Amazon releases new features! Will it integrate more third-party services?

Amazon recently announced that it has launched a new VAT service feature that will help sellers choose a tax service provider that suits them in the EU or the UK to register and declare VAT.

The new feature will allow sellers to view available tax service providers when registering for VAT Services on Amazon and select a preferred tax service provider before starting the VAT registration (or transfer) process.

When registering for Amazon VAT services, Amazon will assign a default tax service provider to the seller, but it also provides sellers with multiple options. Click the Change button on the Select Service Provider page to display all tax service providers available in the seller's area. Sellers can choose the corresponding service according to their needs, and click "Agree and Continue" to proceed to the next step.

This is not as simple as just choosing a service provider. Some officially certified third-party tax service providers can be registered and declared directly through the background, such as Avalara, TB Accountants, AVASK, etc. As long as you need to contact the service provider by email in the early stage of registering a tax number, the subsequent steps are all operated in the background.

It is not the first time that Amazon has integrated peripheral functions into the backend. Sellers have long been able to choose various peripheral services provided by Amazon in the backend, including self-operated logistics, payment collection, etc. However, these are Amazon’s own businesses. In terms of deeply integrating third-party services, only the VAT has been updated this time. In terms of VAT, although the official has third-party partners in the backend, these third parties generally charge very high fees, and sellers do not use them. Not many. Most Chinese sellers still use domestic tax agents. The key is that communication is stress-free and the price is relatively more affordable . As long as the tax number and tax declaration are compliant, it is OK even if you use these domestic tax agents.

Here we have a guess: will Amazon expand the operation of integrating tax services to more areas? For example, the third-party payment that was rectified in the first half of the year?

In the first half of this year, Amazon introduced a policy that shook the entire payment industry, the PSPP plan, which required all third-party payment platforms to join the PSPP plan and share data with Amazon. After July, Amazon will no longer withdraw funds from payment platforms that have not joined the plan. At one time, all major payment platforms were applying for the plan, fearing that they would lag behind and lose their own users.

Up to now, Amazon has stopped withdrawing money from third-party platforms outside the PSPP plan. Most platforms have been connected to the plan, which is displayed in the background and sellers can view these service providers and directly initiate docking. It can be said that up to now, the PSPP plan has been settled, and all payment platforms used by Amazon sellers are under the supervision of Amazon. This lays the foundation for the integration of payment business. Next, Amazon can further integrate the services and content of major payment providers with the sellers' background, just like this VAT service, and complete the tax declaration operation directly in the background page.

But the problem arises again. The payment platform involves a very sensitive issue - multiple accounts. If the third-party payment is further combined with the Amazon backend, it means that the data is fully shared and interoperable, and the seller's real information is clear at a glance. It can be seen at a glance that the payment of those stores is finally transferred to the same account. This will make sellers whose payment account registration information corresponds to multiple stores face the risk of association.

Therefore, it is recommended that sellers who operate multiple accounts pay more attention, and be careful of information association when registering accounts on third-party payment platforms! Amazon is becoming more and more difficult this year. As cross-border people, you should be more active in thinking. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket on Amazon. You can start a multi-platform layout earlier. For example, the recently popular Walmart platform has just started to attract Chinese sellers. Many markets are still blank. The number of sellers on the platform has just exceeded 100,000, which is equivalent to 1.6% of Amazon! Interested sellers should enter the market earlier!