Sellers on Amazon.co.uk logged in recently to see a new and important message about UK tax legislation.
Here’s the full text of the announcement:
Under new UK tax legislation, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may, upon request, oblige Amazon to disclose to HMRC data we hold in relation to sellers with a potential UK tax liability. The data request may include seller contact information and transaction data. For more information, see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1811/contents/made.
Keep reading to find out what this means for you.
Do You Need to Worry?
First off, if you’re not selling on Amazon.co.uk, this message isn’t for you.
Secondly, if you’re selling on Amazon.co.uk and are properly registered for VAT and file tax returns with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs), then you’ve got nothing to worry about.
If you’re selling on Amazon.co.uk and aren’t registered for VAT and aren’t filing the proper tax returns, then you may need to worry.
Right now, pretty much nothing. According to a post on Tamebay.com, HMRC is contacting sellers, but in a somewhat haphazard method, and are contacting sellers who are actually submitting their returns properly.
What’s Going to Happen?
This is where it gets interesting. Amazon’s announcement is to make sellers aware of the fact that Amazon may be required to share seller information with HMRC, under new legislation in the UK.
But for now, there’s no telling when this might happen or what might happen if seller data is shared with HMRC, because nobody really knows how prepared HMRC is to act on any information they’re provided.
What Should You Do?
If you’re selling on Amazon.co.uk, and you’re not registered for VAT and you’re not filing tax returns with HMRC, now’s the time to get yourself back on track.
Doing so now will help prevent hassles down the road, if/when Amazon does begin sharing seller information with HMRC.
My best analogy is to think of this like the sales tax situation on Amazon.com. For years, nobody really understood what to do, and there were limited ramifications for not taking action. Now, however, Amazon and Amazon.com sellers are taking sales tax issues more seriously. That’s where things on Amazon.co.uk are heading. In a
Email Us!
Do you need help getting registered for VAT? Or are you having trouble figuring out how VAT and UK taxes apply to you, send our Services team an email.