Requesting VAT Exemption (for Automatic Business Invoicing)

Edward Graham

Active member
Hi all

I used the template to get Automatic Business Invoicing however i received the below response from seller central support.
Has anyone had a similar response or know any further tricks to get this enabled?

Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,

My name is Kristina and I will assist with your query today. I understand you are operating as Limited company under threshold and you would like to declare your business VAT exempt to opt in Automated receipt generation.

Please be advised that this optional and free service is automated and if you can't activate it form the page in seller Central, then that means you aren't eligible and we don't have any allow listing or exception process.

If you are VAT exempt due to local legislation in your country and could have documentation proving that you are VAT exempt, you may still be ineligible to activate automated receipt generation service because we only review the eligibility criteria mentioned on the Terms and Conditions and we don't provide exceptions based on local legislation.

We perform periodic checks on Seller's accounts and should you become eligible, you will be able to declare it in the page below. Selling Partner Support is unable to manually expedite eligibility.
 

Edward Graham

Active member

Attachments

Darren - FBA Elite

Administrator
Staff member
I would avoid registering for VAT unless you have hit the £90,000 rolling 12 month limit or you are a non-UK resident selling in the UK.

If you register early you are giving up profits for no reason.

Have you received any emails from Amazon about IDR or Business Invoicing, if so I believe it should contain a direct link for declaring VAT exemption.
 

Edward Graham

Active member
Hi Darren

I haven't received any mails about IDR or Business Invoicing yet.
I did try that link but it goes straight back to the same page as attached unfortunately.
 

Attachments

Darren - FBA Elite

Administrator
Staff member
Amazon has made a right mess of this, it seems to be different for everyone at the moment.

I think you may need to try again with declaring VAT exemption via Seller Support, if that is successful then a button/link should appear on the page above to activate automated receipt generation.
 

Edward Graham

Active member
Thanks Darren
Haha my first taste of the Amazon Seller Support fun, sure i will keep trying and hopefully it lands with someone that does it eventually.

I hope you have a great Christmas, I'm loving the course and i would be completely lost without it - thank you!!
 

Darren - FBA Elite

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Edward,

How did things go with Seller Support, were you able to get VAT exemption accepted and then activate automatic receipt generation?
 

Edward Graham

Active member
This was the latest response:

Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,

We understand your request regarding VAT exemption.

Due to the update made on 1st of August, 2024, Amazon has paused the acceptance of any new applications for the VAT exemption programme until further notice.

Therefore, as per the new update, if you are established in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and Sweden, then from August 1, 2024, local VAT rules will be applied to Amazon fees and VAT will be charged on your Amazon fees.

Please be aware that applying for this programme will no longer allow you to receive invoices with 0% VAT on your Amazon seller fees going forward if you are established in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium or Sweden.

Therefore as per the new update, VAT is being charged on Amazon and FBA fee and we will not be able to stop this VAT charge even if you have been previously updated as a "VAT exempted" Selling Partner in our system.

You can view the charges from the invoices in your Tax Document Library:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/tax/seller-fee-invoices

In the majority of cases, we expect that you will be able to recover this VAT through your normal VAT return process.

We recommend that you contact your tax advisor for more information on recovering VAT as per your country of establishment's local regulation as we here at Amazon Selling Partner Support, will not be able to provide any Tax related guidance.

Please refer to "I am not registered for VAT because I am under the VAT threshold. What will change for my Amazon fees starting August 1, 2024?" section of the following help page for more assistance:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/GN6Q7DU46WW26LUU

Additionally, you can contact the HMRC department in order request tax refunds or claim the VAT that has been already paid.

HMRC has a dedicated telephone number to help with VAT questions:

- For businesses in the UK call 0300 200 3700
- For businesses outside the UK call +44 2920 501 261

Please know that the time of day can impact call wait times, third party research shows that 8.30am to 9.30am and 11.00am to 12.30pm (GMT) are the most convenient times to call.

You can also visit the UK "Government Gateway" to register for online services including VAT help. You can register from the below link: https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services/register

In order to know more information on how to recover VAT on your sales that were not payable can be found from the below link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-correct-vat-errors-and-make-adjustments-or-claims-vat-notice-70045#how-to-claim-a-refund

To help us continually improve, we ask that you take a moment to complete our survey below to tell us about your experience with this specific interaction.

Were you satisfied with the support provided?
 

Darren - FBA Elite

Administrator
Staff member
What was the most recent message you sent them?

Also, does your tax settings page still show you aren't eligible for automatic receipt generation?
 

Darren - FBA Elite

Administrator
Staff member
Great news!

It seems really inconsistent at the moment, initially sellers are told they aren't eligible, they email seller support to declare VAT exemption, seller support basically say no and then suddenly they are eligible 🤷‍♂️

If anyone else has experienced anything different recently please join the thread.
 
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