How to read a per-country VAT report: a guide to the key columns

Reading a per-country VAT report isn’t just about looking at the totals. It means understanding which columns matter, how to aggregate them correctly, and where the mistakes hide that later surface during the OSS return or a tax audit.

The key columns of the Amazon VAT Transaction Report

Amazon’s VAT Transaction Report is the starting point for any per-country VAT analysis. Here are the most important columns and what they mean:

From raw CSV to a readable report: the process

Starting from the raw VAT Transaction Report, the path to a readable per-country VAT report is:

1. Filter for the relevant TRANSACTION_TYPEs: keep SALE and REFUND, exclude FC_TRANSFER (these are stock movements, not sales);
2. Separate the deemed reseller rows: rows with TAX_COLLECTION_MODEL = MARKETPLACE don’t go into your OSS return — Amazon has already remitted that VAT;
3. Separate B2B sales: rows with a populated BUYER_VAT_NUMBER go into the B2B section, not OSS;
4. Aggregate by BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY and rate: sum TAXABLE_AMOUNT and TAX_AMOUNT for each combination;
5. Handle currency: convert foreign-currency transactions to EUR using the ECB rate for the period.

The result is the table your accountant expects to receive:

Distinguishing domestic sales, OSS and other regimes

In a per-country VAT report it’s essential to separate the flows from the outset:

• Domestic sales (SELLER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY = BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY): go into the domestic VAT return, not OSS;
• Intra-EU cross-border B2C sales (OSS): BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY differs from your country of establishment and there’s no BUYER_VAT_NUMBER;
• Intra-community B2B sales: BUYER_VAT_NUMBER populated — these go into Intrastat and reverse charge, not OSS;
• Non-EU or UK sales: outside the OSS scope, handled separately (UK VAT, export, etc.);
• FC_TRANSFER: zero VAT on sales, but monitor whether you’re crossing local registration thresholds.

If you want to understand how the OSS scheme works in detail: VAT OSS: what it is and how it works for Amazon sellers.

5 common mistakes when reading the per-country VAT report

1. Including FC_TRANSFERs in sales totals Stock transfers between Amazon warehouses (e.g. Italy → Poland) are not sales. Including them artificially inflates the taxable amount and the VAT declared.

2. Forgetting REFUNDs as negative values Refunds have a negative TAXABLE_AMOUNT. If you don’t include them in the aggregation, you overstate the VAT due. In quarters with many returns, the difference can be significant.

3. Not separating deemed-reseller sales If Amazon handles VAT collection for some transactions (TAX_COLLECTION_MODEL = MARKETPLACE), that VAT has already been remitted by Amazon. Including it in your OSS return creates a double declaration.

4. Confusing the transaction currency with EUR Sales on Amazon.co.uk are in GBP. If you treat them as EUR without conversion, the taxable amount is wrong. Use the average ECB rate for the period or the period-end rate, consistently with your accountant.

5. Aggregating by seller country instead of buyer country Under the OSS scheme, VAT is owed to the customer’s country, not the warehouse’s country. If you aggregate by SELLER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY instead of BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY, the report is completely wrong.

How VATManager generates the per-country report

VATManager automates all the steps above:

• imports the VAT Transaction Report and automatically filters for the relevant TRANSACTION_TYPE;
• separates deemed reseller, B2B and B2C OSS into distinct columns;
• aggregates by BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY and rate;
• converts currencies to EUR using the ECB rate for the period;
• generates the final report in the format required for the quarterly OSS return.

The output is a table ready to hand to your accountant, with the ability to drill down to individual transactions for any check.

📎 Learn more: Amazon VAT Transaction Report: how to read it without mistakes — Quarterly OSS export — an operational checklist — Anomaly detection on VAT reports

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between SALE and FC_TRANSFER in the Amazon VAT Transaction Report? SALE is a sale to the end customer and generates VAT due. FC_TRANSFER is a stock transfer between Amazon warehouses and doesn’t generate VAT on sales, but it can create local registration obligations if volume exceeds that country’s thresholds.

How do I separate OSS sales from domestic sales in the per-country VAT report? OSS sales are B2C sales to EU countries other than your country of establishment. Domestic sales have SELLER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY = BUYER_ADDRESS_COUNTRY. VATManager automatically distinguishes the two flows.

What does it mean if the calculated VAT is 0 on a positive taxable amount? It can indicate a VAT-exempt product (check the category), a marketplace configuration error, or a B2B sale with reverse charge correctly applied. It should always be verified before filing the OSS return.