Tax ID is not enough! Amazon Germany is closing stores again...

After Amazon implemented VAT in Europe last year, sellers who did not want to pay the cost chose to withdraw from the European site. The sellers who remained also registered for VAT and uploaded the tax number to the platform before the deadline given by the platform before they could continue selling.

But is everything fine after the tax number is transmitted? Just when sellers on the European site thought they could finally have some peace of mind without having to worry about tax issues, Amazon sent another email to remind sellers

Before March 1, 2019

Without this thing, the store will be closed!

Let’s first take a look at the reminder email that Amazon recently sent to sellers.

Uploading the tax number is not the last step in European tax compliance. In addition to requiring the tax number to be uploaded before January 1, the German site also requires sellers to upload a copy of the tax certificate before March 1.

That’s right. The German VAT Amendment Act, which officially came into effect in January 2019, stipulates that Amazon, as an e-commerce platform, is obliged to collect specific data from third-party sellers. Any third-party seller who has inventory in Germany or sells to German consumers is required to provide tax certificates to Amazon (the platform).

VAT number and tax certificate are both tax certificates, but the difference is that you need to have a tax number before you can apply for a tax certificate. Therefore, the deadlines for tax numbers and certificates on the German site are different. Submit the tax number first, and you will be given a three-month delay before submitting the tax certificate. This policy is also to further confirm that e-commerce sellers registered with VAT in Germany are authentic and valid.

How to obtain a tax certificate?

To register for a tax number in Germany, you need to contact the tax office to obtain the relevant application form (or register on the German tax website), and subsequent certificate applications also require contacting the tax bureau to obtain the official application form.

The tax certificate application form looks like the one below. After contacting the tax bureau, it will be sent to you via email.

The information that sellers need to fill in has also been given to everyone in the email. I would like to remind you again that you must have a tax number before you can apply for a tax certificate.

Please note that the registration information (company information, etc.) used in the application form must be consistent with the information used when registering the tax number. After filling out the application form and sending it to the tax bureau, you will receive the tax certificate from the tax bureau within a few working days (the sooner you register, the better. You may need to queue up to register in the near future, and the waiting time is uncertain).

The tax certificate looks like this:

The tax compliance of major European sites has eliminated a large number of sellers who cannot afford the tax costs, which can eat up at least 20% of sales. Most of the sellers who remain also reflect this cost in the product price.

But if you can find a way to avoid this 20% tax and widen the gap between product prices and those of competitors, Amazon's European site is your gold mine!