You retain responsibility for the GST filings themselves.

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The Purchase Order Workflow

Vendor Central runs entirely on a PO-driven workflow:

1. Amazon raises a Purchase Order
2. You fulfill the order and create an Advance Shipment Notice (ASN)
3. Amazon receives goods and confirms receipt
4. You submit an invoice against the PO
5. Amazon validates and approves the invoice
6. Payment is made on agreed credit terms (typically 30–60 days net)

Seller Central has no PO workflow. Orders come in from customers, you fulfill them, and payment is settled to your account on a regular disbursement cycle (typically every 14 days).

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GST Compliance Differences

Vendor Central

• You must issue a GST-compliant tax invoice before or at the time of supply
• Invoice must include Amazon's GSTIN, your GSTIN, HSN codes, and itemised GST breakup
• You are responsible for reporting this supply in your GSTR-1
• Amazon will reconcile with its GSTR-2B — mismatches can cause issues in your next submission

Seller Central

• Amazon generates invoices on your behalf for B2C orders
• For B2B orders (where the buyer provides their GSTIN at checkout), Amazon generates a B2B tax invoice
• You are still responsible for GSTR-1 filings — Amazon provides a downloadable GST report to help

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Invoice Submission and Validation

Vendor Central has a formal invoice submission interface with validation checks. Invoices go through Amazon's system review before being approved. Common rejection reasons include GSTIN mismatches, quantity discrepancies against the PO, and missing HSN codes. You must actively monitor for rejections and resubmit corrected invoices.

Seller Central has no equivalent manual submission process for end-customer invoices — Amazon handles this automatically. Your involvement is in ensuring your GSTIN and tax settings are correctly configured in account settings.

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Automation Applicability

Vendor Central has significant automation potential — the manual PO-to-invoice cycle (drafting, submitting, tracking rejections, managing payments) is repetitive and error-prone. This is precisely where InvoiceOps adds value.

Seller Central has less automation need for invoicing because Amazon handles invoice generation. The opportunity there is in reconciliation, returns management, and account health.

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Which Platform Are You On?

If Amazon invited you via its Vendor Recruitment team and you signed a Vendor Agreement, you are on Vendor Central. If you self-registered at sellercentral.amazon.in, you are on Seller Central.

Many large Indian sellers operate both simultaneously. If you do, your invoicing workflows and tools must be entirely separate for each platform.

InvoiceOps is built specifically for the Vendor Central PO-to-invoice cycle — the workflow that Seller Central tools do not address.