International listing without going VAT registered
Hi there, I'm currently selling in the UK. I'd love to try and sell in the German market, but I'm not VAT registered yet, is it something I can still do? Perhaps shipping from the UK to Germany? TIA
8 replies
Seller_MT8rt0A2OpbCx
Many sellers stopped selling to EU after Brexit, partly due to the added complexity and also high number of customers claiming not delivered. Some were due to lengthy delays through customs (probably better by now), others ... well, who knows.
Selling on Amazon U.K. to EU will cost you an extra 16.6%, if not VAT registered, as Amazon deduct what the VAT would be from your proceeds, whether you are VAT registered or not. If you sell on an EU Amazon site, you should have a return address in that country, or returnless refunds.
If you want to send product into a EU warehouse, or PAN EU, that's a whole other (large) can or 10 of worms
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
It depends what you mean. If you mean you're not yet VAT registered in Germany, but you are in the UK, you can sell from UK to Germany and VAT (for orders under 150 Euros) will be collected and remitted by Amazon, leaving you to ship the order using the IOSS system and Amazon's IOSS number so no duties or taxes are due.
If you mean you're not VAT registered in the UK, then it's a whole other problem. You see, Amazon takes the target destination's VAT off the monies given to you regardless of whether you're VAT registered or not, so you would end up selling for less than you planned to. In order to account for the this, you'd need to increase your selling price to compensate, but it will go up for everywhere that listing is set to ship to.
The last problem applies no matter what. You can not sell into Germany unless you follow their EPR regulations, which requires registering for recycling of your packaging etc. This can be complicated and expensive, so you need to look into it before you make any decisions.
