FAQ
Questions sellers ask us every week
Short answers first. Each service has its own set below, with a link to the full page.
General
About VAT+
What is VAT+?
VAT+ gets online sellers the VAT and product registrations they need for the EU and the UK, and keeps their returns on time. We are a team in Shenzhen.
The filing runs on VATAi, a cross-border e-commerce compliance platform.
Who files my returns?
VATAi's tax specialists. You connect your marketplace account or upload a CSV, and they file from that data. We stay your contact the whole time.
Do I pay extra for your support?
No. Every price is on our pricing page, and your account manager and our support are part of it. Government fees are separate, and we tell you what they are before you pay.
What are government fees?
The fees a tax office, a packaging scheme or a trademark office charges. They are separate from our prices. We tell you which ones apply before you pay.
Is the checker legal advice?
No. It applies published rules to your answers and links to the official source of each rule. A specialist confirms your case on the free call.
Do I need a VAT number in every EU country I sell to?
Not if you use OSS. The European Commission’s guidance says you will normally need a VAT number in each EU country where you keep stock and your company is not registered.
Sales you ship from that stock to shoppers in other EU countries can go on one quarterly return through the optional OSS scheme. Without OSS, the Commission says, you would have to register in each EU country where you have customers.
I use Amazon FBA. Why does stock location matter?
With Pan-European FBA, Amazon stores your inventory across its EU fulfillment network in the countries you enable, and its own page asks you to enable at least two of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The same page warns that storing goods outside your home store brings additional VAT reporting requirements.
The European Commission’s guidance says a business that holds stock in an EU country will normally be required to register for VAT there.
How long does a VAT number take?
The tax office in each country sets the pace, so there is no standard time. Ask on your first call for the current wait in the countries you need.
What are government fees?
Official charges a government body sets. They are not part of our prices. Ask on your first call which ones apply to your countries.
I already have a VAT number with another agent. Can I switch?
Yes. We move your number from your old agent, and our 1-year package covers a registration or a transfer. The price table on this page shows what a transfer costs.
Who files my returns?
We do. You connect your marketplace account or upload your sales as a CSV file, and we file your monthly, quarterly or yearly returns.
For the UK, GOV.UK confirms that you can appoint an agent to submit your VAT Returns and deal with HMRC for you.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer.
Does OSS replace my local VAT numbers?
No. The European Commission says OSS returns come on top of the VAT return you file in a country where you are registered, and do not replace it.
Its guidance also says a business that holds stock in an EU country will normally be required to register for VAT there. OSS covers the sales you ship across a border from that stock.
Can a company outside the EU use OSS?
Yes. The Commission says a business established outside the EU can use the Union scheme for its cross-border sales of goods inside the EU, and can use the import scheme (IOSS) as well.
To use IOSS, a business outside the EU must appoint an intermediary established in the EU.
What is the €150 limit?
IOSS covers goods imported from outside the EU in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less, sold to consumers in the EU. Goods subject to excise duty are left out.
With IOSS you collect the VAT at the sale, and the import is then exempt from VAT. Parcels worth more than €150 fall outside IOSS.
Does my marketplace already do this?
For some sales, yes. The Commission’s Explanatory Notes treat a marketplace as the seller for VAT, and make it account for the VAT, in two cases: imported parcels worth €150 or less, and goods already in the EU sold by a seller established outside the EU.
If your company is in the EU, the VAT on your sales of goods already in the EU stays yours to declare.
How often is an OSS return filed?
Every quarter for OSS and every month for IOSS, the Commission says. Once you join a scheme, you declare every sale that falls under it, in every EU country.
You cannot use it for some countries and leave others out.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer. Later on, the Commission says, a business can also leave an OSS scheme of its own accord.
Is a shipping box packaging?
Yes. Germany’s packaging register counts shipping boxes and bags as transport packaging, along with labels, adhesive tape and filler such as plastic film or wrapping tissue.
It says packaging used to ship goods to end users is always subject to system participation, without exception.
I sell only a few items in Germany. Do I still register?
If you are the producer of your packaging, yes. Germany’s packaging register says there is no de minimis threshold or exemption for companies with low packaging volumes, if you operate commercially.
Since August 12, 2026, a company outside Germany that ships packaged goods direct to end users there is the producer of its shipping packaging. Any other online seller has to work out whether it is the producer.
Our five-question checker shows which rule your answers trigger. Small producers get lighter reporting: under 10 tonnes of packaging in Germany last year, you may file one year-end report by June 1.
What is a LUCID number?
Your registration number in Germany’s LUCID Packaging Register. Amazon calls it a 13-digit number and asks for it as proof of packaging compliance in Germany.
The register is public, so platforms can check your status, and the register charges nothing for registering or reporting.
What is the French unique identifier?
The IDU (identifiant unique). The French government’s business portal says a company under a producer-responsibility scheme must be registered with the environment ministry, which issues the IDU.
The eco-organisation you pay into registers you and passes the number on. You need one for each scheme, shown in your terms of sale and on your website.
What are eco fees?
The money you pay a national recycling scheme. In Germany you sign an agreement with a system operator to finance the recycling of your packaging.
In France, Amazon’s EPR page says, you pay eco-contributions to an éco-organisme for each category you sell. The minimum contribution is an official fee, paid on top of our service price.
How often do I report?
It depends on the country. In Germany, you file each volume report in LUCID as well as with your system operator, at the rhythm your agreement sets, and last year’s actual volumes are due by June 1.
In France, you report to your éco-organisme once a year, before a date it sets.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer.
What is the difference between an authorised representative and a responsible person?
An authorised representative is a person in the EU with your written mandate to carry out set tasks for you. “Responsible person” is the title of Article 16 of the General Product Safety Regulation: the economic operator in the EU who is responsible for those tasks for a consumer product.
An authorised representative can fill that role, and so can a manufacturer or importer based in the EU.
Does the representative become liable for my product?
Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists its tasks: check that the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation have been drawn up, keep the declaration ready for the authorities, give them the documents they ask for, tell them about a product it believes presents a risk, and cooperate with them on corrective action. The article sets these tasks without prejudice to the duties you already have as manufacturer under the product laws.
For anything beyond that list, ask a lawyer.
Which products carry the CE mark?
Only products covered by EU rules that require it. The EU’s Your Europe portal names toys and electrical and electronic equipment among them, and links to the complete list of EU laws that require the mark.
If no EU rule requires CE marking for your product, you must not use it.
Do I need a separate UK contact?
Great Britain has its own rules. GOV.UK says your products must meet GB rules even if you sold them in an EU country first, and what you need to do depends on the type of goods.
Placing a product on the GB market from outside the UK brings importer responsibilities. We cover UK representation too, so tell us what you sell there.
Is product testing included?
No. Testing is not on the representative’s list: it reviews your technical documents and does not run tests.
VATAi states that product testing and certification cost extra. Tick product testing in the form on this page, and we send you a price.
Where does the address go?
On the product, or on its packaging, the parcel or a document that goes with it. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 asks for the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and contact details, postal address included.
For consumer products, the General Product Safety Regulation adds an electronic address.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer.
Is a pending trademark enough for Brand Registry?
Yes, says Amazon. Its Brand Registry page asks for a pending or registered trademark for your brand name or logo, issued by the designated government trademark office of a country with an Amazon store.
Your brand name also has to be permanently affixed to your products or packaging.
How long does registration take?
Each office sets its own pace, so there is no standard time. At the EU office, EUIPO publishes your application once it has examined it, and anyone with an earlier right then has 3 months to oppose.
If nobody does, EUIPO registers the mark.
Do I need a trademark in every country?
No law asks for one anywhere. For Brand Registry, Amazon lets you enroll with one country’s trademark office and add other countries’ trademarks once your enrollment is approved.
Amazon recommends a trademark for each country’s Amazon store you want to sell in.
What are office fees?
The official fees the trademark office charges for your application. They come on top of our service price. Ask on your first call which fees apply in the offices you choose.
Can you transfer a trademark I own?
We handle trademark ownership transfers, in fewer offices than registration. Tell us which office holds your mark and we check it for you.
What if the office objects?
EUIPO says it will contact you if anything is wrong with your application, and you can appeal if it refuses your mark in full or in part. Answering the office is part of our trademark services, so we can reply for you.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer.
Which certifications does Amazon accept?
Amazon lists more than 50 third-party certifications on its Climate Pledge Friendly pages, grouped by sustainability feature, and says it also uses certifications it created. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Rainforest Alliance are two of them.
Amazon’s seller page offers a Certification Navigator tool to find the options for your product.
Does the badge raise sales?
We make no promise about sales and quote no sales figures for the badge. Amazon’s seller page lists the places the leaf appears, from filters to dedicated storefronts.
What shoppers do next is up to them.
What does it cost?
The price depends on your product, so tell us what you sell and you get a fixed price by email. Amazon charges no fee to join Climate Pledge Friendly, and says third-party certifications may charge fees that vary by certification.
Who issues the certificate?
The certifier. Amazon’s seller page tells you to work with the certifier or certifying body to meet the standard you choose, and its shopping page says independent certifying organizations certify the products.
We coordinate that third-party check for you.
Can a product lose the badge?
Amazon says it reviews the certifications it accepts on a regular basis. It also says it excludes some products, based on other sustainability criteria or where a claim is too common in a category to help shoppers choose.
What if I change my mind?
Check the money-back guarantee on this page before you pay, and ask us about anything it does not answer.
Next step
Still have a question?
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