Do you need a VAT number as an Amazon seller?
Updated: Sep 15
Selling goods on Amazon is one way to build up enough capital to start your own business. However, before you can do this, you need to know the rules of the market place because it plays by its own set of guidelines. If you are able to adapt quickly and understand what you can and cannot sell, then there may be potential for high profits if done well. However, before you can sell on Amazon, there are some things that you need to do.
When an Amazon Seller Needs a VAT Number
The first of these is getting a VAT number. As an Amazon seller, if you need one and do not have it, you risk back-assessments of VAT, penalties and having your Amazon listings suspended in that country. Most companies in most countries are required by law to pay VAT on their turnover if they sell goods or services to customers within the country they are based in. For non-EU sellers the rules are stricter: if you store goods in an EU country, for example in an Amazon fulfilment centre, you must register for VAT in that country from your first sale, as there is no registration threshold for businesses established outside the EU. This means that VAT is to be charged at the rate in the country where the customer resides and not that in which the company is based. When Amazon sells goods already stored in the EU on behalf of a non-EU seller, Amazon is treated as the deemed supplier and accounts for the VAT on the sale to the consumer, but the seller still needs a VAT number where the stock is held; in the UK, overseas sellers storing goods there must likewise register for UK VAT regardless of turnover, while Amazon accounts for the VAT on its sales to UK consumers.
Procedure for getting a VAT number
If you see any message like "You don't need a VAT Number to sell on Amazon" when you try to register, then this article isn't for you. However, if your account still shows "not registered- shop not available" after all these, read ahead... If you store goods in an EU country or the UK, or you are an EU-established seller whose cross-border sales to consumers in other EU countries exceed EUR 10 000 a year, registering for VAT (or for the One Stop Shop) is compulsory - so you might as well get started now instead of waiting till the last minute.
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