Stock in multiple countries, multiple VAT numbers
When you activate programmes like Pan-European FBA or let Amazon store your products in foreign warehouses, you move from a “single-country” model to a multi-country one. From a VAT perspective, this means:
- you need to get a VAT number in every country where Amazon holds stock on your behalf;
- you need to file regular VAT returns (monthly/quarterly) in each country.
It’s a paradigm shift: you’re no longer just “an Italian seller who exports”, but an entity with a VAT presence in multiple states.
How Pan-EU FBA works on the VAT side
With Pan-EU, Amazon can:
- receive stock in your country of origin (e.g. Italy);
- independently redistribute it to warehouses in Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Czechia, the Netherlands, etc.;
- ship the goods from the warehouse closest to the customer.
Every time stock crosses a border:
- an intra-community supply of your own goods is generated from the country of departure;
- and an intra-community acquisition in the country of arrival, to be declared with the local VAT number.
Subsequent sales from that warehouse:
- to customers in the same country → local domestic sales;
- to customers in other EU countries → cross-border sales that can fall under OSS (if B2C).
Concrete obligations in every warehouse country
Once you have stock in an Amazon warehouse in country X, in theory you need to:
- identify yourself for VAT purposes in X (obtain a local VAT number);
- file periodic VAT returns in X;
- fill in any Intrastat summary lists (according to local rules).
This applies from the very first unit of stock transferred, not from a certain revenue threshold.
Common mistakes
Typical mistakes made by sellers activating foreign warehouses:
- activating Pan-EU without first applying for the necessary local VAT numbers;
- not declaring intra-EU stock transfers at all;
- treating all sales as if they were “OSS-only” and forgetting the local VAT part;
- not distinguishing, in the VAT Transaction Report, sales from the Italian warehouse vs. sales from the German, French, etc. warehouse.
These mistakes can lead to assessments in the warehouse countries, even years later.
Reading warehouse movements in the VAT Transaction Report
In the VAT Transaction Report you’ll find:
FC_TRANSFERtransactions (stock transfers between warehouses);FC_IMPORT(stock entering a warehouse);- actual sales (
SALE,SHIPMENT).
For a complete view:
- link
FC_TRANSFERs to the departure and arrival warehouses; - calculate the volumes of stock moved by country;
- link these movements to local VAT returns (intra-community acquisitions/supplies).
VATManager helps you:
- quickly identify which countries have warehouses;
- quantify the volumes moved;
- separate local domestic sales, OSS sales and stock movements.
OSS doesn’t replace local VAT numbers
The OSS scheme, in many cases, saves you from opening foreign VAT numbers just because you sell to consumers in other EU countries. But it doesn’t remove the registration obligation when:
- you physically store goods in that country (including Amazon warehouses);
- you carry out domestic operations that are locally relevant.
In short:
- OSS covers cross-border B2C sales;
- foreign warehouses still create a local VAT presence with their own obligations.
How VATManager integrates logistics and VAT
VATManager doesn’t just read sales: it also interprets stock movements. Starting from the VAT Transaction Report:
- it classifies rows into sales, refunds, warehouse transfers;
- it calculates VAT exposure by country on both the sales and stock sides;
- it highlights which countries are worth checking for a local VAT number;
- it prepares reports you can use with your tax advisor to correctly set up your “FBA countries package”.
This way, the choice to use Amazon’s European warehouses becomes informed from a tax perspective too, not just a logistics one.
📎 Learn more: Amazon Pan-European FBA: VAT obligations — a complete guide — FBA vs FBM: VAT differences for Italian sellers — Foreign VAT number: how to get one and when you need it