India has buyers for almost anything sold by auction: collectibles, electronics, vehicles, art and surplus stock. It also has a fast, cheap payment system in UPI. This guide covers launching an auction site for Indian buyers with a self-hosted script: the legal line to stay on the right side of, the payment setup, rupee pricing and GST.
Auctions of goods, not online money games
In 2025 India passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, which bans online money games along with their advertising and payment processing. Read the Act itself, or have a lawyer do it, rather than relying on summaries. This post covers ordinary auctions of goods: someone lists an item, buyers bid, and the winner pays for the item. That's a sale, and it's the model this guide is about.
Paid-bid formats are a different question. In a penny auction or a lowest unique bid auction, every bid costs money whether or not it wins. Before you run any format where bidders pay to take part, ask a lawyer whether it counts as an online money game under the Act or under your state's gambling law. The operator is responsible for compliance. Check with a local lawyer before launch. Sign-up on BidKing is limited to 18 and over.
Payments: what's built in
Every BidKing edition includes 11 payment gateways. Four of them are Indian:
- Razorpay, which most Indian sites start with: cards, UPI, netbanking and wallets through one checkout. Our Razorpay integration guide walks through the setup.
- PayU, Cashfree and Instamojo, if you already have a merchant account with one of them or want a backup.
Stripe and PayPal are built in too, for buyers paying from abroad.
UPI and bank transfer as manual methods
BidKing also ships three manual payment methods: UPI, Bank Transfer and PayTM QR. They work without a gateway account:
- The buyer pays you directly.
- They submit the transaction ID and a screenshot.
- You check the payment and approve it in the admin.
This suits a small site, or buyers who prefer a direct UPI payment. It does mean someone has to check every payment by hand.
Before you go live, replace the sample details. A fresh install's Bank Transfer method contains placeholder bank details, and PayTM QR contains a sample QR image. Under Payment Gateways in the admin, put in your own details, or switch off any method you won't use. Editing a manual method's details needs the Manual Gateway Builder, which is included in Plus and Pro and is an add-on for Starter. On Starter without it, switch the sample methods off.
The Manual Gateway Builder also lets you create your own manual methods, each with its own name, logo, QR code and instructions.
Rupee pricing and coins
- Store currency: set it to INR and the symbol to ₹ under Settings › Regional.
- Coin price: BidKing's wallet works in coins. You decide what one coin is worth in rupees, and the coin price is set once for the whole site.
- Listings: price lots, bid steps and Buy Now prices in round rupee amounts. Indian buyers compare prices quickly, and odd conversions from dollars look careless.
GST and invoices
If your turnover requires GST registration, you'll need to charge GST and issue tax invoices.
- Charging GST: BidKing Plus and Pro include per-country tax rules. Each rule has a rate, and you choose whether it applies to shop purchases or wallet top-ups.
- Invoices: BidKing doesn't create GST invoices for auction wins in any edition. Plan to issue them from your accounting software.
How GST applies to your model depends on what you sell, and whether you sell your own stock or run a marketplace for other sellers. Ask a chartered accountant before you launch.
A launch checklist
- Confirm with a lawyer that your auction format is a sale of goods. Avoid paid-bid formats until you have that advice.
- Set up Razorpay, or another bundled Indian gateway, in live mode.
- Replace or switch off the sample manual payment methods.
- Set INR and ₹, and decide your coin price.
- Set up GST rules (Plus or Pro) and your invoicing process with your accountant.
- Publish clear terms covering payment deadlines for winners, shipping and returns.
Common questions
Is it legal to run an auction website in India?
Selling goods by auction is an ordinary sale. Formats where bidders pay for every bid are a different question under the 2025 online gaming law and state gambling laws. The operator is responsible for compliance, so check with a lawyer before launch.
Which Indian payment gateways does BidKing include?
Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree and Instamojo are built into every edition, along with UPI, Bank Transfer and PayTM QR as manual payment methods.
Can BidKing take UPI payments?
Yes, in two ways: through Razorpay or another bundled gateway, or through the manual UPI method, where you check each payment yourself.
Does BidKing handle GST?
Plus and Pro let you set tax rules with a rate per country. BidKing doesn't generate GST invoices for auction wins, so plan to issue those separately, and confirm your GST treatment with a chartered accountant.