Subject to certain conditions, British Columbia Government requires non-resident companies providing certain digital goods and services to collect PST at a rate of 7% on these services when they are provided to BC residents. In this context, digital services provided by Amazon include the Selling on Amazon fees (listing/referral services) and subscription fees.
Irrespective if you operate as a business or an individual seller, Amazon is required to calculate, collect, and remit 7% PST on your selling fees to the BC Government.
Amazon will charge British Columbia sellers a standard rate of 7% PST on the Selling on Amazon fees, regardless if you are considered a business or an individual. Amazon will begin calculating and collecting PST on Selling on Amazon fees effective April 1, 2021.
If you are not a resident of British Columbia, Selling on Amazon fees through your selling account will not be subject to PST collection. Consult your tax advisor to help you understand if you have any PST obligations.
Amazon is required to charge and remit BC PST based on the information in your seller account. At the time the PST was calculated and collected, Amazon had enough information to associate your account with BC and cannot refund BC PST charged. In certain situations, refunds can be issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Finance.
Amazon calculates BC PST on fees when an order is placed, and collects it when an order is shipped. If the information you provided at the time of shipment indicated you were a BC resident, then BC PST will have been collected. This might 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.
If you believe you were incorrectly charged, you may request a refund for previously-charged BC PST.
To request a refund:
In certain situations, refunds can be issued by directly contacting the British Columbia Ministry of Finance.
Amazon is not required to issue tax invoices under the British Columbia legislation. All monthly activity can be found in your 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 time frame.