Understanding cross-border trade made easy

Understand VAT and reduce compliance risk

Registration obligation when using fulfillment warehouses in other EU countries

When selling goods in the EU, there are certain rules companies must follow to ensure VAT Compliance.

Julia, an online seller in Germany, would like to increase her sales in other EU countries. But VAT Compliance worries her. She's heard from other companies that they can successfully sell cross-border thanks to Amazon FBA. However, Julia is concerned that if she fails to comply with VAT obligations, she will be fined and her Amazon account suspended.

In this expert contribution we deal with the registration and reporting requirements when using FBA warehouses in other EU countries and how companies can comply with these regulations.

VAT Compliance

VAT Compliance is an important part of any business selling or sourcing goods within the EU. Compliance means that a company fulfills all legal requirements. Compliance can ensure that there are no fines or penalties for non-compliance with tax regulations.

VAT compliance requires companies in the EU to follow certain rules. For example, if a company sells goods in another EU country, the options are:

  • Delivery as Intra-Community Distance Sale of Goods
    • Cross-border delivery from the company's home country to another EU country to a consumer.
    • To ensure VAT compliance, the company can use the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) or submit the VAT returns directly in other EU countries.
    • When reporting via OSS, all cross-border deliveries to consumers are reported in the national portal. This also includes Intra-Community Distance Sale of Goods from all fulfillment warehouses in the EU.
  • Domestic delivery from a fulfillment warehouse in the destination country
    • The delivery of the ordered goods is carried out directly in other EU countries from a fulfillment warehouse.
    • It is a domestic delivery
    • Note: VAT registration is already necessary when supplying the fulfillment warehouse in other EU countries as an Intra-Community Acquisition of the company in the country of the fulfillment warehouse supplied.

EU VAT registration for Amazon FBA sellers varies by country. It is therefore important that sellers using Amazon FBA conduct a thorough audit to ensure they are compliant with tax regulations in each country. Failure to comply with the regulations may result in penalties.

Conclusion

EU VAT registration can be challenging for Amazon FBA sellers. However, for Julia and all sustainably successful entrepreneurs, it is essential that regulations are observed in order to avoid penalties and, if necessary, Amazon account suspensions.

To solve this problem, DutyPay offers its customers an all-in-one VAT Compliance solution. DutyPay provides Registration Services and Submission Services for VAT and OSS in each country. In addition, DutyPay also takes care of the necessary receipts for intra-community transfers with the Invoicing Service for Pro-forma Invoices.

This all-in-one solution allows sellers to focus on their core business without having to worry about complex VAT Compliance in different countries.

Make contact