Help with EU VAT - stuck!

#1

Plea for help as I have not gotten very far with Amazon SS, Avalara or some other “tax advisers” I have posed the question to.

I sell FBA on Amazon and my products are VAT-exempt in both the UK and the EU (yes, zero VAT). The business is registered in the UK and there, the no-tax works just fine.

I recently started selling in the EU, sending stock to German FBA from inside the EU. The listings all have a NO_TAX code, I have a German VAT number etc etc, but Amazon still insists on charging me VAT as I am a “deemed reseller”.

One idea I am playing with is to set up a EU subsidiary, maybe Ireland, so that I can have an EU presence/substance and perhaps the issue will go away.

Has anybody here gone down that route? Or similar, with some kind of fiscal representative or another solution? Really struggling to get a clear answer from anyone on this.

Does Amazon allow one seller account to have both a UK and EU address / be dually registered?

If there are Seller Uni guidance on this, apologies in advance but I didn’t find anything…

Any ideas, referrals to advisers, general tips etc very welcome!!!

Thanks,
Alex

#2

It would help a little to clarify your terminology as this will potentially confuse anyone you are speaking to.

VAT exempt and zero-rated are not the same thing. I assume that you actually mean zero-rated.

Are you absolutely certain that your goods are zero-rated in Germany for example as very, very few goods are. For instance books, food etc. all attract VAT.

VAT is charged based on the node/category that the product is in for marketplace seller overseas orders so you’ll need to check your product is in the correct category and that the whole category is zero-rated.

#3

Surely you mean a deemed supplier?

#4

Hello Neil. I mean Deemed Reseller and Deemed Supplier. Amazon posts invoices for both under product orders and I pay VAT on the sale depending on country of purchase…

#5

Hello Peter - thank you for the reply.

I do mean VAT exempt. The items I sell are very specifically vat exempt in the UK and the EU but unfortunately no node available for this in product listings.

Do you know if Amazon allows a secondary business address (ie an European one) or if I need to set up a secondary account for this, of course with Amazon’s permission?

Thank you

#6

vat exempt is only for financial services,land etc

what exactly do you sell ?

#7

are these EFN sales then to countries where you are not VAT registered ?

#8

I’m assuming that what’s actually being meant here is Zero rated. Just incorrect terminology.

However, everything I can find about this, it basically means that the sale is treated as a b2b sale to Amazon (zero rated), then the marketplace is responsible for collecting VAT on the sale itself from the customer.
Nothing I can find however shows a zero rated sale. Which to my mind, means that the systems in place, simply can’t cope with this particular transaction properly.
If that is indeed the case, then it’s going to prove very difficult to get past it.

#9

Thank you Neil - I am slowly coming to the same conclusion.

#10

You really need to talk to someone who is expert in this.
I would imagine, that even if it is a “systems” issue, then you should at some point be able to claim the additional money back from Amazon.

#11

Hey @zimzimzimmam,

I am not sure if this helps, but we do have a link that mentions zero rated, VAT calculation service FAQ, maybe you might find something useful in here.

Feel free to keep us updated, also shout out to to the sellers who posted here!

Regards,
Winston

#12

Hey Winston.

Can see where your going with that, but it really has nothing to do with this issue.
The VAT calculation service, is basically just providing invoices for the customers.

This particular issue, is to do with the new rules that have come in last July, for EU vat.

closed #13

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