Detailed guide for Amazon sellers on how to apply for VAT tax number and Visa card

In the cross-border e-commerce environment, Amazon sellers face many requirements, including applying for a value-added tax (VAT) tax number and Visa card. These two requirements are critical to sellers’ operations, and the following is a summary of the relevant details.

Do Amazon sellers need to apply for a VAT tax number?

According to relevant EU laws, all merchants selling goods in the EU, whether using local third-party logistics warehousing services, are required to pay value-added tax in accordance with the law. This means that sellers engaged in cross-border e-commerce in the EU are operating illegally if they do not have a VAT tax number. If the seller chooses not to apply for a VAT tax number temporarily, the risk is extremely high. There are significant legal risks in using the VAT number of the freight forwarding company for customs clearance and tax deduction. Once detected by the customs, the seller may face a one-time payment of 20% of sales tax.

In addition, even if the tax bureau and customs do not suspect the seller in the early stage, if the tax bureau puts pressure on Amazon, Amazon may take measures, such as removing goods or closing the store. It is worth noting that the freight forwarding VAT tax number used may be used by multiple sellers at the same time, which increases the risk. The seller is very likely to face the hidden danger of account association. Therefore, in order to reduce risks, sellers should formalize their VAT registration as soon as possible.

Amazon Seller Visa Card Requirements

When registering an Amazon account, sellers need to submit a dual-currency Visa credit card that can be overdrafted. This card is mainly used for account activation. Visa card application usually takes one month, and sellers can choose to go to major banks to apply. The following are the specific requirements for Visa cards:

1. The Visa card number and credit card number must be exactly the same.
2. The billing address on the Visa card must be consistent with the billing address on the credit card statement.
3. The zip code needs to be the zip code of the credit card statement address without spaces.
4. Make sure the Visa card has not expired.
5. The Visa card must have sufficient available credit and there is no limit on deductions on the Amazon platform.
6. If you have updated your Visa card information but an error occurs, you may have to wait patiently for bank authorization, which may take up to 48 hours.

In addition, the company name and registered address provided by the seller during registration must be consistent with the information on the business license, and it is recommended to use pinyin. On the Amazon platform, the main function of the Visa card is to verify the normality of the account. Sellers need to pay attention to the available limit of the credit card to avoid affecting sales due to account problems.

Based on the above information, sellers who are preparing to sell products on the Amazon platform must ensure the compliance of their VAT tax number and Visa card in order to conduct business legally and smoothly.