You may be aware that from 15 March 2018 new legislation allows HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to hold the operator of an online marketplace jointly and severally liable for the unpaid VAT of overseas sellers operating on their marketplace where:
- an overseas seller operating on the marketplace hasn’t registered for UK VAT
- the operator of the online marketplace knew or should have known, that the seller should be registered for UK VAT
Links to HMRC’s guidance on this matter for the marketplaces and their online sellers are provided below.
The German tax authorities have recently implemented similar legislation. From 1 January 2019, online marketplace providers are required to record specific information on sales of goods where the transport of the goods either starts or ends in Germany. Joint and several liabilities for the online marketplace will come into effect from 1 March 2019.
Although Croner Taxwise is not able to advise on the specifics of German VAT legislation, information on this matter by various reputable international VAT advisers, including those based in Germany, can be found online. A search for “German online marketplace legislation January 2019” will provide a good start.
Our take on the matter, however, is as follows:-
It is unclear whether a UK trader below the German distance-selling threshold is required by the German tax authorities to VAT register there; from the information we have read, it seems not. However, we strongly recommend that advisers with affected clients take their own local German advice on this point.
What does seem clear from the correspondence referred to us is that Amazon are not prepared to deal with someone who cannot provide the Tax Certificate – and it looks likely that you need to be a taxable person (i.e. VAT registered) in Germany to get a certificate.
We have seen mention in the online information of a route for certification if you are not a taxable person, but again we can only strongly recommend that businesses take local advice to clarify this point. Croner Taxwise is not able to advise on this matter.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-online-marketplace-seller-checks
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If you have a VAT query why not contact the VAT Advice Line on 0844 892 2470 to discuss the implications. Our team of experts have a wealth of experience and can also provide a written consultancy service at competitive rates.
