Amazon, the globally popular online marketplace, is further expanding its business and has recently announced that it will be opening a new marketplace in the Netherlands. The 6th official Amazon marketplace in Europe is called Amazon.nl and sellers have been receiving guidance from the company on how to set up their product listings for this new place. General changes are coming to E-commerce and adjustments to VAT registration will soon follow, too.
Getting your products listed onto Amazon.nl
For sellers, setting up product listing is quite easy and can be done within Amazon’s Seller Central. It’s very similar to the process of setting up for the rest of the European market product listings, so companies don’t have to struggle.
On their Seller Central account, sellers can begin building their international listings by clicking the “Sell Globally” option under the “Inventory” tab. It’s important to be fully prepared: translate the product descriptions and use appropriate headings to rank in searches.
Fulfilling orders in the Netherlands
Currently, there are no fulfilment centres in the country but there might be logistic centres and warehouses in the future. Amazon hasn’t made any announcements about such plans yet. That’s why for now, products are dispatched from Germany’s Amazon’s warehouses.
This means that VAT registration for goods sent to the Netherlands must be done in Germany where they are stored. Sellers will be required to have a German VAT number for this but there are exceptions. For example, companies that are located in this country and other businesses in EU countries that exceed the Dutch delivery threshold limit have to apply for a Dutch VAT number.
Sales made in Holland on Amazon.nl and sent from Mönchengladbach-Rheindahlen to Dutch customers also count to this threshold. So, a Dutch VAT number has to be requested quite early on if the import threshold exceeds the distance selling delivery threshold (100,000 €) withing the calendar year. Companies still need to monitor their cross-border sales and apply the correct VAT rate (21 %) to the customers when a product is purchased. Later, this has to be reflected in the forms during VAT registration.
The Dutch Market
Although technically, Amazon.nl has been around since 2014, the Dutch customers were only able to buy e-books. If they wanted to shop for items, they did this through the German Amazon website. With the opening of an official Dutch Amazon marketplace, more and more physical products will become available to these customers. However, not all product categories will be listed right from the start – this will be done step by step throughout the year.
With the opening of a new, well-known E-commerce website, the main Dutch marketplaces Bol.com and Wehkamp.nl are gaining a serious competitor than can significantly shift Dutch consumer habits. Out of 17 million people, more than 96 % are internet users, and about 84 % shop online. Just in 2018, approximately 23.7 billion € were spent on E-commerce. It’s definitely a worthy market to invest in.
The opening of the new Dutch Amazon marketplace is great news for customers and sellers alike. But still, it’s important for businesses to closely follow the country’s VAT compliance rules and apply for VAT registration when it becomes necessary. Contact us if you need more information concerning VAT in the Netherlands.
