Breaking news! A service provider declared bankruptcy, and a large number of sellers were affected

▲ The picture comes from the seller member group

When some sellers first received the text message, they thought it was a new scam, but they learned that according to the judicial liquidation judgment of the French court, the EPR agent had indeed gone bankrupt. This French EPR agent was established in 2021 to provide assistance services on behalf of third parties and act as an agent for public and private institutions to collect funds and recycle waste.

▲ Judicial liquidation judgment

It is reported that this French EPR agent has close cooperation with many domestic EPR service providers. If one move affects the entire body, the EPR agent far away in France will declare bankruptcy, and the seller will have to bear the corresponding risks.

Because the subsequent declaration of the seller's EPR will be affected, once the declaration is interrupted or not declared on time, the seller may face risks such as fines, product failure to enter customs, and being blocked by Amazon and other platforms. In more serious cases, the business license may be revoked.

According to professionals, sellers affected by the bankruptcy of the French EPR agent do not need to panic. As long as they transfer the original EPR number and declare it within the specified time, they can avoid the corresponding risks to the greatest extent.

The EPR declaration controversy has not yet passed, and news has recently come out that Amazon has begun a new round of tax audits.

It is learned that the EU has recently started a new round of strict tax inspections, and Amazon has therefore conducted stricter reviews of EU local accounts. Now many sellers’ local accounts have been "killed".

"After reviewing your company information as recorded in the local trade register, we have concluded that there are indications that your company is not established in the EU for VAT purposes ," Amazon said in an email notification to the sellers involved.

This is actually Amazon's review notice for some local accounts that are affiliated with shell companies and suspected of tax evasion. If the seller cannot provide relevant documentary evidence within 30 days, Amazon will determine that the seller is not established in the EU. Sellers not only have to pay back VAT to Amazon, but may also be withheld by Amazon.

It is worth noting that the VAT payable by Amazon sellers will be calculated from July 1, 2021. Most of the EU local accounts that Amazon has found to be evading taxes are old accounts from 2021. However, according to Amazon's habit of "settling accounts after the autumn", some new accounts should not be taken lightly. It is still not too late to conduct self-inspections and make timely remedies.

In fact, since September 1 this year, Amazon has begun to withhold VAT on B2C sales of UK local sellers. Now, the scope of Amazon's new round of tax audits has also expanded with the intensity of the audit.

Because the cost of creating a local account is much lower than not creating one, some sellers will choose to directly purchase local existing accounts. In this regard, some sellers said that they must be very cautious about local accounts, and need to determine whether they are registered with a formal address and formal procedures, and also ensure the independence of the account.

However, due to security concerns, sellers who have experienced problems have told us that it is best to register a local account yourself and be wary of the sale of existing local accounts, especially when existing European accounts are sold together with VAT.

In general, with the improvement of relevant EU laws, Amazon and other related platforms are also strengthening their compliance reviews in this regard. Sellers need to pay more attention to the European EPR and taxation and other related situations in a timely manner, and do a good job of investigation to reduce the risk of delaying sales during the peak season due to related issues.

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