Verify Establishment for Value Added Tax (VAT)
Hi, Recently received this email (EMAIL 1):
⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄ EMAIL 1 ⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄
SUBJECT: Action Required - Your disbursements are at risk of being temporarily held
Hello,
The disbursements of part or all your Amazon sales proceeds are at risk of being temporarily withheld in all stores you operate worldwide (excluding Amazon.in), because we need to confirm whether you are established in the UK for Value Added Tax (VAT) purposes. Additionally, your Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) inventory may be temporarily blocked from removal, unless the funds withheld exceed your estimated liability.
Why did this happen?
We must collect and remit VAT from non-UK established Selling Partners for the sales of goods delivered to customers in the UK. Based on a review of your account, we determined that you may not be UK established for VAT purposes. This may have resulted in inaccurate tax treatment on your sales under the VAT on eCommerce legislation (effective 1 January 2021 in UK). We leveraged a combination of automated means and expert human review to identify this issue and make this decision. We took this action in accordance with the Amazon Business Solution Agreement: https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/G201190440 and Amazon Payments UK Agreement: https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/GTVFVCWBJ6RJGKHM.
What actions do I need to take?
To avoid further impact to your disbursements, within 30 days of this notice, go to the Account Health page in your Seller Central account https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard and follow the instructions from the banner you will find at the top of the page. Complete there one of the steps below based on your determination of business establishment.
If you meet the criteria for UK establishment: Submit the required documentation. We will complete our review of your submission within 3 days. If we verify that your business is established in the UK, your Amazon sales proceeds will be eligible for disbursement per your disbursement schedule within 24 hours. Additionally, if your Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) inventory was held, it will be available for removal within 48 hours.
If you do not meet the UK establishment criteria: Verify that you are not established in the UK. In this case, you will not need to provide documentation, but you will need to address any unpaid VAT.
How do I resolve my unpaid VAT?
If you do not meet the establishment criteria, you will need to pay the VAT amount to Amazon for the historical unpaid VAT on all sales from 1 July 2021, which fall under the EU VAT on eCommerce legislation. In this case, we will send you additional information regarding next steps, including payment options, within one week of receiving your confirmation.
You can continue to sell, but your Amazon sales proceeds will remain temporarily ineligible for disbursement and any FBA inventory blocked from removal from this account, and any related accounts, until we can confirm your business establishment and the UK VAT owed is paid to Amazon.
We’re here to help.
For further information, go to the “UK VOEC: Determination of Establishment" page: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gc/vat-education/voec-uk-establishment
If you have additional questions, click the 'Contact Us' button on your Account Health page: https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard to speak to an Account Health Specialist.
Sincerely,
Amazon Services Europe
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ EMAIL 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I am registered as a Limited Company but my threshold is under the £90,000 mark for the last 12 months.
So i sent in this submission and received this response:
⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄ RESPONSE 1 ⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄
Determining your Establishment:
I do not meet the establishment criteria.
✔️ I confirm that I do not meet UK establishment criteria for VAT purposes.
After this confirmation, Amazon will review my account’s sales activity and
advise if any VAT liability is due to Amazon for past transactions.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RESPONSE 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I then received another email (EMAIL 2)
⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄ EMAIL 2 ⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄
SUBJECT: Potentially determination of non-UK establishment
Hello,
Thank you for your submission. Based on a review of your account and the information provided, we have concluded that your business is not established in the UK for Value Added Tax (VAT) purposes.
Why did this happen?
We must collect and remit VAT from non-UK established selling partners for the sales of goods delivered to customers in the UK. Based on a review of your account, we determined that you may not be UK established for VAT purposes.
This may have resulted in inaccurate tax treatment of your sales under the VAT on eCommerce legislation (effective 1 January 2021 in UK). We leveraged a combination of automated means and expert human review to identify this issue and make this decision. We took this action in accordance with the Amazon Business Solution Agreement:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G201190440
and the APUK Agreement:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/G201190400
What actions do I need to take?
You will need to pay the VAT amount to Amazon for the historical unpaid VAT for the sales of goods delivered to customers in the UK on all sales from 1 January 2021, which fall under the UK VAT on eCommerce legislation. We will send you additional information regarding next steps, including payment options.
You can continue to sell, but your Amazon sales proceeds will remain temporarily ineligible for disbursement and any FBA inventory blocked from removal from this account, and any related accounts, until any UK VAT owed is paid to Amazon. Additionally, within 10 days we will begin to collect and remit VAT taxes on your future sales for goods delivered to UK customers.
Has there been an error?
If you wish to appeal this decision, reply to this email. You may be required to provide additional information and documents during an appeal process, which we will communicate to you via email.
We’re here to help
For more information, go to the "UK VOEC: Determination of Establishment":
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gc/vat-education/voec-uk-establishment
If you have additional questions and wish to speak to an Account Health specialist, go to "Contact Us" on your Account Health page:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_ap
Amazon Services Europe
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ EMAIL 2 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I got 4 options which were:
1. I would like more information as to how my VAT liability was calculated.
2. I disagree with how Amazon has calculated my VAT (not exactly written like this - i cannot view this page anymore)
3. I have paid VAT to HMRC directly (not exactly written like this - i cannot view this page anymore)
4. I have not yet received any VAT liability from Amazon.
5. Other (submit info) (not exactly written like this - i cannot view this page anymore)
My response first was to select 1 and i got this response (RESPONSE 2):
⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄ RESPONSE 2 ⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄
Which of the following is your enquiry related to?
I would like more information as to how my VAT liability was calculated.
Your VAT liability was calculated by assessing the sales you made to B2C
customers in the UK since January 1, 2021 for which VAT was not previously
collected by Amazon where it is payable under e-Commerce legislation.
Please note the following:
(1) Your VAT liability only includes sales of goods shipped within the EU to
B2C customers (i.e. non-VAT registered).
(2) The VAT rates applied are determined by Amazon according to EU law.
These may differ from any product tax codes you have set in Seller Central.
vat collected and paid via amazon for my account as i do not fall under vat
registrated company in uk
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RESPONSE 2 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Then i had the option to pick one of the 4 again and I selected option 4. This is the response i got (response 3):
⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄ RESPONSE 3 ⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄⌄
Which of the following is your enquiry related to?
I have not yet received any VAT liability from Amazon.
✔️ Please note that it can take up to 7 days from determination of
non-establishment for Amazon to provide your preliminary VAT liability.
✔️ Confirm here that you have not yet received your VAT liability and are
waiting for Amazon to send.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RESPONSE 3 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now I am waiting for a response. Is this okay?
Would this invoice I am going to receive be already be paid for as amazon has collected these fees since I have been selling?
Thank you & have a great day!
Seller_76AUwmqvSyRIM
This is for vat, not for fees.
If you are not established in the uk as you have confirmed, you will be asked to pay vat. It will be around 20% of your sales since Jan 2021, I believe.
So, depending on your sales, it could be a large bill.
There is no vat threshold for non-established people.
Seller_qr9bVNdpZA4MT
does 'UK establishment criteria for VAT purposes' not mean my business is over the threshold? I have to register for it?
When we first applied we were told amazon will do it for our behalf and not need to worry about it until we pass the threshold which we are not near.
have i selected the wrong option?
Seller_76AUwmqvSyRIM
I think you have got yourself in a pickle.
Do read the explanation in the link below. When I say read it, I mean read it and fully understand it.
Then see if you can get yourself out of this apparent mess.
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
UK establishment is not the same as being liable for UK VAT - establishment is WHERE your business is established, and you say you are in UK, but the threshold is WHEN you become liable for VAT.
If you want Amazon to deal with your VAT, if and when you reach the threshold (and remember it is turnover not profit), then you need to sign up for Amazon's VCS - VAT calculation services.
As Disenchanted Seller says, I think you have got yourself in a bit of a mess with ticking the wrong box saying you do 'NOT meet UK establishment criteria'. Hope you can sort it out.
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
We are established in the UK and have been paying since we reached the threshold which was 9 years ago.
All these nothing to do with whether we are based in UK or Pay Vat.. There is something else going on!
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
Gosh, I am confused now (not difficult !!) - are Xarissa and Kathy65 one and the same ???? - or have I misunderstood something ?
Seller_qr9bVNdpZA4MT
For me, they let me select again and I am going to select the established option now - submit the 4-6 documents they want.
I think this is more like an annual verification check to check if you still exist.
Where i misunderstood is I though all UK establishments are VAT reg.
Seller_qr9bVNdpZA4MT
So you pay HMRC directly as you are VAT reg right?
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
Yes, if they collect the VAT, it'll be duplicated and I will have to pay extra fee to my accountant to sort out the extra vat payment
Seller_qr9bVNdpZA4MT
Right, just read your post on the other form too. Are the all the addresses on the forms correct? Not virtual or PO's?
Seller_qr9bVNdpZA4MT
@Sarah_AmznHi sarah can you please help me with this, been over a month and I received the 'cant confirm when but we are verifying'
they wanted my passport signed and i sent it over
i email the manager email and the help one and got the same 'cant confirm when but we are verifying'
been over a month
Seller_2EG6N58tYDYmC
Seller_0YHPsiul2hvvf
I select the same:
I have not yet received any VAT liability from Amazon.
✔️ Please note that it can take up to 7 days from determination of
non-establishment for Amazon to provide your preliminary VAT liability.
✔️ Confirm here that you have not yet received your VAT liability and are
But, I have not received any response from Amazon over 10 days, Amazon did not start collect VAT, and my funds still on holding....
What can I do now ??
