Germany tax obligations

From July 1, 2021 all sellers who are required to be tax registered in Germany must upload a German VAT identification number “Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer ” or EU VAT registration number together with evidence of opting into Union One-Stop Shop (OSS) in Seller Central.

The German Tax Amendment Law 2020 was enacted on December 28, 2020. It amends the existing German Joint and Several Liability legislation with effect from July 1st, 2021. Based on this, the obligation to provide a German §22f Tax certificate will be replaced by the obligation to provide a German VAT identification number in case inventory is stored in Germany or if you conduct Business-to-Consumer distance sales to German customers from inventory stored in another EU country and total distance sales within the EU exceed 10,000 EUR per year.

Sellers who do not store inventory in Germany and only conduct Business-to-Consumer distance sales to German customers from inventory stored in another EU country can alternatively meet their German tax obligations by opting into OSS. The One-Stop Shop requires sellers to register for OSS in the country in which they have established their business and to report all EU Business-to-Consumer cross border sales under OSS.

Sellers will need to provide a German VAT identification number or evidence by July 1, 2021, that they report all EU Business-to-Consumer cross border sales to Germany through OSS and mark the VAT registration number in Seller Central used for OSS.

The company name and address stored in Seller Central must match the data from the uploaded German VAT identification number or European VAT registration number used for OSS. In addition, the German VAT identification provided by sellers also need to match name and address stored by the German Federal Tax Authority.

Upload your German VAT identification number or provide evidence that you opted into OSS here.

An overview of all EU Member state OSS portals, manuals on how to register for OSS in EU member states and contact details for each country can be found here.

In case you fail to provide evidence that you enrolled into OSS or do not upload a valid German VAT identification number before July 1, 2021, you will no longer be able to sell on Amazon.de or to customers in Germany.

If you provided your DE §22f Tax certificate, do not delete it from Seller Central after July 1, 2021. However, post July 1, 2021, only a valid German VAT identification number or opting into OSS will be accepted to comply with German tax obligations.

For more information, visit the German Tax Obligations page.

What services does Amazon provide for VAT registration?

VAT Services on Amazon – Simplifying Compliance: VAT Services on Amazon is a compliance solution that allows you to manage your European and UK VAT requirements.

VAT registration and filing obligations via a third-party tax service provider through Seller Central is available in seven countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic).

Spend less time on VAT and more time focusing on growing your business in Europe.

When you join VAT Services on Amazon, Amazon will cover the cost of filing and fiscal representation in all the new countries you subscribed in for the first six months.