Glossary · UK
What is Amazon FBA VAT?
VAT obligations for sellers using Fulfilment by Amazon, which can trigger UK or EU VAT registration even below the usual turnover threshold once stock is stored in a given country.
Full Definition
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) lets sellers store stock in Amazon's warehouses, from where Amazon picks, packs and ships orders. This creates a VAT registration trigger that is different from ordinary trading: storing goods in a country generally creates a taxable presence there for VAT purposes regardless of sales volume, so a UK seller whose stock Amazon holds in an EU fulfilment centre may need to register for VAT in that EU country (or use the EU's One-Stop Shop scheme) even if their turnover from EU sales is modest. For UK-only FBA sellers, normal UK VAT registration rules apply — mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period, though many sellers register voluntarily earlier to reclaim VAT on Amazon's fulfilment fees and stock purchases. Since Amazon UK is legally required to hold VAT numbers for many third-party sellers and can be made jointly liable for unpaid VAT by overseas sellers, keeping VAT registration current with Amazon Seller Central is essential to avoid account suspension.