German VAT for Amazon FBA. Done right.

Yes, from the moment Amazon stores any of your inventory in a German warehouse (FBA DE, or Pan-EU FBA with DE enabled), you must have a German VAT registration. There is no threshold. This applies equally to EU and non-EU sellers, and Amazon will restrict your account if you cannot provide a valid German USt-IdNr. once inventory lands in a DE fulfilment centre.

Yes. If Germany is enabled as a Pan-EU country, Amazon can move your inventory into German warehouses at any time, and that storage alone creates an immediate VAT registration obligation. Most Pan-EU sellers register in all seven (DE, FR, IT, ES, PL, CZ, NL) before enabling the programme. Disabling Germany from Pan-EU still leaves you liable for the period during which stock was held in DE warehouses.

No. §25e makes Amazon liable for collecting and remitting VAT on certain marketplace sales to German consumers, but it does not remove your obligation to be registered. Amazon requires a valid German VAT certificate (F22, now replaced by USt-1-TI) to keep your account active. Your monthly USt-Voranmeldung still needs to be filed, marketplace-collected sales are reported separately, and all inventory movements, B2B sales, and non-marketplace revenue remain fully your responsibility.

Typically 6 to 10 weeks from submission of the tax registration form to issuance of the Tax ID, plus another 2 to 4 weeks for the VAT ID from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern. Incomplete paperwork or missing translations can add months. Vaytax handles the full submission via a licensed tax advisor to avoid the most common rejection causes (missing apostille, untranslated incorporation docs, wrong Finanzamt jurisdiction).

No. Germany does not require fiscal representation for EU or non-EU companies, a licensed tax advisor acting as your tax agent is sufficient. Some providers charge €1,000 to €3,000 per year for "fiscal representation", an unnecessary cost with no legal basis for standard Amazon FBA compliance. Full breakdown →

You download the VAT Transactions Report from Amazon Seller Central each month (Reports → Tax Document Library). Vaytax processes the report and generates your monthly USt-Voranmeldung, including the distinction between marketplace-facilitated sales (§25e) and your own sales. Your licensed tax advisor reviews the figures and files the return with your assigned Finanzamt.

Often, yes, and they are two different things. The German VAT registration covers stock stored in Germany and sales to German customers. The EU One-Stop-Shop (OSS) covers your cross-border B2C sales dispatched from that German stock to consumers in other EU countries, reported on one quarterly return instead of a registration in each country. Once your EU-wide B2C distance sales pass €10,000 in a calendar year, you need both. And a non-EU FBA seller (UK, US, China) can use the Union scheme too: because the goods ship from a German warehouse, Germany becomes your OSS member state of identification, so you file Union OSS through Germany with no EU subsidiary required. Vaytax files both the German VAT and the OSS return: OSS is an add-on at €250 one-time setup plus €150 per quarter, switched on when you cross the threshold. How OSS through Germany works →

Foreign Amazon FBA sellers are among the most frequently audited, because the Finanzamt receives your marketplace transaction data under §22f and §25e UStG and cross-checks it against warehouse stock, import VAT, and your filed returns. If you receive an audit notice (Prüfungsanordnung), a licensed German tax advisor should handle the Finanzamt correspondence and represent you. Amazon VAT audit help →