Part of German VAT is the same wherever your company sits. Goods stored in a German warehouse, an Amazon fulfilment centre or any other logistics provider, need a German VAT registration before the first unit from that stock is sold, and there is no turnover minimum. The yearly €10,000 threshold for cross-border sales to consumers only applies to EU-established companies that ship from their home country. And no one needs a fiscal representative: it is sufficient that a German tax advisor (Steuerberater) acts for you, while your company remains the taxpayer.
Your home country changes three things: which German tax office (Finanzamt) is responsible for you, which papers it asks for, and what usually slows the file down. That is what each section below covers. The registration process itself is explained in German VAT registration for foreign companies.
Does a US company need German VAT registration?
Yes, once it stores goods in Germany, sells goods that are delivered to German consumers, or sells digital services such as software or online courses to them. There is no sales level to wait for, because the €10,000 EU threshold is closed to a US company. Every US company is handled by the tax office in Bonn (Finanzamt Bonn-Innenstadt).
Delaware, Wyoming or California, every US company goes to Bonn under the routing regulation (§ 1 UStZustV), and the office writes only in German. Two papers cause most delays. One is IRS Form 6166, the certificate of US tax residency: you order it with Form 8802, it takes several weeks, so request it first. The other is your formation document, which needs a sworn German translation and, for some state filings, an apostille. We fill in the German tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung) from your answers in English.
On amazon.de, when Amazon sells your goods from German stock to consumers, the law treats Amazon as the deemed supplier (§ 3 Abs. 3a Satz 1 UStG) and Amazon accounts for that VAT. § 25e UStG only makes Amazon liable for VAT you leave unpaid, which is why it demands your German VAT ID. You still register: your monthly VAT return (UStVA) reports your sales to Amazon, stock moved between EU warehouses, B2B and off-Amazon sales, and the import VAT you reclaim.
German stock also lets you add the Union One-Stop-Shop (OSS) through Germany for consumer sales into other EU countries. At the border, a forwarder that declares the goods in its own name as your indirect representative uses its own EORI number; if the goods clear in your company’s name, your company needs an EU EORI number. For SEPA direct debit, a Wise or Payoneer euro account works where US banks do not.
- Order Form 6166 and gather the company documents.
- Lodge the registration before the first stock arrives.
- Enter the tax number and VAT ID in Seller Central.
- File the monthly return from then on.
Does a Chinese company need a German VAT number for Amazon.de?
Yes, from the first unit that reaches a German warehouse, whether an Amazon fulfilment centre or another logistics provider. Companies from every mainland province are handled by Finanzamt Berlin International, which took this work over from Finanzamt Neukölln in 2023 with the same office and the same bank details. Expect Amazon to ask for your German VAT ID.
The papers are your business licence, which serves as the commercial register extract, and your articles of association, both apostilled, plus the legal representative’s passport and a signed power of attorney (Vollmacht). Since China joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 7 November 2023, one apostille replaces consular legalisation. The documents also need a sworn German translation, and translation plus apostille, not the tax office, set the pace. Amazon usually allows only 2 to 4 weeks once it asks for a VAT ID, so start before it asks.
Amazon’s role as the deemed seller, and Union OSS through Germany, work as for US companies. Mainland banks rarely issue an IBAN for SEPA direct debit: pay from a Wise or Payoneer euro account, or a Hong Kong subsidiary’s; a SWIFT transfer is accepted but slower and dearer.
Dropshipping from China with no German stock depends on who imports. If the customer does (DAP terms), your sale is outside Germany and you do not register, but the customer pays import VAT and fees at the door. If you do (DDP terms), § 3 Abs. 8 UStG moves the sale into Germany and you register. The Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) exists for parcels up to €150; we do not file it.
Already selling without a number? Past returns can still be filed (outstanding returns), and the tax office may add late-filing surcharges.
What is different for a Hong Kong company?
The trigger and the office are the same as for the mainland: stock in Germany means registering from the first unit, and Finanzamt Berlin International handles you. The papers differ, because Hong Kong keeps no register extract of the German kind, so two certificates do that job together. Register before the stock arrives, or Amazon will not let you sell from it.
The set is the Certificate of Incorporation and the Business Registration Certificate, the Articles of Association with an apostille, a passport copy of the director or legal representative, and a power of attorney signed by hand. Hong Kong has issued apostilles for decades, so that step is routine; a certified translation is added where the office asks. Files mostly come back over unclear papers, especially on who may sign, so send a complete set the first time.
Start the registration before you book freight; stock that lands earlier means filing those months afterwards. You need no German director or address: the company registers at its Hong Kong address, and your tax advisor receives the tax office’s post. Mainland manufacturing affects customs duty and import paperwork, not the VAT registration. An EU EORI number is only needed if goods clear customs in your company’s own name; usually the forwarder declares them. Union OSS through Germany opens once you hold German stock.
Does a Swiss company need German VAT registration?
It depends on how you ship. Selling from Swiss stock on DAP terms, where the German customer is the importer, usually keeps you out of German VAT. Shipping DDP, where you are the importer, or holding stock in Germany means registering, from the first unit. Companies from Switzerland and Liechtenstein are handled by Finanzamt Konstanz.
Konstanz is minutes from the border, but for VAT Switzerland is as foreign as the US: no distance-selling threshold, no OSS for goods sent from Swiss stock, customs on every consignment. On DAP terms your customers pay import VAT and carrier charges at the door, which is lawful but costs sales; on DDP terms § 3 Abs. 8 UStG places your sale in Germany. Sellers often move from DAP to DDP with a registration in place, then to a German warehouse. Amazon FBA means German stock from day one, so there is no trial period without a number; German stock also opens Union OSS through Germany.
A commercial register extract (Handelsregisterauszug) in German, as German-speaking cantons issue it, is accepted as it stands; a French or Italian one may need a sworn translation. Whether the extract also needs an apostille is checked with your documents before anything is filed. Add your Swiss business number (UID). Your Swiss VAT registration (MWST) does not count in Germany. Swiss banks offer euro accounts with SEPA direct debit, and paying from one avoids a currency conversion on every collection.
When does a Dutch company need a German VAT number?
When its goods are stored in Germany, through Pan-EU FBA or a German warehouse, from the first unit; the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) does not cover sales from that stock. If you only ship from the Netherlands to German consumers, you need no German number: Dutch VAT applies below €10,000 a year EU-wide, German VAT above, declared on your Dutch OSS return.
Every company based in the Netherlands is assigned to Finanzamt Kleve, a few kilometres from the border. Which return covers a sale depends on where the goods leave from:
| Your setup | Dutch OSS return | German registration |
|---|---|---|
| Stock in the Netherlands, parcels to German consumers | Yes, above €10,000 EU-wide | No |
| Amazon FBA in the Netherlands only | Yes | No |
| Pan-EU FBA with stock in Germany | For sales sent from outside Germany | Yes, for sales sent from German stock |
| Dutch 3PL with a German warehouse | Where it applies | Yes, for sales sent from German stock |
| Sales to German businesses (reverse charge) | No, OSS is for consumers | Usually not |
Kleve wants a Chamber of Commerce extract (KvK-uittreksel, usually under three months old), your Dutch VAT number, the statutes if asked, and the directors’ passport copies: no apostille, and normally no translation. Your Dutch bank account works for SEPA direct debit as it is. Since 2025 a company with under €100,000 turnover in the whole EU may join the EU small-business scheme through its home office (§ 19 Abs. 4 UStG), but that rarely fits stock held in Germany. Missing past returns for German stock can still be filed.
What about companies from other EU countries?
The same rules apply as for a Dutch company. Stock in a German warehouse, Amazon.de FBA included, needs German VAT registration from unit one. Shipping from home to German consumers means home-country VAT below €10,000 a year of cross-border consumer sales across the EU, and German VAT above it, reported through your own country’s OSS.
Moving your own goods into a German warehouse is an intra-Community acquisition (innergemeinschaftlicher Erwerb) in Germany, and sales from that stock carry German VAT. Passing €10,000 alone does not require a German registration; stock in Germany does, as do buying and reselling inside Germany, importing as the importer, and certain B2B cases. Sales to German businesses from your home stock are intra-Community supplies, with the VAT handled by the German buyer.
Amazon is the deemed seller only for companies based outside the EU, so an EU company files the VAT on its Amazon sales itself. You need no fiscal representative, your EORI number comes from your own customs authority and works in Germany, and your OSS registration stays at home. Each EU country has one German tax office, Poland four: find yours in the Finanzamt lookup. The EU VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) usually follows the tax number (Steuernummer) by 1 to 2 weeks. Check again before joining Pan-EU FBA or a multi-country warehouse, because where the stock sits is the trigger.
What if my company is based somewhere else outside the EU?
The trigger is the same: stock in Germany, or taxable sales to German consumers, means registering with no minimum. German law gives each country one tax office. Countries the routing regulation does not name, Australia and Canada among them, go to Finanzamt Berlin International, which also takes Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
A few have their own office, such as Norway (Bremen) and Turkey (Dortmund-Unna); check yours in the Finanzamt lookup. An Australian company sends its ASIC Current Company Statement, ABN and constitution, apostilled through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and with a sworn German translation. A double tax treaty does not help, because it covers income tax, not VAT. A Wise or Revolut euro account handles SEPA direct debit. German stock opens Union OSS through Germany, as for US companies. Pure B2B services where the German customer accounts for the VAT under the reverse charge (§ 13b UStG) usually need no registration, with some exceptions.
UK companies are a third country too since Brexit and are handled by Finanzamt Hannover-Nord: see German VAT for UK companies.
Polish companies go to one of four offices, chosen by the first letter of the company name: see German VAT for Polish companies.
Which documents does each country need?
Every application holds the same core: proof that the company exists and of its legal form, its articles of association, a passport copy of its representative, and a signed power of attorney, plus the warehouse or fulfilment contract when stock is held in Germany. What varies by country is the company document itself, and whether an apostille (one certificate under the 1961 Hague Convention that replaces consular legalisation) or a German translation is required. Passports and the power of attorney are usually not apostilled.
| Where the company is based | Proof the company exists | Apostille | German translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Articles of Incorporation (corporation) or Articles of Organization (LLC), plus the IRS EIN letter and IRS Form 6166 | Usually; depends on the state filing | Yes, by a sworn translator |
| Mainland China | Business licence and articles of association | Yes; since 7 November 2023 instead of consular legalisation | Yes, sworn |
| Hong Kong | Certificate of Incorporation plus Business Registration Certificate, with the Articles of Association | Yes, on the Articles | Where the office asks |
| Switzerland | Commercial register extract (Handelsregisterauszug) and UID number | Checked with your documents | Not for German-language extracts; may be needed for French or Italian ones |
| Netherlands | KvK extract and Dutch VAT number | No | Usually not |
| United Kingdom | Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association | Where requested | Checked with your documents |
| Australia | ASIC Current Company Statement, ABN and constitution | Yes, through DFAT | Yes, sworn |
| Any other country | The local equivalent of a commercial register extract, with the articles of association | Where the tax office requests it | Checked with your documents |
The full list of what every application contains is in the German VAT registration checklist.
How long it takes
4 to 8 weeks from a complete application; documents add time before that, longest for China.
Current waiting times for each tax office are on German VAT registration processing times.
