VAT Q&A: online traders selling to Germany using Amazon

In our regular VAT Q&A series, Croner Taxwise senior VAT consultant Hilary Budd considers whether online retailers using online marketplaces, eg, Amazon and eBay, to sell their goods must register for VAT in Germany if they want to continue selling to German customers

Q: My client is an online retailer, selling through Amazon and other online marketplaces. They have recently received correspondence from Amazon with regard to the online sales they make to customers in Germany. It appears that Amazon are insisting that my client must VAT register in Germany if they want to continue to sell to German customers via Amazon. Can you advise what has prompted this action?

A: You may be aware that from 15 March 2018 new legislation allows 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:

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