Norwegian VAT on eCommerce legislation

Norway has introduced VAT on eCommerce legislation. This will change the way VAT is accounted for, on your sales to Norwegian customers, through Amazon storefronts.

Amazon will collect Norwegian VAT on sale of goods delivered to customers in Norway, ordered through any Amazon storefront, where:

• The goods are delivered from inventory stored outside Norway.
• The intrinsic value of each item in the order does not exceed NOK 3,000.
• The items ordered do not include foodstuff, alcoholic beverages or certain exempted products.

For these transactions, Amazon will calculate and collect Norwegian VAT from the customer at checkout, and remit this directly to the Norwegian Tax Administration. You will not receive the Norwegian VAT amount in your disbursements and you will not be required to remit these amount to the Norwegian Tax Administration.

If you deliver goods to Norwegian customers, who are registered for Norwegian VAT (B2B customers), your B2B customer will be responsible to self-report any Norwegian VAT through their VAT return.

There are no changes to your VAT responsibilities if you deliver from inventory held in Norway or if you are established in Norway. You are responsible for accounting for any VAT due on these sales.

Further information on this law is available from the Norwegian Tax Administration here.

In order to best prepare your business for this change in the collection of Norwegian VAT on sales to customers in Norway, the following actions are recommended:

1. Review and update your Seller Central account details.

Ensure that your Seller Central account VAT details are accurate by reviewing the following:

• Your business address – Amazon will use this information to identify your primary place of business. For more information, go to Business address.
• Your default shipping address – Amazon will use your default ship-from address to display accurate VAT inclusive prices to customers.
  • If you are enrolled in VAT calculation services or were enrolled in VAT calculation services in the past (includes starting the enrolment process), go to VAT calculation settings to update your default shipping address.
  • If you are not enrolled in VAT calculation services, go to Shipping Settings to review and update your default shipping address.
• Your VAT registration numbers for any European countries in which you hold inventory – Amazon will use your European VAT registration information to ensure that accurate reporting and documentation is created to support your VAT compliance for those countries. For more information, go to VAT calculation settings.

It is recommended that you regularly review this information to ensure that it remains up to date. Further information on the details to be provided, how Amazon uses these details for calculating VAT on your transactions and Amazon fees is available here.

2. Review your list prices on Amazon’s European storefronts to ensure that they are inclusive of VAT.

Review your pricing settings for .co.uk, .de, .fr, .it and .es to ensure that they include applicable VAT. You are required to provide list prices that are inclusive of all applicable taxes, including VAT, for that storefront. For more information, go to Manage Inventory.

3. Review and update your VAT invoicing details.

Amazon will issue VAT invoices to your customers where Amazon is liable to report the VAT. You must not issue invoices for these supplies. Where Amazon is liable to report the VAT, you will be able to download two separate invoices from Seller Central: (1) Invoice between you and Amazon for your tax filing purposes, and (2) VAT invoice from Amazon to your customer. Amazon is required to issue the second invoice to the customer and this is not needed by you for tax filing purposes. You will be able to download the invoices in Manage Orders in Seller Central.

If you are enrolled for Amazon’s VAT calculation services in Europe, you will also be able to download these invoices on Seller Central Europe using the existing bulk-download feature. Select the ‘Tax Document Library’ folder available under the ‘Reports’ tab, click on the ‘Amazon VAT Calculation’ tab, and then select ‘VAT Invoices’ from the ‘Report Type’ drop-down box.

4. Provide confirmation of your actual ship-from address when confirming dispatch.

When you send goods to the customer directly, you will be required to provide the actual ship-from address when you confirm dispatch through the Confirm Shipment page on Seller Central, Shipping Confirmation Template or Order APIs. In case you use Orders API to confirm dispatch, you will need to update your system to provide and view the ship-from address through the API. Refer to the help pages for more details.

5. Make sure to send each order received from your customer in a separate single delivery.

Ensure that each order received under a single order ID is delivered separately to the customer if you send goods to the customer directly. You must not split a single order into multiple deliveries or combine multiple orders into a single delivery.

6. Make sure to provide Amazon’s VOEC number to your carrier

Please provide Amazon’s Norwegian VAT on eCommerce (‘NO VOEC’) registration number to your chosen logistics carrier. The relevant NO VOEC number is unique to the relevant Amazon storefront through which the sale is made. Therefore, the NO VOEC number for a sale through one storefront may differ from the number for another storefront. Go to Ship to Norway for further information.

What will change with these new VAT rules?

Amazon will collect Norwegian VAT on the sale of goods delivered to customers in Norway, ordered through any Amazon storefront, where:

• The goods are delivered from inventory stored outside Norway
• The intrinsic value of each item in the order does not exceed NOK 3,000
• The items ordered do not include foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages or certain exempted products

For these transactions, Amazon will calculate and collect Norwegian VAT from the customer at checkout and remit this directly to the Norwegian Tax Administration. You will not receive the Norwegian VAT amount in your disbursements and will not be required to remit these amounts to the Norwegian Tax Administration.

Please note that the current VAT exemption for sales of goods under NOK350, where goods are delivered to Norwegian customers from inventory stored outside of Norway, will not be applicable for these sales – Norwegian VAT will be calculated and collected by Amazon on all sales that meet the above requirements.

If you deliver goods to Norwegian customers, who are registered for Norwegian VAT (B2B customers), your B2B customer will remain responsible to self-report any Norwegian VAT through their VAT return.

Please note that there are no changes to your VAT responsibilities if you deliver from inventory held in Norway or if you are established in Norway. You remain responsible for accounting for any VAT due on these sales.

Who is impacted?

The new VAT rules in Norway are expected to affect your business if you are delivering goods to Norwegian customers in Norway. The changes only affects some supplies that are delivered to customers, who are not registered for Norwegian VAT, in Norway. Supplies to Norwegian VAT registered customers are not affected.

What additional information do I need to include in my invoice or package when sending seller fulfilled packages to Norway under this legislation?

You can identify orders on which Amazon has collected VAT under this legislation on the Order Details page when confirming the order on Seller Central.

Where Amazon is identified as collecting VAT, you must provide Amazon’s Norwegian VAT on eCommerce (‘NO VOEC’) registration number to your chosen logistics carrier. The relevant NO VOEC number is unique to the relevant Amazon storefront through which the sale is made. Therefore, the NO VOEC number for a sale through one storefront may differ to the relevant number for another storefront.

Amazon’s NO VOEC numbers for each storefront are as follows:

Storefront	Reporting entity	VOEC number
Europe (.co.uk, .de, .fr, .it, .es)	Amazon Services Europe Sarl	VOEC2034417
US	Amazon.com Services LLC	VOEC2029170
Japan	Amazon Japan G.K	VOEC2034662

The VOEC-number must be labelled as ‘Sender’s customs reference No.’ or ‘VOEC No.’

How do these new VAT rules impact the order proceeds in my disbursements?

The order proceeds that you will receive in your disbursements for sales to Norwegian customers may change as follows:

• Where Amazon collects Norwegian VAT from the customer at checkout and remits this directly to the Norwegian Tax Administration – your disbursements will include the order proceeds minus the Norwegian VAT amount collected by Amazon.
• Where Amazon is not responsible for collecting Norwegian VAT – your disbursements will include the order proceeds collected from the customer at checkout.

How will Amazon calculate VAT on these sales?

In order to comply with the new VAT regulations, Amazon will calculate and remit the applicable VAT due on your sales that meet the below qualifications.

1. European storefront (.co.uk, .de, .fr, .it, .es)

   Prices listed on a European storefront will be treated as inclusive of VAT for that storefront country. Amazon will (i) calculate the VAT exclusive price by removing VAT based upon the storefront country, (ii) determine if the VAT exclusive price is below the NOK 3,000 threshold, and (iii) apply Norwegian VAT on that amount if it is below the threshold. The total amount including Norwegian VAT will be collected from the customer.

   For example, prices listed on Amazon.de are considered inclusive of any applicable DE VAT. The VAT is calculated as follows:

   • A selling partner lists an item at €119, which is inclusive of VAT on Amazon.de (item price €100 + German VAT €19)
   • The customer selects the item and chooses a delivery address in Norway
   • At checkout, Amazon will remove German VAT and apply Norwegian VAT to the item price (item price €100*25% = €25). The customer will pay the final price of €125 (The original total price €119 – German VAT €19 + Norwegian VAT €25 = €125)
   • At shipment completion, Amazon will transfer net proceeds of €100, which is the price exclusive of VAT, to you (listing price at checkout €125 – Norwegian VAT €25 = €100).

   If you are enrolled in VAT calculation services, Amazon will not use any product tax codes you have provided for this calculation. Your product tax codes will continue to be used for supplies where you are liable to account for any applicable VAT.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000, is fulfilled by Amazon and you are enrolled in VAT calculation services, then Amazon will (i) calculate the VAT exclusive price by using your VAT calculation settings, including your assigned product tax code and (ii) apply an estimate of import fees and duties that will be collected from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000, is fulfilled by Amazon and you are not enrolled in VAT calculation services, then Amazon (i) will collect the full list price from the customer and (ii) apply an estimate of import fees and duties that will be collected from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000 and is fulfilled by the seller, the full list price will be collected from the customer – you remain responsible for any costs associated with delivering the goods to the customer including settlement of any import fees and duties, due at the border.

2. US storefront (.com)

   Prices listed on the US storefront are exclusive of any taxes. Amazon will apply Norwegian VAT on top of the list price and collect the total amount from the customer.

   For deliveries fulfilled from outside of Norway, Amazon will use the list price of the customer order to determine if the delivery value is above or below the threshold of NOK 3,000. If the value is at or below the threshold, Amazon will calculate Norwegian VAT payable and collect the amount from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000 and is fulfilled by Amazon, then Amazon will apply an estimate of import fees and duties that will be collected from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000 and is fulfilled by the seller, the full list price will be collected from the customer – you remain responsible for any costs associated with delivering the goods to the customer including settlement of any import fees and duties, due at the border.

3. Japan storefront (.co.jp)

   Prices listed on the Japan storefront are deemed inclusive of Japanese Consumption Tax. Amazon will (i) calculate the tax exclusive price by removing Japanese Consumption Tax from the price, (ii) determine if the tax exclusive price is below the NOK 3,000 threshold and (iii) apply Norwegian VAT on that amount if it is below the threshold. The total amount including Norwegian VAT will be collected from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000 and is fulfilled by Amazon, then Amazon will apply an estimate of import fees and duties that will be collected from the customer.

   If the delivery value exceeds NOK 3,000, and is fulfilled by the seller, the full list price will be collected from the customer – you will be responsible for any costs associated with delivering the goods to the customer, including settlement of any import fees and duties, due at the border.

What is the definition of ‘item value’?

The item value is defined as the intrinsic value of a single item when sold for delivery to a Norwegian customer. This is equal to the price that the item is sold for, excluding:

• Any delivery and insurance costs that are charged separately to the customer and stated separately on the invoice
• Any VAT or customs duties payable upon delivery in Norway

If a customer orders multiple items with a value below NOK 3,000, Amazon is still required to collect and remit Norwegian VAT. If the order contains at least one item above NOK 3,000, however, the order is excluded from the legislation.

How will this change impact my VAT registration obligations?

You are responsible for compliance with any European VAT registration obligations.

Please refer to our dedicated VAT education pages to understand more about your VAT obligations.

If you need help with VAT registration and filing in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Czech Republic, visit VAT Services on Amazon to sign up today.

How do I identify these sales in the Amazon VAT Transaction Report and VAT Calculation Report?

Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR):

There are two columns in the AVTR, which will help you identify transactions where Amazon is responsible for reporting VAT:

• Tax Reporting Scheme: This column identifies the tax legislation concerning the transaction.
• Tax Collection Responsibility: This column identifies the party responsible for collection and remittance of any tax (VAT) to the authorities. If it states ‘Storefront’, then Amazon will remit the VAT to the authorities. If it states ‘Seller’, then you are responsible for any VAT that is due.

You can see the details of the AVTR field definitions here. A sample AVTR is here.

VAT Calculations Report (VCR):

There are two columns in the VCR, which will help you identify transactions where Amazon is responsible for reporting VAT:

• Tax Reporting Scheme: This column identifies the tax legislation concerning the transaction.
• Tax Collection Responsibility: This column identifies the party responsible for collection and remittance of tax (VAT) to the authorities. If it states ‘Storefront’, then Amazon will remit the VAT to the authorities. If it states ‘Seller’, then you are responsible for any VAT that is due.

A sample VCR is here.

What will change in listing price with the new VAT rules?

Provide list prices that are inclusive of all applicable taxes, including VAT, for Amazon’s European storefronts.

How do I adjust the list prices for my offers?

Go to Manage Inventory. You can set listing price by updating ‘Price’ and clicking on ‘Save’. Alternatively, click on ‘Edit’ against the required row on the Manage Inventory page, and update ‘Your price’ in the Offer tab. Click ‘Save and finish’ to complete the change.

Do these rules apply for sales to Norwegian VAT registered customers?

No. If you deliver goods to a Norwegian VAT registered customer, dispatched from outside Norway, your B2B customer will remain responsible to self-report any Norwegian VAT through their VAT return.