Hello fellow sellers,

We’ve been facing a significant issue with VAT charges on Amazon UK for the past two years, and we’re hoping to get some insights or advice from this community. Despite our persistent efforts to resolve the problem, it seems Amazon support is not addressing the issue effectively.

Since we started selling on Amazon UK, our products have been incorrectly charged 20% VAT. According to both Amazon’s own guidelines and HMRC regulations, our products should be zero-rated for VAT. However, we continue to face this issue across multiple listings.

Every product we list gets a 20% VAT applied, despite qualifying for zero VAT according to UK tax laws. This incorrect VAT charge has significantly affected our pricing strategy and profitability, as we are unable to pass these unnecessary costs onto our customers. We've contacted Amazon Seller Support numerous times, providing detailed explanations and references to relevant HMRC guidelines, but the issue remains unresolved.

Amazon's guidelines state that sellers are responsible for ensuring that the correct VAT rate is applied to their products. Amazon provides functionality for setting VAT rates, but it seems there might be a systemic issue preventing correct application in our case. According to HMRC, certain products are zero-rated for VAT purposes. For instance, “food items for human consumption” generally fall under this category unless they are considered confectionery, alcoholic beverages, or other specific exceptions. Our tax advisors have confirmed that our products should indeed be zero-rated, aligning with both HMRC guidelines and standard industry practices.

We’ve submitted extensive documentation and references to Amazon support, highlighting the applicable HMRC regulations that justify our products being zero-rated. Despite our efforts, the response has been slow and largely unhelpful, often resulting in generic replies without any substantive progress.

We are reaching out to the community for advice. Has anyone else faced similar issues with VAT misapplication on Amazon UK? How did you resolve it? Are there any effective ways to escalate this issue within Amazon to get a more responsive and informed resolution? Would it be advisable to engage a legal professional or a specific consultant who has successfully navigated such issues with Amazon?

Any help, insights, or suggestions from the community would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

Best regards,

Hi everyone,

We’ve been facing a recurring issue that I believe many other sellers might relate to.

When fulfilling orders, we often receive customer details where only the first name is provided no surname, initials, or anything else. Unfortunately, most couriers do not accept shipments with just a single name on the label. It creates a logistical problem and raises the risk of delays or even returns.

We’ve been trying to resolve this by politely messaging customers and asking them to provide their full name. However, in our experience, 9 out of 10 customers never respond, leaving us stuck. In some cases, we’ve had to “make up” placeholder names or reverse their first names neither of which is a professional or safe practice. Many names also carry cultural or linguistic meanings, and altering them could unintentionally cause offence.

As sellers, we’re trying our best to provide fast and reliable service, but this puts us in a difficult position where we have to choose between delaying dispatch or risking problems with delivery.

We kindly request that Amazon consider implementing a solution to this perhaps by requiring customers to provide a full name at checkout, or by adding a system prompt if only a single name is entered.

This would not only help sellers ship orders accurately and on time but also improve the customer experience overall.

Would love to hear if others are experiencing the same and if Amazon has any plans to address this.

Thanks

Dear all,

I am writing to express my frustration with a persistent issue that I, along with many other sellers, have been experiencing on a regular basis. The problem arises when attempting to list products that we have purchased and been approved for, only to receive the following error message: "The SKU for this item is unknown or cannot be found."

This issue has caused significant disruption to my business operations, as there appears to be no effective solution or workaround. I have attempted multiple methods to resolve this issue, including:

• - Listing via Excel spreadsheet upload (as advised by support)
• - Refreshing the listing
• - Creating a brand new listing for the product
• - Logging out and back into Seller Central
• - Trying a different device and network
• - Clearing the browser cache
• - Using different browsers

Unfortunately, none of these methods have been successful in resolving the error. As a result, I am left with products that cannot be listed and am forced to return them to the retailer, wasting valuable time and resources.

Furthermore, Seller Central support has been unable to provide a clear resolution or guidance on how to fix this recurring problem. It is disappointing to receive only generic suggestions that do not address the underlying issue.

I kindly request that this issue be escalated to a technical team that can provide a definitive solution. It is vital that Amazon provides reliable tools and support for sellers to manage their businesses effectively. As a dedicated seller, I would appreciate any assistance or insight that can help resolve this matter promptly.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your swift response and a practical solution to this ongoing problem.

Sincerely,

Bran Calvert