VAT Services on Amazon will end on Thursday, 31 October 2024.
Discover how we can help you stay VAT compliant
What does this mean for sellers?
VAT Services on Amazon is no longer available to new sellers.
Amazon will inform sellers already using this programme of the next steps. The deadline to change VAT providers is Tuesday 1 October 2024.
The VAT returns will be filed directly with the tax authorities by your existing service providers who are part of this programme.
You’ll receive detailed guidance on next steps if you’re already with UK-ACCOUNTANT.
Transferring to a new provider has never been easier!
What do you need to do next?
Amazon’s VAT Services will cease filing activities by 31 October, so you should have your current provider, or a replacement provider, in place to seamlessly take over and ensure your continued VAT compliance.
To minimise disruption to your business and remain compliant during peak season, it’s wise to either switch VAT providers or set up with one today.
4 reasons to switch to UK-ACCOUNTANT today
- Tax compliance experts from the UK and EU know everything about VAT regulations, compliance, and customs.
- As a client, you’ll have access to our client Portal for all your questions, as well as a dedicated point of contact throughout the process.
- You can keep your current VAT numbers – we will transfer them quickly and efficiently.
- We speak over 25 languages collectively, and we have offices around the world, so there’s a team member who speaks your language!
- Taxes are taken care of so you can focus on cross-border trading and growing your business.
Frequently asked questions about Amazon’s recent announcement and what you should do
IF AMAZON COLLECTS VAT, WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY?
If a seller qualified for marketplace collection, Amazon will be the deemed supplier. Amazon will be responsible for any B2C supply, and therefore will be responsible for collecting and remitting the VAT on the sales. However, where the buyer inputs a VAT number into Amazon, the sale is now considered as B2B as opposed to B2C. Therefore, the VAT collection returns to the seller. If VAT is chargeable on these transactions, it will create a liability on your VAT return. Content goes here
WHY DO I HAVE TO FILE VAT RETURN IF AMAZON COLLECTS IT?
If the business holds goods, they must retain a VAT number. All sales when Amazon collects VAT must be reported as a marketplace sale on the VAT return to keep the seller in full compliance in the jurisdiction. There are also instances in which a seller may be liable to collect and pay VAT outside the e-commerce platforms (selling their websites or directly to their clients), which must be reported on the VAT return.
WHY DO YO NEED MY COST OF GOODS?
Any seller utilising the Pan EU system must provide their cost of goods to report the entry of your movements. Amazon provides data about the goods movements between the EU members and require this information to report values for reporting purposes and get updated on a monthly basis.
WHAT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD I IMPORT INTO?
If you import into the UK, France and Netherlands, you can use the schemes that avoid monetary transactions of paying VAT directly. This facilitates a better cashflow process. In contrast, Germany do not offer such schemes. The funds which may be due are refunded withing the period of 6 to 8 weeks. We do not recommend importing into Italy and Spain, as the Spanish VAT refund is usually included into the annual return while the VAT refund claim in Italy may take 3 to 5 years.
WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I NEED TO RECLAIM IMPORT VAT?
For the UK import VAT claims: We would ask access to your Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to be able to download your C79 certificate. C79s are issued monthly by HMRC on the 7th of the following month. For all other countries. For all other countries: We require the official import entry documents issued by the border of the entry country. These documents are often referred to as single administrative documents in the EU and will be obtainable from the Customs broker that cleared the shipment. For our clients, we will be able to obtain this information internally and will not request this information from the client.
HOW CAN I PAY LESS IMPORT VAT?
Import VAT can take a long time causing cashflow restrains. In order to avoid these problems, such countries as UK and France introduced the systems to defer the import VAT payment to the time of VAT returns submission. In such case your import VAT can be cancelled out by the relevant payments that you are due to pay. Get in touch with UK-Accounts for more information how this scheme can help you.
MY BANK DOES NOT LET ME PAY IN OTHER CURRENCIES. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?
Online currency account is the best way to make international payments as it optimises the exchange rates and lowers the transfer fees.
WHY DO I OWE MONEY IN POLAND AND CZECH REPUBLIC IF I DO NOT SELL THERE?
The Amazon Pan-EU system includes Poland and Czech Republic as Amazon fulfilment countries despite not being in Amazon store forefront. These countries’ tactical position in relation to Germany, enables them to serve as cheaper storage centres to German customers. This reduces Amazon fulfilment fees on these platforms. Similarly, sales made to Poland and Czech Republic any other Amazon platforms, may in term be fulfilled from other countries, potentially giving rise to VAT liability. If you store goods in an EU country, you have to have a VAT number.
DO OVERSEAS CLIENTS SUCH AS US REQUIRE FISCAL REPRESENTATIVE IN EU COUNTRIES TO BE ABLE TO REGISTER FOR VAT AND FILE THEIR RETURNS?
Yes, in some countries such as France, Italy and Spain, US companies require fiscal representations. The need for fiscal representation depends on the specific regulation of each country. This type of representation is included in all packs within UK-Accountant services.
WHEN I SUBMIT VAT INFORMATION TO UK-ACCOUNTANT, WILL I BE ABLE TO UPLOAD INVOICES DIRECTLY, OR WILL I NEED TO COMPLETE AN EXCEL FILE?
You will be able to complete on our portal in a drag and drop format.
HOW SHOULD VAT BE DECLARED FOR SALES RATHER THAN AMAZON?
Similarly to the purchases through Amazon, any off-Amazon sales through other platforms, the sales information can be uploaded through a simplified spreadsheet into our portal. The spreadsheet is available through our system.
When considering whether to transfer your VAT service, it is important to be able to communicate with a VAT representative directly. UK-Accountant provides this option within their standard VAT filing service. New clients will be able to schedule a consultation free of charge with one of our representatives by contacting us.
Start your journey with UK-Accountant – a dedicated onboarding account manager will help you register quickly and easily so you can bring all your e-commerce compliance requirements under one roof.
Register for VAT, EPR and customs services today
You may be interested to read
VAT Inspection (uk-accountant.com)
Overview of Vat penalties (uk-accountant.com)
VAT Refunds (uk-accountant.com)
