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Welcome to Amazon’s VAT Knowledge Centre

If you sell goods in any EU country, it’s likely you may be required to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) in each country you sell in.

Welcome to the Amazon VAT Knowledge Centre: a collection of resources to help support you with useful information about VAT, how it works across Europe, and whether it applies to your business.

Remember: it’s the responsibility of each Amazon seller to ensure they are VAT-compliant and you should seek professional advice if you are unsure of your obligations.

What is VAT?

VAT stands for Value Added Tax. It’s a tax that VAT-registered traders in the EU add to the price of the goods they sell, and pass on to the national tax authorities when they file their tax returns.

Do you need to register for VAT?

We’ve partnered with tax advisory firm KPMG to put together a simple test to help you work out if you need to register for VAT. Take the test now

Pay discounted rates

VAT Services on Amazon allows you to spend more time on your business and less on VAT. With VAT Services on Amazon, you complete VAT registration, filing and submission in Seller Central for just €400 per country per year.

How do I know if I need to register for VAT in the EU?

Whether you need to register for VAT in an EU member state depends on the way you conduct your business.
The key factors that determine if you have an obligation to register for VAT are: your business’ country of establishment, the location of your inventory, and your level of sales (read more about the ‘VAT thresholds’ in EU countries).

Select from the tabs below to help you understand if you might need to register for VAT in that country.

United Kingdom

Germany

Italy

Where is your business established?

In Germany
You need to register for VAT in Germany if:

You store goods in Germany; and
You sell them to consumers based in Germany; and
Your sales exceed Germany domestic VAT threshold of €17,500.

You may also need to register for VAT separately in other EU countries if:

You sell goods to consumers in other EU countries.

In a different EU Country
You need to register for VAT in Germany if:

You store your goods in Germany or
You sell to German-based consumers (non-business); and
Your sales exceed Germany distance selling VAT threshold of €100,000.

Outside the EU
You need to register for VAT in Germany if:

You sell goods that you store in Germany to customers based in the EU.

You may also need to register for VAT separately in other EU countries if:

You sell goods to consumers in other EU countries.

How to register for VAT in Germany

Once you have established you need to register for VAT in Germany you are required to submit an application form to German tax authorities. Further information can be found at the BZSt, the German Federal Central Tax Office.
At the end of the VAT registration process you will be provided with a VAT number. You can use this to:

File VAT tax returns

to tell BZSt how much VAT you have collected and start claiming any VAT credit you may have accrued

Issue VAT invoices

where you show the VAT collected from customers

Claim money back on your business expenses

(as well as import VAT paid at the time goods are imported into the EU). See How to claim VAT back on business expenses for more information.

If you have questions about your VAT compliance and obligations, it’s always best to seek professional advice.

Note: Goods which are imported into the EU are subject to Customs duty and Import VAT.

Other useful examples

How VAT works in Europe: Steve’s case study

Steve is importing headphones from India (a non-EU country) and plans to sell them in the UK. To do this, Steve must present the imported products to customs so that he can pay all the necessary taxes, including VAT and, in some cases, import duty. Learn how VAT works in Europe through Steve’s business journey

See Steve’s journey

How to claim VAT back on business expenses

If you’re VAT registered, you may be able to claim back the VAT that you have paid on business expenses. In this example we illustrate how small business owner Hillary claims back the VAT she pays whenever she incurs business expenses.

See Hillary’s journey

Hear what Sellers are saying about VAT

“When we first looked at the Pan-European FBA option we realised we’d need to register for VAT in each of the countries that we were going to be holding stock in. The VAT registration wasn’t a particularly onerous task for us, though – it’s just a matter of a bit of extra paperwork once a quarter.”

Zamir Cajee, CEO
iQualTech