- Food and drink sellers on Amazon are facing bankruptcy due to frozen funds until they prove their VAT status.
- Sellers have provided documentation proving they are UK-based, but are stuck in a “Kafkaesque” nightmare.
- Amazon claims to have verified the majority of sellers and is working to improve the process.
- One seller had £25,000 frozen in their Amazon account and is receiving daily automated emails asking for the same documents.
- Another seller is unable to withdraw from their Amazon account and is facing bankruptcy.
- A specialist ingredient brand is still awaiting payments despite sending requested documentation multiple times.
- Amazon’s support teams have disabled telephone contact options and abandoned chat messaging conversations.
- Legislation requires online marketplaces to collect and remit VAT on transactions involving overseas sellers.
- Amazon and HMRC are increasing due diligence on sellers to combat tax fraud.
- Amazon apologizes for the issues with verification and encourages the government to continue tackling tax fraud.
Source: thegrocer.co.uk
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
