Amazon VAT Services Ended: What Foreign Sellers on amazon.de Should Do Now

Vaytax Editorial Team

Licensed tax advisor · files with the Finanzamt

Vaytax is operated by FRADECO GmbH tax advisory firm, a Franco-German tax advisory firm specialising in cross-border German VAT compliance for international businesses. The firm holds both German tax advisor and French Expert-Comptable qualifications and files via the Finanzamt.

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For years, VAT Services on Amazon was the default answer to European VAT for marketplace sellers: tick a box in Seller Central, pick a partner firm, and registrations and returns happened somewhere in the background. That era ended on October 31, 2024, when Amazon shut the programme down and handed its sellers over to the third-party tax firms that had been doing the work inside it. A year and a half later, plenty of sellers are still sorting out the aftermath: some never actively chose the provider they were transferred to, some are paying for registrations they no longer need, and some discovered that months of German filings quietly stopped. This guide covers what the programme used to handle, how to choose its replacement for your situation, what good German coverage looks like, and the exact checklist for switching providers without missing a deadline.

What happened to VAT Services on Amazon?

VAT Services on Amazon (often shortened to VSA) was Amazon's bundled compliance offer: Amazon provided the interface and the transaction data, and external tax firms did the registrations and filings. It covered VAT registration and ongoing returns in a core set of countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, with later additions such as the Netherlands and Sweden, and arranged fiscal representation where a country required it.

The wind-down moved fast once it started:

1. Early 2024: Avalara, the programme's largest tax-services partner, announced it was withdrawing. Amazon then told sellers, via Seller Central and email, that the whole programme would end.
2. August 2024: the remaining partner tax firms contacted their assigned sellers directly, asking them to sign the firm's own terms and onboard to the firm's own platform.
3. October 1, 2024: the deadline Amazon set for sellers who did not want to stay with their assigned firm to choose a different provider.
4. October 31, 2024: the programme ended. Filings through the September 2024 period were the last ones handled under the Amazon umbrella; from the October period onward, the tax firms billed sellers directly.
5. August 31, 2025: the last day to download VSA-era VAT documents (registration certificates, proofs of filing, registration paperwork) from Seller Central. That window is now closed.

Amazon's announcement said it was working to launch an improved programme. As of June 2026, no comparable in-house Amazon filing programme has appeared: sellers arrange VAT compliance through external providers, while Amazon continues to supply the raw data (the VAT Transactions Report and related exports) and continues to enforce the rules, for example by requiring valid VAT numbers for the countries where you store stock.

What VSA covered, and what you now have to arrange yourself

The practical damage of the shutdown is not that any law changed. It is that a single subscription quietly bundled half a dozen services, and every one of them now needs an owner:

• VAT registrations. VSA obtained the registrations; you now keep them alive, update registered details when your business changes, and deregister where you no longer trade.
• Periodic returns. Monthly or quarterly returns in every country where you are registered, plus annual returns where the country requires one (Germany does).
• Tax-office correspondence. Letters from the German Finanzamt arrive in German, on paper, with statutory response windows. Under VSA the partner firm absorbed these; now they need a named recipient who can read them and act.
• Fiscal representation, where actually required. Some EU countries require non-EU sellers to appoint a fiscal representative. Germany is not one of them for standard compliance (more below).
• Record keeping. Filed returns, proofs of submission and registration certificates used to live in Seller Central. They now live wherever your provider puts them, and you should keep your own copies.

Choosing a replacement: the decision tree

There is no single correct successor to VSA, because VSA flattened several very different seller profiles into one product. Two questions sort out which kind of replacement fits you.

1. Germany-only, or genuinely multi-country?

Check where your inventory is stored, not just where you sell. If you use FBA with stock only in German fulfilment centres and you have not enabled Pan-EU placement, your local registration burden is Germany. Cross-border B2C sales from that German stock to consumers elsewhere in the EU can be reported through a single quarterly Union OSS (One-Stop Shop) return filed through Germany, instead of registering in each destination country. In that case you need exactly two things: solid German compliance and an OSS filing, both run from Germany. Our guides on Amazon FBA Germany and Union OSS for non-EU Amazon sellers cover the mechanics.

If Pan-EU FBA places your stock in Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Italy or Spain, each storage country creates its own local registration and filing obligation that OSS does not replace. Then you genuinely need multi-country coverage: either one pan-EU platform or local specialists per country. See our overview of Pan-EU FBA VAT requirements before deciding.

2. Software-only, or advisor-grade?

The replacement market splits into two categories, and the difference matters more in Germany than almost anywhere else:

• Software-only tools calculate and prepare returns from your transaction data, often across many countries at once. They are efficient at the data work, but the legal responsibility for what gets filed stays with you, and a software dashboard does not answer a registered letter from a German tax office.
• Advisor-grade services put a licensed professional between you and the tax authority: in Germany, a Steuerberater (licensed tax advisor) who prepares and submits the returns, receives and answers Finanzamt correspondence, and can file objections within statutory deadlines.

The honest rule of thumb: the more of your problem is data volume across many countries, the more a software-led setup helps; the more of your problem is one specific tax authority, its letters and its deadlines, the more you want a licensed advisor on that country. Germany, with its German-language paper correspondence and its centralised Finanzamt offices for foreign businesses, is firmly in the second category.

The Germany leg: what good coverage looks like

Whatever you choose for the rest of Europe, the German leg of a former VSA setup needs four things in place. Use this as the test when evaluating any provider, including us.

Registration status check

First, confirm what you actually hold. German VAT compliance runs on two different numbers: the Steuernummer (the German tax number issued by your Finanzamt, used for filing) and the USt-IdNr (the EU VAT identification number, used for cross-border B2B and marketplace verification). Sellers coming out of VSA are often unsure which numbers they have and whether the registration is still active, especially if filings stopped. A new provider should verify both numbers, confirm which Finanzamt holds your file, and check for anything outstanding before filing forward. If you are unsure of the difference, our explainer on Steuernummer vs USt-IdNr sorts it out.

Ongoing filings: UStVA plus the annual return

German VAT runs on the Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (the advance VAT return, usually shortened to UStVA), filed monthly or quarterly depending on your prior-year VAT, plus an annual return (Umsatzsteuererklärung) that reconciles the year. The UStVA is generally due by the 10th of the month following the period. Filing happens electronically via the official ELSTER system, which a German tax advisor submits through. A Germany-grade provider files both the periodic and the annual returns; a setup that quietly covers only the UStVA leaves the annual return, and any resulting balance, as your problem. New to the German filing rhythm? Start with how to file your first German VAT return.

Finanzamt correspondence

The Finanzamt writes in German and expects answers within fixed windows, commonly one month for an objection (Einspruch). The letters that matter most to ex-VSA sellers are the Schätzbescheid (estimated assessment, issued when returns stop arriving) and the Mahnung (payment reminder). Good German coverage means a named, German-speaking recipient who receives these, translates the consequence, and responds in time, not a support ticket queue. If a letter is already sitting on your desk, our Finanzamt letter service gives you a fixed-price quote from a licensed tax advisor, and the guide to German Finanzamt letter types explains what each one means.

Catch-up of missed months

The transition out of VSA is exactly the kind of handover where filings get dropped: the old provider stopped, the new one started a period later, or never started at all. German VAT obligations do not lapse from silence; the missing periods simply accumulate until the Finanzamt notices and estimates. A complete Germany offer therefore includes backfiling: preparing and submitting the missed UStVA periods alongside your current ones, before penalties and estimated assessments compound. The longer the gap runs, the more expensive it gets; our guide on German VAT penalties for late filing shows how the surcharges build.

Migration checklist: switching providers without missing a deadline

Whether you are leaving the firm you were transferred to or formalising a setup that has drifted since 2024, this is the handover list. Collect everything before you cancel anything.

1. Get your filing history. Copies of every filed return and proof of submission for at least the current and prior year. The Seller Central archive closed on August 31, 2025, so the source is now your current or former provider. Request these while you are still a paying client; responses come slower afterwards.
2. Secure your registration documents. The Steuernummer assignment letter from the Finanzamt and your USt-IdNr confirmation from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (the federal central tax office). If they are lost, a tax advisor with power of attorney can confirm the numbers and request what is missing.
3. Pin down the last filed period, per country. Not the last period you were invoiced for: the last period actually submitted, with proof. The gap between those two is where most post-VSA problems live.
4. Collect open Finanzamt letters. Anything unanswered, especially anything with a deadline: estimated assessments, payment reminders, requests for information. Your new provider needs these on day one, because the response windows do not wait for onboarding.
5. Export your Amazon data. The Amazon VAT Transactions Report remains available in Seller Central and is the data backbone for German returns and OSS. Confirm you, not only your old provider, can pull it.
6. Onboard the new provider before the next deadline, not after. A monthly UStVA is generally due on the 10th of the following month. Count backwards from the next due date and leave time for power of attorney (Vollmacht) paperwork, which the new advisor needs before they can speak to the Finanzamt for you.
7. Only then cancel the old arrangement, in writing, with an explicit statement of the last period the old provider will file. Handover gaps are created in this step more than any other.

What this costs with Vaytax

Plain numbers, stated as charged. If you still need a German VAT registration (or your old one lapsed and a fresh start is cleaner), the price is €1,199 per year all-in: it bundles the German registration with the first twelve months of filings and is charged in full at signup. If you already have a working German VAT number, it is €79 per month, or €853 per year billed annually. Missed months are backfiled at €79 per past month. The Union OSS add-on, for B2C sales across the EU from German stock, is €250 one-time plus €150 per quarter, filed through Germany via the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern.

And the honest scope line: Vaytax files Germany and Union OSS through Germany. It does not file local returns in Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Spain or the UK. If Pan-EU FBA gives you obligations there, you will need coverage for those countries alongside.

Frequently asked questions

When did VAT Services on Amazon end?

Amazon ended the VAT Services on Amazon programme on October 31, 2024. Sellers were notified through Seller Central and by email during 2024. The partner tax firms inside the programme managed filings through the September 2024 filing period, and from the October 2024 filing period onward they billed sellers directly. Sellers who wanted a different provider were asked to choose one by October 1, 2024. Amazon said at the time that it was working on an improved programme, but as of June 2026 no comparable in-house Amazon filing programme has replaced it.

Can I still download my old VAT documents from Seller Central?

No. Amazon kept the programme's VAT documents (registration certificates, proofs of filing and related records) available in Seller Central until August 31, 2025, and that window has closed. If you did not save your documents in time, request copies from the tax firm that handled your filings under the programme. For Germany, your Steuernummer (German tax number) and filing history can also be confirmed with the Finanzamt (the German tax office), and a tax advisor with power of attorney can request your account statement.

Do I need a fiscal representative in Germany now that VAT Services on Amazon has ended?

No. Germany does not require fiscal representation for standard VAT registration and filing. There is only a narrow exception under section 22a of the German VAT Act, and it does not apply to ordinary Amazon sellers. A licensed German tax advisor acting as your agent is sufficient. Some other EU countries do require fiscal representation for non-EU sellers, so check this country by country if you hold stock outside Germany.

What happens if I have not filed German VAT returns since the programme ended?

File the missed periods as soon as possible. Your German obligation continued without interruption when the programme closed. Gaps usually surface when the Finanzamt issues an estimated assessment (Schätzbescheid) or a payment reminder (Mahnung), both of which carry short response windows, and late filing can trigger surcharges. A provider that handles catch-up filings can backfile the missing months alongside your current returns. Vaytax charges 79 euros per past month for backfiled returns.

Is Vaytax a replacement for VAT Services on Amazon?

For the German leg, yes. For other countries, no. Vaytax covers German VAT registration, the monthly or quarterly Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (the advance VAT return), the annual return, Finanzamt correspondence and catch-up filings, with an English dashboard and a licensed German tax advisor who files with the Finanzamt. An optional Union OSS add-on covers EU-wide B2C distance sales reported through Germany. Vaytax does not file local returns in other EU countries or the UK, so a seller with stock in several countries needs separate coverage there.

What does Vaytax cost for amazon.de sellers?

If you still need a German VAT registration, 1,199 euros per year all-in. That bundles the registration with the first twelve months of filings and is charged in full at signup. If you already have a German VAT number, 79 euros per month or 853 euros per year. Catch-up filings are 79 euros per past month. The optional Union OSS add-on is 250 euros one-time plus 150 euros per quarter.