How to Get a VAT Number for Selling on Amazon in Europe

Do you really need a VAT number to sell on Amazon?

The practical question is not where your company is established. It is where Amazon stores your products.

If your inventory is physically held in a European Amazon fulfilment centre, that country can require a local VAT number. This applies even if sales are low, even if the buyers are elsewhere, and even if you already use OSS for cross-border B2C sales.

The simple case: one storage country

If you sell from your own warehouse, or if Amazon stores your FBA inventory in one country only, the VAT setup is usually more limited. You need a VAT number in the country where the stock is located, and OSS can be used for eligible B2C sales to consumers in other EU Member States once the EU threshold of 10,000 EUR is exceeded.

The cases that trigger local VAT registration

MFN and EFN program are generally easier to manage because stock remains in one country. Multi-Country Inventory and Pan-European FBA are different. They allow Amazon to place your goods in several European countries, and each storage country needs to be reviewed for local VAT registration.

To identify the exposure, start from Seller Central inventory reports. The key question is where Amazon actually stores the stock, not only where you intended to sell.

What Amazon checks in Seller Central

Amazon validates VAT numbers through VIES. A recently issued number may be legally valid but not yet visible in VIES, which is why timing matters.

Marketplace VAT liability rules give Amazon a strong incentive to monitor seller VAT compliance. A missing or invalid VAT number can affect Account Health, listings or payments.

Amazon FBA: local stock creates the VAT obligation

FBA storage is often the moment when a marketplace VAT issue becomes a registration issue. Once goods enter a local fulfilment centre, the seller may have local taxable operations to report.

This is the point many sellers miss. The obligation does not wait for a sales threshold. It is attached to the physical presence of stock.

FBA stock in your establishment country

If your company is established in one EU country and your FBA stock stays only in that country, your local VAT number normally covers the domestic part. OSS can then sit alongside it for eligible cross-border B2C sales.

FBA stock in another European country

If Amazon moves goods into another country, the VAT position changes. That country can require a local VAT number before the stock movement is properly reported.

Activating cross-border storage before the VAT numbers are ready creates a mismatch: Amazon can move the goods faster than the VAT registrations can be obtained.

Pan-European FBA and Multi-Country Inventory

Pan-European FBA lets Amazon distribute inventory across its European network. In practice, this can create up to 9 local VAT registrations.

Multi-Country Inventory gives the seller more control because selected countries can be activated. It still requires a country-by-country VAT check before stock is placed there.

OSS, IOSS or local VAT number: which regime applies to Amazon sales?

OSS, IOSS and local VAT registration do not cover the same flows. They are complementary tools, not substitutes.

The most common mistake is to treat OSS as a replacement for local VAT registration. It is not. OSS can simplify cross-border B2C reporting, but it does not report domestic sales from FBA stock, B2B flows or stock transfers.

What OSS covers

OSS covers eligible B2C sales from one EU Member State to consumers in other EU Member States. The EU threshold is 10,000 EUR for cross-border B2C sales.

The VAT rate is the rate of the consumer's destination country. For example, the standard rate is 20% in Germany, 20% in Italy, 19% in Spain and 21% in Poland.

What IOSS covers

IOSS covers low-value imports from outside the EU when the consignment value does not exceed 150 EUR. Amazon may use its own IOSS setup for eligible marketplace flows.

IOSS does not remove the need for local VAT registration when your goods are already stored in an EU FBA warehouse.

What only a local VAT number can report

A local VAT number is needed for operations that belong to the storage country: domestic sales from local stock, certain B2B flows, and stock transfers between Amazon warehouses in different countries.

These flows appear in Amazon reports and must be reconciled with the correct local VAT return or OSS return.

The Amazon deemed supplier case

Since 1 July 2021, Amazon can act as deemed supplier for certain B2C sales made by non-EU sellers within the EU. In those cases, Amazon collects and remits VAT for the covered sale.

This rule does not cancel the seller's VAT registration obligation linked to FBA stock. Domestic flows, stock movements and local reporting still need to be checked.

How to get a VAT number for Amazon, step by step

A VAT registration for Amazon is not only an administrative form. It starts with a map of your stock flows and ends when Seller Central can validate the number through VIES.

Step 1: Map your storage countries

Open Seller Central and review the FBA inventory reports by country. Each country where stock is stored should be matched with a VAT decision: already registered, registration to launch, or storage to disable.

Step 2: Choose the registration route

EU sellers may register directly or appoint a fiscal agent, depending on the country and the complexity of the case.

Non-EU sellers need closer review. A fiscal representative is required in France and Germany for non-EU businesses, and the representative may carry joint liability for VAT debts.

Step 3: Prepare the documents

The file usually includes company registration documents, articles of association, director identity documents, proof of taxable status in the home country, bank details and evidence of Amazon activity.

Non-EU sellers may also need certified translations, a fiscal representation mandate and additional guarantees depending on the country.

Step 4: Submit the application

The application is filed with the local tax authority or through the appointed representative. Processing time varies by country, so VAT registration should be planned before enabling cross-border FBA storage.

Do not wait for Amazon to issue a warning. By then, the stock may already be in a country where registration should have been in place.

Step 5: Receive the number and wait for VIES

After the VAT number is issued, it still needs to propagate to VIES. This usually takes 1-2 weeks.

How to add your VAT number in Amazon Seller Central

Once the number is visible in VIES, add it in Seller Central through the VAT information area of your account settings.

Use the exact legal name and VAT format shown by the tax authority. Seller Central checks consistency, not only the digits.

The practical process

Go to account settings, open VAT information, choose the relevant country, enter the VAT number with the correct country prefix, then submit it for validation.

Amazon then runs the VIES check. A number that is too recent may remain pending or be rejected even if the tax authority has already issued it.

Why Amazon relies on VIES

VIES is the EU system used to validate VAT identification numbers. Amazon uses it to reduce marketplace VAT risk and to verify that sellers have valid numbers in the countries where they operate.

For Amazon, this is not a formal detail. An invalid number can create platform liability and compliance risk.

What to do if the number remains pending or invalid

First, check the number directly in VIES. Then verify the format, country prefix and legal name used in Seller Central.

If the number is new, wait for the VIES propagation window before retrying. If several attempts have already failed, use the official VAT registration letter when contacting Amazon support.

After registration: which VAT returns apply to Amazon sales?

A local VAT number creates ongoing filing obligations. Even when there are no local sales in a period, a nil return may still be required depending on the country.

The main operational task is to reconcile Amazon transaction data with the correct reporting channel.

Use the Amazon VAT Transactions Report

The Amazon VAT Transactions Report helps separate domestic sales, cross-border B2C sales, B2B flows and stock movements.

DOMESTIC transactions generally belong in the local VAT return. UNION-OSS transactions belong in the OSS return when eligible. FC_TRANSFER movements need particular attention because they can represent reportable movements between countries.

When should an Amazon seller appoint a fiscal representative?

A fiscal representative becomes critical when the seller is established outside the EU, when FBA stock is spread across several countries, or when the Amazon account is already under VAT pressure.

The representative's role is different from a simple agent. In countries where representation is mandatory, the representative may be jointly liable for VAT debts.

Non-EU sellers

For non-EU sellers, France and Germany require fiscal representation for VAT registration. Without the appointed representative, the registration file can be rejected.

The deemed supplier rule does not remove this requirement when local FBA stock creates local VAT obligations.

Stock in several countries

A seller using Pan-European FBA can quickly move from one VAT number to several registrations, multiple filing calendars and several tax authority contacts.

Amazon VAT Services closed in October 2024, after the Call-Off Stock programme closed in August 2024. Sellers that relied on Amazon programmes now need an external VAT compliance setup. See our guide on Amazon Warehouses Europe FBA.

Regularisation or blocked Amazon account

If Account Health shows a VAT issue, if payments are frozen, or if historical stock movements were never reported, the priority is to rebuild the VAT trail by country. Learn how to get a VAT number in France.

ViDA was adopted on 11 March 2025 and will progressively reshape VAT reporting in Europe. It does not remove today's Amazon FBA registration obligations. See our guide on Amazon VAT Guide Sellers.