VAT RULES FOR into the EU Retailers Selling · France, Italy, Spain, UK, Czech Republic, and Poland...

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Presented by Alex Wyatt from SimplyVAT

Retailers Selling into the EU

@veeqo @simplyvat

VAT RULES FOR

Roadmap

• About SimplyVAT

• Why Sell in Europe?

• What is VAT?

• Amazon’s European Invasion

• Your EU VAT Tax Obligations

• Understanding VAT Tax – How it impacts your business

• Brexit

About SimplyVAT.com

19 years experience in

international VAT

Launched SimplyVAT.com to

help online retailers with the EU VAT rules

Launchedin 2013

Clients in over 20 countries

Ethos: we’re‘here to help’

SimplyVAT software platform launch

Summer 2017

In life…

International VAT Obligations

• Standard VAT rates range from 17% – 27% across the EU

• Favoured by over 140 countries world-wide including China

• Governments get revenue every transaction

• Not supposed to be a burden to a business

What is VAT? (Value Added Tax)

Applied every time value is added:

+ VAT

+ VAT

+ VAT

+ VAT

Single Set of Rules

• 28 sets of interpretation – includes VAT legislation

Selling in the EU…what do you need to know?

• 31 fulfilment centres distributed across 7

countries

• Access to a €500 billion market and growing

12% year-on-year

• 296 million online shoppers in Europe

currently

• Average spend of €1,540 each online last

year

‘s European Invasion

United Kingdom

GermanyFrance

Italy

Spain

5 Marketplaces

Merchant Fulfilled network (MFN)Goods fulfilled from the seller’s own warehouse

European Fulfilment Network (EFN)Goods stored in a single EU member state (country) with all deliveries being made from that one warehouse

Multi Country Inventory (MCI)Choose where to store goods in multiple warehouses around the EU

Central European FBA German marketplace + stock stored in Poland and Czech Republic

Pan-European FBAShip to a fulfilment centre. Amazon manage distribution across the EU FBA centres

‘s European Invasion

Uses warehouses in 7

countries – 5 market places

+ Czech Republic and Poland

‘s European Invasion – Pan-EU Fulfilment

United Kingdom

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Products moved around to

get closer to final buyer

Aim to get your products to

your buyers more quickly

Do you know what your EU VAT obligations are?

?

‘s European Invasion

Selling in the EU…Import taxes & dutiesWho is ‘The Importer of Record’?

THE

SELLERORTHE

CUSTOMER

EORI Number – For Import into EU

+ Duties+ Insurance+Import VATCharged = % Cost

Value Freight

• EORI Number on Import Documents

• Reclaim Import VAT on VAT Return

• Stock in an EU country creates a taxable supply

• Amazon’s Pan EU – 7 VAT registrations – Germany,

France, Italy, Spain, UK, Czech Republic, and

Poland

Selling in the EU…using fulfilment centres

A VAT registration will be

required immediately in the EU

country where you are holding

stock in fulfilment centres –

there is no threshold to exceed

Signing Up for Amazon Pan-EU…

7 VAT

Registrations

64 VAT

Returns per year+Other reporting

eg. EC Sales Lists, Intrastat

Declarations+

You might already be signed up!

Signing up for Pan-EU…

Slow and Steady Wins the Race…?

Fiscal Representation for Non-EU Companies

Non-EU Companies Require Fiscal Representation

• Jointly and severely liable for VAT owed

• Bank guarantees or increased fees or both

How To Avoid Fiscal Representation

• Establish a company in a EU country eg. UK

• EU to EU rules apply

Selling Goods to EU B2C

UK Fulfilment Centre EU Private Customer

• Applies to anyone – registered business or not

• Also applies when selling through the online market places e.g. eBay or Amazon

• Different rules apply when selling to private customers in non-EU countries (Export of Goods)

Ebay and Amazon are not responsible for collecting or paying VAT on your behalf

The EU Distance Selling RulesCharge local VAT until the VAT registration threshold is exceeded in any other EU country where your goods are sold per calendar year

THRESHOLDS

Country Threshold Equivalent to approx.

Most EU countries

€35,000 $36,000

Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg

€100,000 $105,000

UK £70,000 $85,000

Failure to register could result in significant penalties and interest on late payments

Selling Goods in Europe…It doesn’t take that much

to exceed thresholds

Sold 70 of these and not yet in the picture?

300 pairs of these could march you over the threshold

Just 175 of these could bring your business to a halt

35 of these could see your business carry a big fine

Ignorance is No Defence

€193 billion lost revenue in EU in 2011

£10 billion lost revenue by UK each year

Specialist sections within EU tax authorities are actively pursuing e-tailers and approaching

Amazon and eBay for seller sales data

Nowhere to Hide…the new rules

• 1. Making Amazon Responsible if Seller is not compliant

• 2. Amazon can shut your Amazon Store down in 30 days

• 3. HMRC can make you appoint a VAT representative who will be jointly liable

New powers to HMRC include:

+-x

%

VAT Rates & Your Margins

?

VAT Rates & Your Margins

VAT is Calculated on the

Product Sale Amount

VAT Rates & Your Margins…how to make VAT work for you!

Zero Rated Items – only in UK and Ireland

Brexit…

• UK will no longer access single market

• Goods from UK to EU will have to be imported

• Goods into UK from China imported (as now)

• UK should retain VAT system

• UK VAT registration required when stock held in UK FBA

Brexit – What’s the impact?

Increased cost of compliance

BEFORE

1 UK VAT registration to

access EU

1 UK company to avoid fiscal

representation

1 VAT registration to

access UK

1 VAT registration to

access EU

1 EU company to avoid fiscal

representation

AFTER

Brexit – What’s the impact?

Don’t let VAT be a barrier…

…to global domination!

We can help…

…. You Sleep At Night

Where To Find Us

www.simplyvat.com/cn

@simplyVAT

www.facebook.com/simplyvat

Alex.wyatt@simplyvat.com

heretohelp@simplyvat.com

SimplyVAT.com

Presented by Alex Wyatt from SimplyVAT

Retailers Selling into the EU

@veeqo @simplyvat

VAT RULES FOR

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