Over 4 years VAT refund query
Hello Forum please help,
Does anybody have experience of receiving a VAT refund from Amazon past the 4 Year statue?
Please note that Statute of Limitation is applied on all the VAT refund processed by Amazon on seller fees. As per Statute of Limitations, no refund can be processed for the period prior to February 2019 for UK. This is official EU/UK guidelines which advise on the maximum length of time we are able to assess for VAT refund purposes:
UK = 4 YEARS
DE = 3 YEARS
FR = 2 YEARS
IT = 1 YEAR
ES = 4 YEAR
PL = 5 YEARS
CZ = 3 YEARS
I have received this from Amazon but I am also being told that it is actually 10 years (from an accountant) as the amounts were taken incorrectly. Just wondered if anybody had been successful with this as I imagine it will be a long difficult process.
Thanks for your help!
6 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
I’d ask them for this in writing as HMRC guidance is 4 years
They also technically weren’t incorrect unless you registered your exemption
Edit
I see you are actually VAT registered and been on here since 2017
When did you register for VAT as your accountant should’ve claimed back some of that VAT (up 6 months worth) on your first return so you can’t claim it twice
Seller_rJ95MWgCjtmIH
Thanks for the reply The_Little_Shop,
Yes I have been selling on Amazon since 2017 and was not VAT registered untll April 2019.
Thanks I will investigate the claim when I registered for VAT.
Yes I will request it in writing as well, I think I have it on an email.
I honestly did not know about the exemption in the early days so did not register for it.
With the 4 year staute the period I could claim for is very little anyway just wanted to get some advice.
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
It is a bit of a point of contention. The VAT statute exists in so far as the ability to make VAT corrections through VAT filings. This is to correct VAT errors - so allowing Amazon to recover the incorrect VAT.
The dispute arises in the case of Amazon charging VAT to ‘registered businesses’ who were not VAT registered at the time. Technically this could be argued as an incorrect billing by Amazon - however this then falls into a legal grey area. I expect in most cases there is a requirement to raise invoice disputes within 30 days so maybe for most it is better to accept the 4 year limitation?
If you are unsure I would suggest consulting a business lawyer.
Section 4.6.1 and 4.6.2 cover time limits for making VAT adjustments. I encourage you to discuss them with your accountant.
Seller_rJ95MWgCjtmIH
Thanks for the helpful replies PeterB and The_Little_shop
I will investigate further.
Thanks again.
