Hello,

We are seeking clarification from moderators and other UK sellers regarding the operational implementation of Regulation 4 of The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 in Amazon Ads UK.

Under Regulation 4, a “food or drink SME” is defined as a business employing fewer than 250 employees in the relevant financial year. The statutory framework connected to section 368Z14 of the Communications Act 2003 provides an exemption for SMEs from the paid-for online advertising restriction on identifiable less healthy products.

However, within Amazon Ads (UK marketplace), HFSS-classified ASINs appear to be automatically restricted at product level, and there does not appear to be any visible mechanism for advertisers to request review under the Regulation 4 SME definition.

We have received confirmation via Ads Support that there is currently no operational system within Sponsored Ads to apply an advertiser-level SME exemption.

We would appreciate insight on the following:

Has any UK-based SME seller successfully had the Regulation 4 exemption applied within Amazon Ads?

Is there any published Amazon guidance explaining how statutory SME exemptions are handled operationally?

Has this been escalated to the internal Ads Policy or Compliance team for review?

This is raised for regulatory alignment clarity. We are not disputing HFSS classification at ASIN level, but rather seeking to understand how statutory advertiser-level exemptions are reflected within platform enforcement.

If other sellers are facing the same gap, it would be helpful to consolidate references and case IDs.

Appreciate any insight from moderators or sellers with direct experience.

For context, this relates specifically to UK marketplace Sponsored Ads restrictions on HFSS-classified ASINs where the advertiser qualifies under Regulation 4 as an SME.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have experience with DD+7 on untracked items? We mostly use Amazon Buy Shipping for 1st and 2nd Class. It says 'estimated delivery date + 7 days'. So for 2nd class would this be roughly a 2 week wait for money to go into available funds or possibly a bit longer?

The only reason I'm asking is I've read some people have waited a number of weeks for it to be available. We're good for around 4 weeks wait before cashflow becomes a problem.

Cheers, Dan

Case 12212354192

I have had a long conversation with seller support and they have confirmed that there is nothing that can be done unless the entity creating the listing changes it, I asked him that if a distasteful image appeared in the listing would he be able to do anything about it and he confirmed that he would not.

So this is why I have removed over 300 listings in the past months as there is nothing anyone can do about amending incorrect listings.

I have been writing about this for over 5 years and nobody ever listens, the criteria for amending a listing should be as follows, REGARDLESS of any other criteria:

1) EAN Barcode for the product to confirm description

2) Actual images of the product to confirm match to the barcode

3) Identifying what is incorrect in the listing and what needs to be changed

4) In the case of a wrong description, the correct description to be checked against online descriptions matching the barcode or other evidence that can be corroborated.

If they are then satisfied that 100% proof has been given the listing should be amended, responsible sellers know when these listings are incorrect and approximately 30% of the Amazon catalogue has errors that are never fixed and this causes issues with buyers and complaints that only the seller gets punished for by Amazon.

If Amazon corrected the catalogue or gave means to correct it, turnover would increase by millions and that is a fact, not withstanding that it makes Amazon look very unprofessional to have these incorrect listings and never do anything about it.

We are a UK-registered business operating on the Amazon UK store with excellent account health and an established track record of selling across multiple categories in full compliance with all platform policies.

Since November 2025, we have submitted 17 brand approval applications for a restricted health brand. Every application has been rejected. The most recent, Case 12149517742, has been under review since 21 February 2026 with no substantive response.

The following chronology demonstrates a pattern of automated, inconsistent rejections with no evidence of human review at any stage.

November – December 2025: We submitted applications supported by commercial invoices from a verified EU-based distributor. These invoices are system-generated documents including the supplier's full company name, registered address, VAT number, our business name, our VAT number, itemised product descriptions with EAN codes, quantities, unit pricing, and payment terms. Amazon rejected these invoices citing "potential document alterations." No specifics were provided as to what alterations were allegedly identified. No response was given to our requests for clarification.

December 2025 – January 2026: Having exhausted attempts with the first supplier, we obtained invoices from a second, entirely separate verified distributor — one well known to Amazon. These invoices are similarly system-generated, including full commercial addresses for both parties, VAT numbers for both parties, ASINs, and itemised pricing. Amazon rejected these invoices with a different reason: "retail receipt." Again, no specifics were provided, and no response was given to our detailed written rebuttals.

February 2026: We submitted a comprehensive appeal on Case 12149517742 setting out precisely why the documents are B2B commercial invoices and not retail receipts. The case moved to "Work in progress." No response has been received in over a week.

Three points must be emphasised.

1) The rejection reasons are mutually inconsistent. Invoices from Supplier A were rejected for "document alterations." Invoices from Supplier B — an entirely different company, with entirely different invoice formatting — were rejected as "retail receipts." Two different suppliers producing two different false rejection reasons is not consistent with human review. It is consistent with automated classification that is not functioning correctly.

2) The goods in question are health and wellness products with expiry dates. We have held significant stock from verified distributors since November 2025. That stock is depreciating daily. Every week of delay reduces the remaining shelf life and the commercial viability of inventory that was purchased in good faith specifically to sell on this platform.

3) We have exhausted every channel available to us: 17 applications, written appeals on the case, live chat, and phone support. At no point has a human reviewer engaged with the substance of our documentation or our rebuttals. The support channels available to sellers cannot access or influence the ungating process, creating a procedural dead end.

We are respectfully requesting that a forum moderator escalate this to the relevant internal team for a manual human review of our documentation. The reviewing team will be able to verify the legitimacy of our invoices directly.

Active case ID: 12149517742 (under review since 21 Feb 2026)

Previous case IDs include: 12151625902, 12124585992, 12047098202, 11933853702, 11780732502

@Julia_Amzn @Kai_Amazon @Emma_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Ezra_Amazon