Does reverse charge apply under Italy's flat-rate (forfettario) regime?

Yes, partially. Flat-rate taxpayers must also self-assess foreign service invoices with reverse charge and pay the VAT, but without being able to deduct the input credit. It's one of the hidden costs of the flat-rate regime for anyone using a lot of international services.

Do Amazon fees require reverse charge every month?

Yes. Amazon Services Europe issues monthly invoices from Luxembourg without Italian VAT. Every month you need to self-assess referral fees, FBA fees and advertising with 22% reverse charge, recording them as both input and output VAT (net zero balance, but mandatory recording).

VAT reverse charge: when it applies in European e-commerce | Blog

A practical guide to the VAT reverse charge mechanism for B2B transactions between European sellers, intra-community purchases and digital services.

Reverse charge is one of those tax mechanisms every e-commerce seller runs into daily — starting with the very first Amazon fee invoice — but one that’s rarely handled correctly. This guide explains how it works, when it applies and how to avoid getting it wrong.

What reverse charge is and why it exists

Reverse charge is a VAT mechanism in which the obligation to remit the tax shifts from the supplier to the customer. In practice: instead of paying VAT to the supplier, the buyer calculates it themselves and declares it in their own accounts.

This mechanism was created to combat VAT fraud in intra-community transactions (so-called carousel fraud), where some operators collected VAT from customers without ever remitting it to the state. With reverse charge, the VAT flow stays within the chain of taxable persons, making fraud much harder.

The most common cases for an Amazon seller

1. Amazon fees (referral fee, FBA fee, advertising) Amazon Services Europe S.à r.l. is based in Luxembourg and issues invoices without Italian VAT. Every month, the Italian seller receives invoices for referral fee, FBA fee and advertising marked “reverse charge”. The Italian seller must:

Self-assess the invoice with 22% Italian VAT
Record it in the purchase ledger as input VAT
Record the self-invoice in the sales ledger as output VAT
The balance is zero, but both entries are mandatory

2. Purchases from EU suppliers (intra-community B2B purchases) If you buy goods from a German supplier with a European VAT number, the invoice arrives without VAT (or marked “Steuerfreie innergemeinschaftliche Lieferung”). You self-assess the Italian VAT and handle it the same way as above.

3. Purchases of digital services from non-EU suppliers Subscriptions to AWS, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Shopify, international SaaS tools — they all arrive without Italian VAT and require reverse charge on the seller’s part.

4. B2B sales to other EU countries If you sell to another company with a European VAT number, your invoice must not show Italian VAT. Issue the invoice with the relevant legal wording and the customer will apply reverse charge in their own country.

The accounting procedure step by step

Here’s how to correctly record a reverse-charge invoice (e.g. €5,000 of Amazon fees):

You receive the invoice from Amazon Services Europe: €5,000 + RC note
You calculate the Italian VAT: 22% × €5,000 = €1,100
Purchase ledger: foreign supplier invoice with €1,100 input VAT
Sales ledger: self-invoice with €1,100 output VAT
In the periodic VAT settlement: +€1,100 owed – €1,100 credit = zero balance
The transaction appears in the LIPE form and in the annual VAT return

Reverse charge and FBA stock transfers

One of the trickiest cases for FBA sellers is transferring stock between Amazon warehouses in different countries. These stock transfers are treated as deemed intra-community supplies and require:

Issuing a self-invoice or equivalent document for each transfer
Recording in the VAT purchase and sales ledgers
Inclusion in the INTRASTAT form if the value exceeds the thresholds
Handling separately from B2C sales declarable under OSS

Many FBA sellers completely ignore these obligations, believing Amazon handles everything. Stock transfers remain the seller’s tax responsibility.

Intrastat: the link with reverse charge

The INTRASTAT form is the link between reverse charge and declaring intra-community transactions. For B2B transactions:

INTRA 1 (supplies): intra-community B2B sales issued under reverse charge
INTRA 2 (acquisitions): intra-community B2B purchases received under reverse charge

Frequency is monthly if the value exceeds €50,000 per quarter, otherwise quarterly.

Common mistakes with reverse charge

Forgetting Amazon fees: they’re monthly reverse charge, every month
Not recording stock transfers: they’re deemed intra-community transactions
Applying Italian VAT on EU B2B sales: sales to foreign VAT numbers must be issued without VAT
Not checking VIES before issuing a VAT-free invoice to a foreign customer

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to apply reverse charge for Shopify or Google Ads too? Yes. Any service purchased from an EU or non-EU foreign supplier is subject to reverse charge if you’re on the standard VAT regime. This includes Shopify (Ireland), Google Ads (Ireland), Meta Ads (Ireland), Canva, etc.

Does reverse charge apply under the flat-rate regime? Yes, partially. Flat-rate taxpayers must also self-assess foreign service invoices with reverse charge and pay the VAT, but without being able to deduct the credit. It’s one of the hidden costs of the flat-rate regime for anyone using a lot of international services.

How do I tell reverse charge apart from a VAT exemption? They’re two different things. A VAT exemption means the transaction isn’t subject to VAT. Reverse charge means VAT does apply, but it’s paid by the buyer instead of the seller.

📎 Learn more: VAT on cross-border B2B sales — Common mistakes in Amazon sellers’ VAT management