All about filing VAT with VAT Services on Amazon

What is VAT?

VAT, in the European Union and the UK, is a consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services. It applies to goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the European Union or the UK.

When do I need to register for VAT?

Some of the most common reasons that might trigger a European VAT registration requirement include:

Importing goods into Europe
You are based outside Europe and ship goods into a European country. For example, you are a seller based in China and ship goods from China to a fulfillment center in Germany.
Storing goods in Europe
Storing goods includes you or Amazon on your behalf, storing and moving your inventory between fulfillment centers in different European countries. This means that being enrolled in the FBA program or Pan-European FBA program, which allows Amazon to distribute your goods across European marketplaces, falls under “storing goods” and triggers your requirement to be VAT registered in the respective countries of storage.
Selling to business customers in Europe
You sell to business customers based in European countries different to the European country from where the goods are shipped. For more information about our VAT Calculation Services and Invoicing Support, go to Manage Invoicing.
Selling to EU consumers from another EU country
You sell to EU consumers and have not opted into Union OSS or do not meet the requirements of a micro business then you may be required to register for VAT in the country of delivery.

Note: From 1st July 2021, distance selling thresholds are replaced by a general tax at destination principle for all B2C e-commerce supplies of goods, that is VAT is due in the destination EU country. If you are not a micro business or not opted into Union OSS Scheme, you will be required to be VAT registered, and submit a VAT filing in each country you perform distance sales even if there has only been a single sale to that country. You are a micro business if you do not have subsidiaries or other fixed establishments in other EU Member states and you do not exceed the EU distance sales threshold of EUR 10,000 for sales delivered from your home country on an annual basis.

Note: The situations listed above do not cover every situation in which VAT registration may be required in a country. In order to help you to determine whether or not a VAT registration may be required according to your specific circumstances, use this test. If you are unsure about your registration requirements, speak to your external tax advisor. The VAT registration thresholds of each country are subject to change.

How does VAT Services on Amazon work for VAT filings?

To learn more about filing on VAT Services on Amazon, go to Process Overview.

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Setting up VAT Services on Amazon

There are four actions, which you should take before you begin filing through VAT Services on Amazon:

Confirm that your default Seller Central shipping address is up to date: You can check your default Seller Central shipping address by navigating to "Settings", and then "Shipping Settings" from the ribbon at the top of Seller Central. If you then select "General Shipping Settings", you will see your default shipping address.
Update your default and item-specific Product Tax Codes: To ensure that you are assigning the correct VAT rate to your products, you should update your Product Tax Codes. For more information, go to VAT Rates and My PTCs.
Ensure that you have submitted an "opt-out" declaration in all EU countries where you ship your inventory from.
Download and review your Product Tax File: If you navigate to "File your VAT" and then click on "View Product Tax File", on this page you can download and review your Product Tax File.
Sign up for VAT Services on Amazon

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You are now all ready. You just need to complete your routine monthly procedures in order to submit your VAT filings every month. For more information about the recommended monthly procedures, go to Product Tax File.

What does the tax agent do once your VAT filings have been generated?

Once you have reviewed your VAT filings and the filing preparation window has closed, your tax agent will begin submitting your VAT filings to the relevant tax authorities unless you have contacted us by the deadline to discuss the content of any of your VAT filings.

Your tax agent does not make payment of the liability for your VAT filings. Making payments to the tax authorities is your responsibility. For more information about how to make your VAT payments, go to Making VAT payments.

What is the tax agent’s role in VAT Services on Amazon?

For this service offering, a tax agent is the third-party company who can help you fulfill your legally required VAT filing obligations. The tax agent’s duties might include the following and more:

Helping you to register for VAT.
Preparing your VAT filings and submitting them on your behalf.
Sending notifications to tax authorities on any change in circumstances, such as opting out of taxing in the departure country for distance sales.
Assisting with any tax authorities’ questions or audits.

Note: A tax agent is not an adviser and as a result, the tax agent, in this capacity, will not provide tax advice.

What is Amazon’s role in VAT Services on Amazon?

Amazon maintains and hosts VAT Services on Amazon. In addition, Amazon assists you with the following:

We consolidate all of your transaction details for both Amazon and off-Amazon transactions.
We notify you of basic errors in uploaded data by alerting you in your VAT transaction reports. A full review of your VAT transactions is not carried out. You will only be notified of basic errors.
We transfer the consolidated data to your tax agent in order to prepare your filings.
We provide support services in case you need assistance.

Note: Amazon does not prepare your VAT filings or submit them to the tax authorities, and is unable to correspond with tax authorities on your behalf. Amazon is also not a tax adviser and as a result, Amazon, in this capacity, will not provide tax advice.

How should I contact for help?

If you have a technical problem, go to VAT Services on Amazon support centre.

If you are unable to find an answer to your question, contact us.

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