ARTICLE · 27 FEBRUARY 2019

Selling Online To Germany? You Need To Read This

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New VAT obligations apply not just to big players like Amazon and eBay, but also the businesses and individuals that sell via the platforms.

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New VAT obligations apply not just to big players like Amazon and eBay, but also the businesses and individuals that sell via the platforms.

The German Annual Tax Act 2018 became effective on 1 January 2019 and it contained significant additional VAT obligations for the operators of online marketplaces, as well as the businesses and individuals that sell on them.

The move follows similar legislation in the UK which came into force in March 2018, whilst Austria and Italy have recently announced plans to be introduced in 2020, and the EU is planning to replicate them in 2021.

An internet marketplace is defined as "a website or any other instrument by means of which information is made available on the Internet that enables a third party to carry out transactions".

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