The Australian government has implemented a new legislation that will require non-resident organisations that provide remote services, such as Amazon, to collect GST from resident-Australian sellers on these services. Note that this rule is only applicable for resident-Australian sellers who are not registered for GST. The new rule is in effect since July 1, 2017.
If you are an Australian seller registered for GST, you will need to provide your Australian Business Number (ABN) to Amazon to confirm that you are GST registered in Australia. GST registered sellers will not have a GST charge of 10% applied on their Selling on Amazon fees.
To provide Amazon with your ABN:
If you are a resident Australian seller who is not GST registered in Australia, the new rule requires Amazon to collect and remit Australian GST at a standard rate of 10% on the Selling on Amazon fees that you pay.
You can also refer to the Australian GST Tax page for more information. To understand how this regulation impacts your Selling on Amazon account, refer to Australian Taxation Office.
If you are a resident of Australia, you will be liable to pay Australian GST in addition to your Selling on Amazon Fees. However, if you are GST registered and have provided Amazon with an Australian Business Number (ABN) as confirmation, you do not have to pay these charges.
You can register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) online. Please note that we will charge you the GST unless you are registered for GST in Australia, and have provided an ABN to us. For more information, refer to Australian Taxation Office and Apply for an ABN.
If you are not a resident of Australia, Selling on Amazon fees through your selling account will not be subject to Australian GST collection. Consult your tax advisor to help you understand if you have any Australian GST obligations in Australia.
Amazon will charge Australian Sellers a standard rate of 10% on the Selling on Amazon fees if the seller does not have a valid Australian Business Number on file.
Amazon will not calculate and collect Australian GST if you have provided an Australian Business Number as confirmation that you are GST registered in Australia.
However, there may have been GST collected on the orders due to timing. Amazon calculates Australian GST when an order is placed, and charges it to the seller account when the order is shipped. Therefore, Australian GST may have been collected on orders placed before you provided your Australian Business Number.
Amazon calculates Australian GST fees when an order is placed, and collects it when an order is shipped. If the information you provided at the time of shipment indicates you are a resident of Australia, you will be charged Australian GST against your seller account. This could have occurred if there were pending orders before you updated your current address and payment information.
Go to Seller Account Information, and review each section to ensure that all of your information is complete and accurate.
Note that there may be several addresses and payment methods associated with your seller account.
Amazon is required to charge and remit Australian GST based on the information in your seller account. At the time the GST was calculated and collected, Amazon had enough information to associate your account with Australia. Amazon cannot refund Australian GST without a valid Australian Business Number.
You may request a refund for previously charged Australian GST once you have provided Amazon with a valid Australian Business Number as confirmation that you are GST registered in Australia.
To request a refund, submit your Australian Business Number to Amazon by following the process listed on this page.
Amazon is not required to issue tax invoices under the Australian legislation. All monthly activity can be found in date range reports. You can view these reports by going to Seller Central > Reports > Payments > Date Range Reports > and selecting a transactional report for a particular timeframe.
While we are committed to helping sellers, we do not provide tax advisory or compliance services. We encourage you to contact a tax advisor.