German VAT registration for Amazon sellers based outside Germany

In short

• Order: The tax office registers you and issues the tax number first; the VAT ID follows from the BZSt.
• Which office: It depends on your country of residence (UStZustV); for the UK it is Finanzamt Hannover-Nord.
• Based outside the EU and EEA: You must name a representative for service in Germany (§ 22f (1) UStG).

When does Germany tax my sales?

The place of a supply decides which country's VAT applies. If the goods are transported or shipped to the customer, the supply is made where the transport or shipment begins (§ 3 (6) UStG). For stock in a German warehouse that is Germany, so a sale to a customer in Germany is made in Germany and taxable there (§ 1 (1) no. 1 UStG), even if your company sits in the UK, the USA or China.

If your company is based outside the EU (for example in the UK, the USA or China) and you sell through a marketplace such as Amazon to private customers, with the goods shipped from stock in Germany to customers in Germany, the statute treats the marketplace as if it had received and supplied the goods itself (§ 3 (3a) sentence 1 UStG). The marketplace then owes the VAT on the sale to the customer; your supply to the marketplace is tax-exempt (§ 4 no. 4c UStG), and this exemption does not exclude your input VAT deduction (§ 15 (3) no. 1 (a) UStG). Sales to business customers and sales outside a marketplace remain your own supplies.

This page deals with exactly this case: stock in Germany, customers in Germany. Sales from stock in other EU countries, transfers between warehouses and the OSS procedure are separate topics; see Amazon OSS VAT and Distance sales and § 3c UStG. If you bring goods from outside the EU into Germany, import VAT arises (§ 1 (1) no. 4 UStG). You can deduct it as input VAT if the goods are imported for your business (§ 15 (1) no. 2 UStG).

Which tax office is responsible for me?

For businesses based abroad, the Ordinance on the Local Jurisdiction for VAT of Businesses Based Abroad (UStZustV) assigns a central tax office per country. Examples from § 1 (1) UStZustV:

Poland is split by the first letter of the surname or company name between four offices, and a few other countries are listed separately. If a federal state renames or reorganises one of these offices, the Federal Ministry of Finance can set matching assignments for a transitional period of twelve months (§ 1 (4) UStZustV), so check the current name before you send anything.

Which form do I need, and do I need a representative?

The Bavarian State Office for Taxation publishes the official "VAT registration form for non-resident businesses" in German, English and French. For online sellers the supplementary sheet "Online trade in goods" belongs to it; for a company or partnership there is a further supplementary sheet.

If your seat, management and residence are outside Germany, the other EU member states and the EEA, the statute requires you to name a representative in Germany for the receipt of documents when you apply for registration (§ 22f (1) UStG). Sellers based in the EU or the EEA do not have this obligation under § 22f (1) UStG.

When do I get the German VAT ID?

A German tax number (Steuernummer) comes from the tax office. The German VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) comes from the BZSt on application (§ 27a (1) UStG). According to the BZSt, a foreign business must be registered in Germany before it applies for a German VAT ID, and it can request the VAT ID directly during registration at the tax office. The BZSt sends the number only by post. The application states name, address and the tax number under which you are registered (§ 27a (1) UStG).

Amazon and other marketplaces ask for this number for a legal reason: where the marketplace is not itself treated as the supplier, its operator is liable for unpaid tax on a seller's deliveries, unless the seller has a valid German VAT ID issued by the BZSt at the time of the delivery and the operator did not know, and should not have known, that the seller is not meeting its tax obligations (§ 25e (1), (2), § 22f (1) no. 3 UStG). A VAT ID from your home country does not replace it. Details on the two numbers: German tax number vs VAT ID for Amazon sellers.

Which returns do I file afterwards?

Once you are registered, you file an advance VAT return electronically by the 10th day after each period and pay the tax by the same day (§ 18 (1) UStG). The period is the quarter, or the month if your tax for the previous year was above 9,000 euros (§ 18 (2) UStG). There are special rules for newly started businesses, so use the period your tax office tells you in its registration letter. After the year, you file an annual return (§ 18 (3) UStG). More: German VAT returns for sellers outside Germany.

Which mistakes happen often?

• Waiting for a threshold. The 25,000 and 100,000 euro limits of § 19 (1) UStG apply to businesses established in Germany. Sellers based outside the EU cannot use the small-business rule; for sellers based in another EU state only § 19 (4) UStG applies.
• Applying for the VAT ID too early. The BZSt issues it on the basis of the data held by the tax office, so the registration must be done and transmitted first.
• Expecting an email. The BZSt informs you by post only.
• Using your home VAT number. A UK or US VAT number does not satisfy the marketplace's German requirement; it must be the number issued by the BZSt.
• Forgetting the representative if you are based outside the EU and the EEA.
• Using the form for domestic businesses. Non-resident businesses use their own form.

How VAT GPT helps

You register with the tax office as described above, using the official form. For the running figures you work in VAT GPT like this:

1. Upload: You upload the Amazon VAT Transactions Report as CSV. VAT GPT sorts each sales row by country and tax procedure.
2. Check: You see the totals for Germany. Which rows belong in your own return is for you and your tax adviser to check.
3. Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the advance VAT return via ELSTER. Under Personal details you choose the federal state and enter your tax number as shown on documents from your tax office; VAT GPT recognises the tax office from the tax number, and you can change it from a list.

There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT). Sending to ELSTER is part of Pro. Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Do I need German VAT registration as a UK seller on Amazon.de? If goods are shipped to your customers from stock in Germany, yes: the supplies are made in Germany (§ 3 (6) UStG) and taxable there. Which cases beyond that apply to you is a question for your tax adviser.

Can I use the small-business rule in Germany? Not if your company is based outside the EU. § 19 (1) UStG applies to businesses established in Germany; a business based in another EU state can use it only under the conditions of § 19 (4) UStG.

Which tax office registers a US company? Finanzamt Bonn-Innenstadt (§ 1 (1) no. 34 UStZustV).

Do I need a representative in Germany? Yes, if your seat, management and residence are outside Germany, the other EU states and the EEA (§ 22f (1) UStG).

What do I receive first, the tax number or the VAT ID? The tax number. The VAT ID follows on application to the BZSt.

How do I get the VAT ID? Request it with the registration form or use the BZSt application. The BZSt sends it by post.

Further reading

• Amazon seller tax in Germany: an overview for online sellers
• German VAT returns for sellers outside Germany
• German tax number vs VAT ID for Amazon sellers
• Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR): advance VAT return
• Amazon OSS VAT: threshold, VAT ID number, reporting
• Applying for a tax number in Germany

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Sources

• § 1 UStG (in German)
• § 3 UStG (in German)
• § 4 UStG (in German)
• § 15 UStG (in German)
• § 18 UStG (in German)
• § 19 UStG (in German)
• § 22f UStG (in German)
• § 25e UStG (in German)
• § 27a UStG (in German)
• UStZustV (in German)
• BZSt: Assignment / Issue of the VAT number
• Bavarian State Office for Taxation: forms for businesses based abroad (in German)