If you sell on Amazon or eBay, a VAT invoice is very crucial for record-keeping. For VAT-registered businesses, this is an important credential in the event of an HMRC inspection or if you wish to claim back the VAT on your purchases. Failure to present an authentic Amazon VAT invoice after filling a claim may attract penalties. So how do you go about it? In this article, you can learn how to get an Amazon VAT invoice and eBay VAT invoice. Read on!
When you sell many items on Amazon and eBay, it is important to keep all Amazon VAT receipts or eBay VAT receipts for your previous purchases. But first, you need to know what a VAT receipt comprises.
If you must file a claim, the VAT receipt must show the following to be valid:
· an invoice number
· the customer’s business name and address
· the seller’s business name and business address
· a description of the goods or services supplied
· the date or/and tax point if different from the invoice date (i.e. the time of supply)
· the seller’s Value-Added Tax number
· Rate of Value-Added Tax charged
· total amount excluding Value-Added Tax
· the total amount of Value-Added Tax charged (net price)
· the total amount including Value-Added Tax (gross price)
What Is A Vat Receipt
In case this topic looks new, here is a short definition of what a VAT receipt is. A VAT receipt is a receipt showing details of Value-Added Tax paid on a transaction. It is normally provided by VAT-registered suppliers to the customer. Just like a normal receipt, a VAT receipt can take a paper format or an electronic format. A VAT receipt will show details of the sale including the VAT number, the supplier’s VAT registration number, the tax date, the amount paid for the products or services, and some additional information.
How To Get A Vat Invoice From Amazon
Amazon is a popular online shopping platform that sells everything you can think of. One notable thing about Amazon is the simplicity of obtaining a VAT invoice from the platform. Whenever consumers shop for toys, books, computer games, kitchenware, and any other goods on Amazon, the items are either sold by Amazon themselves or on the Amazon Marketplace by online retailers. For online retailers, there are different ways of obtaining a VAT invoice on purchases from Amazon.
Step 1
On your Amazon account, go to “Your Account." Click on the "Your Orders” (yellow) button that appears in the center of the screen.
Step 2
From the dropdown menu, select the time period you want Amazon to display. Click “Go” and Amazon will display the orders from the desired time automatically.
Step 3
Scroll down the list and when you have located the order to which you wish to obtain the VAT invoice for, click on the "View Order Details" button underneath the order date.
Step 4
If you need a printable copy of the document, click on the "Print Order Summary" button in the "Payment Information" box.
Step 5
If you still can’t find the VAT information through your Amazon account, don’t hesitate to contact Amazon, they will not hesitate to provide you with an invoice for any purchase made on the platform.
How To Get A Vat Invoice From eBay
Obtaining VAT invoices from eBay is not as easy as Amazon, though it’s possible. This is because non-VAT-registered businesses in the UK cannot issue VAT invoices. But if your trading (turnover) is above the VAT threshold, then you are eligible to issue VAT invoices. So how do you get a VAT invoice from eBay? For VAT-registered businesses in the UK, eBay mandates that the buyer include a VAT inclusive price.
eBay is obliged to deduct the VAT at the point of sale, leaving the price net of VAT with the seller. In cases where the item is purchased via auction format, eBay won’t charge a higher price at checkout because the buyer price isn’t fixed until checkout. The buyer may see reminder messages throughout the purchase flow that eBay VAT will be added at checkout.
There are several exceptions when VAT invoices are not seen. One of which is perhaps when VAT-inclusive prices are not stated. Either way, eBay is working hard to fix these bugs.
In summary, if as a VAT-registered business, you sell goods on eBay, then you can be assured to get a VAT invoice as eBay is legally obliged to provide one. If you’ve not been sent one automatically then you can contact eBay directly to make a request.
Online Marketplace VAT And The Impacts By Brexit
One of the impacts of Brexit was that the UK online marketplaces would become responsible for collecting VAT from foreign sellers (i.e. sellers based outside the United Kingdom). Effective from January 2021, imports of goods (valued below £135) outside the borders of the United Kingdom will incur VAT charges from the point of importation to the point of sale. This permits online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon to now collect VAT. The online marketplace remains responsible for collecting VAT even if an overseas seller fulfills it from a warehouse in the UK. This doesn’t apply to UK-based businesses alone. For UK sellers selling to any EU nation, VAT will be collected on sales (for items valued below £135) effective from the 1st of July 2021.
Bonus Tip: Starting A Dropshipping Business With The SaleYee Platform
Has it ever crossed your mind that you can sell products online without even owning an inventory, renting a warehouse, or fulfilling orders? If no, that is what the dropshipping business model is all about. Dropshipping is an online business model that allows one to sell products on the internet without owning an inventory. It is a popular and lucrative business model that anyone can start in a few hours. With a website, the right products, and a reputable dropship supplier, just anybody can kick-start a dropshipping business in no time. The major drawback is looking for the right supplier to work with. The internet is filled with hundreds of dropshipping suppliers; some of which are reliable and most of which are not. Choosing the right dropship supplier can be difficult but we recommend the SaleYee platform because they’ve been tried and tested. SaleYee.com happens to be a leading dropshipping wholesale supplier where you can get quality products in real-time. They are dedicated to making dropshipping easier for every online seller by providing:
· 30,000+ profitable SKUs
· 630,000+ sq.m. local warehouses
· Free delivery on most products
· Extra fast delivery up to 48 hours
· 24/7 Customer Support
· Free membership and huge discounts
· Up to a 3-month after-sales period
Conclusion
We hope you’ve learned how to get both Amazon VAT and eBay VAT. If you are a business in the UK and sell on eBay or Amazon, you need to understand the following steps if you are consistently losing VAT invoices. HMRC will not tolerate missing VAT invoices in the event of a claim. So keep all VAT invoices intact.
