Amazon FBA and stock held abroad

What FBA is

FBA stands for Fulfilment by Amazon. Amazon describes it as its "storage, shipping and customer service programme": you send your products to its fulfilment centres, and it picks, packs and ships orders and handles returns and refunds.¹ Other marketplaces and warehouse firms offer similar services. We name Amazon only to describe its service. This is not a recommendation.

Why the country your stock is in matters

VAT on a sale of goods depends partly on where the goods are when they are sold. So moving stock into another country can bring that country's VAT rules into play.

• The UK works this way too. GOV.UK says an overseas seller who sells goods of any value that are in the UK at the point of sale must register for, charge and account for VAT. The £90,000 threshold does not apply to businesses based outside the UK.²³
• In the EU, local sales go on a local return. The European Commission's One Stop Shop guidance gives an example where goods are sold and delivered within the same EU country: it says these are not distance sales and are declared on that country's domestic VAT return, not through the One Stop Shop.⁴
• Amazon's own page says the same for its service. In its comparison of Pan-European FBA and Remote Fulfilment between the UK and the EU, Amazon lists "VAT number required where goods are stored" for Pan-European FBA. For Remote Fulfilment, where stock stays in one country and orders are sent across the border, it says a VAT number is not required in the destination store.¹ These are Amazon's statements about its services; check them against the tax authority's rules.

Who accounts for VAT on the sale

This can depend on how you sell. The European Commission's guidance gives an example where a seller established outside the EU sells goods already in an EU country through a marketplace, and the marketplace becomes the "deemed supplier" that accounts for the VAT on that sale.⁴ That does not by itself settle whether you need a registration for bringing the stock into that country. Which rule applies to you depends on where your business is established, where the goods are and whether a marketplace is involved. This is a question for an accountant or tax adviser who deals with EU VAT.

What we do not give here

We do not name a registration threshold for any EU country. We have not found an official source that sets one out for stock held in a country, and the rules are each country's own. Registering is done with that country's tax authority, not HMRC.

Questions to ask before you move stock

1. If we store stock in this country, do we need to register for VAT there, and from when?
2. Who files the VAT returns in each country, and is that in your fee or extra?
3. How will moving stock between countries show in our records and our stock figure?
4. Do the marketplace's reports give you what you need for each country's returns?
5. Do you handle this in-house, or do you use a partner firm abroad?

Not every accountant handles VAT outside the UK. If yours does not, a firm with ecommerce experience, or a tax adviser, may be able to. See What an ecommerce accountant does.