Amazon buyer's VAT ID is invalid: who pays the VAT?

A buyer in another EU country gave a VAT ID, you shipped without German VAT, and later it turns out the number is invalid or does not belong to the buyer. Then one condition of the tax exemption is missing (section 6a(1) sentence 1 no. 4 UStG), and the tax is first of all yours. The supply stays exempt in only two cases: the buyer later uses a number that was already valid on the day of supply (the tax authorities' view, section 6a.1(19) UStAE), or the buyer's details were wrong and you could not have spotted that even with the care of a prudent businessperson; then the buyer owes the tax (section 6a(4) UStG).

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

Who pays: Without the protection of section 6a(4) UStG you owe the tax, because the supply is then not exempt under section 4 no. 1 (b) UStG (section 13a(1) no. 1 UStG).
What protects you: Incorrect details from the buyer that you could not have recognised even with the care of a prudent businessperson. Then the buyer owes the tax that was lost.
Burden of proof: You must prove that the conditions are met (section 6a(3) UStG).
Checking: The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) confirms on request whether a foreign VAT ID is valid (section 18e UStG). It does not confirm for a past point in time.

When is the supply exempt?

This is about goods you send from Germany to a business in another EU country. If the goods go to the buyer from an Amazon warehouse in another EU country, the supply takes place where the shipment starts (section 3(6) UStG); then that country's rules apply, not section 6a UStG. For an intra-Community supply the law names these conditions, among others (section 6a(1) UStG):

You or the buyer transported or shipped the goods to the rest of the Community territory.
The buyer is a business registered for VAT purposes in another member state that acquired the goods for its business, or a legal person registered for VAT there, such as a public authority (section 6a(1) no. 2 (b) UStG).
The acquisition is subject to VAT at the buyer in that member state.
The buyer used a valid VAT ID issued by another member state towards you.

The last point is the one this page is about. An invalid number or another company's number does not meet the conditions. In addition, the exemption does not apply if you did not file the EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung) or filed it incorrectly or incompletely for the supply (section 4 no. 1 (b) UStG). If you file it correctly later or correct the original list for that period, the tax authorities grant the exemption retroactively as long as the tax assessment can still be changed (section 4.1.2 UStAE). For the rest of the supply and its proofs, see Intra-Community supply to businesses (B2B) from Germany.

How do you check a customer's VAT ID?

BZSt confirmation. On request the BZSt confirms the validity of a VAT ID from another member state, together with the name and address of the person it was issued to (section 18e UStG). There are two levels:

The simple confirmation tells you whether the foreign number is valid, at the time of the request, in the member state that issued it.
The qualified confirmation also checks whether company name (including legal form), town, postcode and street match the data registered there. According to the BZSt, the simple confirmation must be done first.

According to the BZSt the confirmation is free of charge. Any holder of a German VAT ID may query, and you always state your own number. Confirmations for past points in time are not possible. So check the number at the time of the supply and keep the result with your records. You cannot query the earlier status afterwards.

VIES. There is also VIES, the EU's online query for VAT IDs. It shows whether the number is valid and, depending on the member state, also the registered name and address. A check of your name and address details answered by the BZSt is what the qualified confirmation gives you (section 18e.1(4) UStAE).

The BZSt itself points out that it only passes on the data held in another member state. The legal assessment, for example whether the supply is exempt, is for the tax office.

What protects you if the number was wrong?

Section 6a(4) UStG: if you treated a supply as exempt although the conditions were not met, it still counts as exempt if

claiming the exemption rests on incorrect details from the buyer and
you could not have recognised that those details were incorrect even with the care of a prudent businessperson.

In that case the buyer owes the tax that was lost. The law does not say what care means in a particular case. The tax authorities read it like this (section 6a.8 UStAE): the protection only comes into question once your documentary and accounting proofs (sections 17a to 17d UStDV) are complete (para. 1); if the wrong number was recognisable, for example because you did not run the confirmation or ran it only after the sale, that is not enough (para. 6); if the buyer gives contradictory or unclear details about its identity, the protection does not apply at all (para. 8). A qualified confirmation result from the day of supply, kept as a printout or screenshot (section 18e.1(2) UStAE), shows that you looked. Whether it is enough in a dispute is for the tax office or a court to decide, not for this text.

In its help on the VAT Calculation Service (Umsatzsteuer-Berechnungsservice, in German) Amazon writes that, among other things, the VAT ID given by the customer must be "absolutely correct" for using the service. An order that went through is no substitute for a check: you have to provide the proof (section 6a(3) UStG).

What do you do if you find a wrong number?

Check the number now, simple and qualified, and save the result. It shows today's status, not the status on the day of supply.
Ask the buyer which number is correct and keep the answer. If the correct number was already valid on the day of supply, the tax authorities let it apply retroactively (section 6a.1(19) sentence 3 UStAE) as long as the tax assessment can still be changed; you then correct the invoice and the EC Sales List (section 3a.2(10) sentences 8 to 10 UStAE). The BZSt confirmation only shows today's status; how you prove validity on the day of supply is a question for your tax adviser or tax office.
If you cannot prove the conditions and section 6a(4) UStG does not apply, the supply is not exempt. You then owe the VAT: German VAT (section 13a(1) no. 1 UStG) if the buyer is a business that bought for its business. If it was really a private customer, it is a distance sale and the destination country's VAT applies, for example via the OSS return (section 3c(1) UStG); that does not apply if you are established only in Germany and your EU distance sales together with certain services to private customers did not exceed 10,000 euros in the previous year and do not in the current year (section 3c(4) UStG). How you show sales in the return is in VAT return for Amazon sellers.
Correct the EC Sales List. If you notice that a filed EC Sales List is incorrect, for example because it contains a supply that was not exempt or a wrong number, you must correct the original list within one month (section 18a(10) UStG); discuss that with your tax adviser.

If you are unsure about a number before you ship, the same applies: check first, then supply without VAT. For what the invoice to a business looks like, see Show VAT on Amazon invoices.

Common mistakes

Judging the number by its format. A number can look right and still be invalid or belong to another company.
Checking only once, at the start of the relationship. The BZSt confirms the status at the time of the request; an old result is no proof for today.
Not keeping the result. You have to provide the proof (section 6a(3) UStG).
Leaving sales without a number free of tax. Without a valid number from the buyer a condition of the exemption is missing.
Mixing up reverse charge and intra-Community supply. For goods from Germany to a business in the EU it is the intra-Community supply; when the buyer owes the tax as recipient is in Reverse charge in Germany under section 13b UStG.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then VAT, EÜR, trade tax and income tax, calculated and filed in one place.

VAT GPT reads the column BUYER_VAT_NUMBER from the Amazon report.
An Amazon row without VAT from Germany to another EU country is classed by VAT GPT as an intra-Community supply (box 41) when the buyer's number is filled in and is not a German one.
When you create an invoice in VAT GPT, you check the customer's VAT ID with "Verify". VAT GPT then shows "Valid per VIES" when the query reports the number as valid, and "This VAT ID is not valid according to VIES" when it does not report it as valid.

Try VAT GPT

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the VAT if the buyer gave a wrong VAT ID? First of all you, because without a valid number the supply is not exempt. The buyer owes the tax only if section 6a(4) UStG applies: incorrect details from the buyer that you could not have recognised even with the care of a prudent businessperson.

How do I check an Amazon buyer's VAT ID? With the simple and the qualified confirmation of the BZSt (section 18e UStG) or the EU's VIES query. Check at the time of supply and keep the result.

Can I do the check later? The BZSt does not confirm past points in time, only the status at the request. A result obtained later therefore shows today's status.

Is it enough that the number was entered with the order? The law requires you to prove the conditions (section 6a(3) UStG). The entry alone is not a check result.

What if I notice a wrong number months later? Check the number today and ask the buyer for the correct one. If it was already valid on the day of supply, the tax authorities let it apply retroactively (section 6a.1(19) UStAE); otherwise talk to your tax adviser or tax office about how to correct the earlier return.