Vat on seller fee refund
Hello everyone
I had received vat exemption status few months ago. I submitted all my tax documents. I was asked to open a fresh case after 15th August and ask for seller fee vat refund.
I never heard from them since.
The latest I see on my case is
"Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,
We understand that your contact is regarding VAT refund.
Due to a technical issue in our system, we are unable to process Value Added Tax (VAT) refund requests.
We are working to resolve this problem and make the necessary system updates.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused due to the delay.
To help us continually improve, we ask that you take a moment to complete our survey below to tell us about your experience with this specific interaction.
Were you satisfied with the support provided?"
This has been going on since the 15th of August.
Any similar experience or guidance please? Many thanks in advance
@Spencer_Amazon@Sakura_Amazon_@Julia_Amzn@Seller_tRuvBEHDedp4q
Vat on seller fee refund
Hello everyone
I had received vat exemption status few months ago. I submitted all my tax documents. I was asked to open a fresh case after 15th August and ask for seller fee vat refund.
I never heard from them since.
The latest I see on my case is
"Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,
We understand that your contact is regarding VAT refund.
Due to a technical issue in our system, we are unable to process Value Added Tax (VAT) refund requests.
We are working to resolve this problem and make the necessary system updates.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused due to the delay.
To help us continually improve, we ask that you take a moment to complete our survey below to tell us about your experience with this specific interaction.
Were you satisfied with the support provided?"
This has been going on since the 15th of August.
Any similar experience or guidance please? Many thanks in advance
@Spencer_Amazon@Sakura_Amazon_@Julia_Amzn@Seller_tRuvBEHDedp4q
0 replies
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
You cannot get a refund of VAT on seller fees - this is now charged to ALL sellers from 1st August, and there is no longer the option to declare VAT exempt status.
The only way to get a refund is if you are VAT registered, and you will need to do quarterly VAT returns. Are you resident in UK ? If you are a non-UK resident and store goods in UK for FBA, you must be VAT registered here.
Seller_tRuvBEHDedp4q
If you got VAT exemption a few months before 1st August you MAY be able to reclaim the VAT on fees before this date - but as JillyB has said as from August 1st, everyone now pays VAT on fees. Getting Amazon to refund the VAT pre 1st August may be the problem though as the system has now changed and to be honest I doubt you will get anyone in Support to now understand the issue.
When you say you got VAT exemption can I double check you are a UK seller (i.e. a physical presence and established in the UK) and under the VAT threshold for registration? That is the only way you can reclaim for VAT charged by Amazon pre 1st August. If that is the case then how much is involved? It may not be worth the effort for example if your fees were £1000 and so VAT charged was £200 then you could either put into accounts 'fees of £1200' reducing your income tax liability or you could put into accounts 'fees of £1000' and chase Amazon for the £200. So the £200 may not be worth as much as you think considering the reduction in income tax liability.
If you are VAT registered and was trying to get Amazon to not apply VAT on your fees then to be honest it will be far easier to just reclaim it on your quarterly VAT return as you will have a valid VAT Invoice you can download from Amazon Tax Documents showing the VAT charged. This will certainly be the way to reclaim moving forward.
Seller_1vyLJePYDN9hf
Are you trying to get a backdated VAT refund? Is it covering a long period? If so, they could owe you a very substantial sum of money. The reply you have received looks like a typical Seller Support fob off. I had I think it was FIVE MONTHS of being fobbed off like that, asked for different HMRC documents, asked for the same stuff again, long wait, back to first fob off message, etc. etc. Eventually, with incredible persistance and legal threats, they paid up, albeit they misdated my claim and so it wasn't the full amount I should have received. Be prepared for maybe a hundred fob off messages like the one you have received if you want to try to get a result on it. Or maybe go straight down the legal route if the amount you are owed is susbstantial. It's yet another case of Amazon just abusing sellers - to my mind it is theft in these cases - and relying on the fact we have almost no levers to pull to counteract that abuse.
Seller_lx3tBQ67kUzc8
Hi, I am in exactly the same situation since about that same date. Have you had any messages like the following yet?
"Due to a technical issue in our system, we are unable to process VAT refund requests until November 1, 2024. We are working to resolve this problem and make the necessary system updates. You will be able to resubmit your requests starting November 1. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Please contact seller support if you have any further questions."
I've had a few messages like that. First it was "October 1" and then "October 8" and now it's "November 1".
Please keep us all updated and I will also update this thread if I ever have any joy. Good luck and hopefully we will both finally get the money we are owed, Charlie
Seller_7pTs15IYXmTOB
This is the latest response I received: " due to a change over of legal entity within Amazon the VAT refund team are not in a position to process any VAT refunds until the leagal entity change over is completed for Amazon as a business. This has impacted all sellers who are requesting a VAT refund. The VAT refund team do not have the tools/authority to process ANY refunds until such time as the legal entity of Amazon is established officially.
Rest assured you are perfectly within your rights to file for a VAT refund through the HMRC if you feel that Amazon are taking too long and this can be processed through the normal channels with HMRC. Please consult your tax advisor for any further advise. "
@Seller_lx3tBQ67kUzc8@Seller_1vyLJePYDN9hf
Seller_fw9LFwa3Z2sVB
I requested my refund on 25th July and have received 15 emails from Amazon since then. The last one asked me to resubmit my claim in November 24.
Moderators please help. There are multiple posts on this forum from sellers experiencing relentless delays, many have been waiting months to receive a refund of VAT on seller fees.
This is unacceptable and would not be tolerated by Amazon if sellers delayed refunding customers in this manner.
@Spencer_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Julia_Amzn
