Amazon News Roundup: June Recap
It’s essential for Amazon sellers to keep up with the latest news in the industry. With Amazon News Roundup, it’s easy to stay updated with everything that matters to your business. Let’s recap the top headlines in June.
Start selling in Brazil with hassle-free unified accounts
If you are a US-based professional seller, you can now increase your sales by opening a store on Amazon Brazil.
Amazon Brazil is a fast-growing store that represents a significant business opportunity with 31.4 million users and +100% year-on-year growth of overall traffic on Amazon.com.br*.
You can quickly and easily expand to Amazon Brazil through a unified account, as you can in Amazon Mexico and Canada stores. There’s no registration process required, and Amazon won’t charge additional monthly subscription fees for unified accounts in Brazil.
*Source: Amazon internal traffic analysis
To start your journey, go to, submit your merchant token.
Tax collection on orders shipped to Florida and Kansas – Effective July 1, 2021
From July 1, 2021, Amazon will begin calculating, collecting, and remitting sales and use tax on all orders shipped to customers in Florida and Kansas based on changes to tax laws in these states.
Sellers are not required to update tax settings or seller accounts as the existing tax calculation settings, order details, and payments reporting will update automatically to reflect Amazon’s responsibility.
Amazon also suggests sellers can consider working with a tax advisor or the state tax authority directly to determine if their business has any other ongoing tax remittance or reporting obligations in these jurisdictions.
For more information, visit Amazon’s Marketplace Tax Collection FAQ.
Seller benefits when listing products in more granular product types
Amazon launched new product types that enable sellers to describe their products more accurately while creating a listing in the Amazon store. For example, ‘Measuring Cup’ is a more granular product type than the “Kitchen” product type. Check if there is a new, more granular product type that more closely matches the product when creating listings to provide more relevant attributes. Providing data for relevant attributes in more specific Product Types helps customers make more informed buying decisions because key product information (1) is listed at the top of the product detail page; (2) displays in search results to help customers easily compare products at a glance; and (3) improves product search results.
IP Accelerator can now help sellers secure a trademark in Mexico
Amazon has now launched the Intellectual Property Accelerator (IP Accelerator) in Mexico, making it easier and more cost-effective for sellers to obtain trademarks, protect their brands and tackle infringing goods both in Amazon’s stores and the broader marketplace.
IP Accelerator directly connects you with a curated network of Mexico-based law firms who charge reduced, pre-negotiated rates, giving sellers access to expert legal and general IP advice that may otherwise be cost-prohibitive or hard to find.
If you use IP Accelerator, you’ll receive early access to Amazon’s brand protection tools, such as Brand Registry, even before your trademark is officially registered.
Read more about IP Accelerator here.
Recover value from expiration-dated items
Sellers can now liquidate expiration-dated inventory that’s in fulfillable condition.
To liquidate your inventory, select Liquidations when you create a removal order from any inventory planning page.
With FBA Liquidations, Amazon sends your inventory to wholesale liquidators, allowing you to recover typically 5% to 10% of an item’s average selling price. The program offers an alternative to having your inventory disposed of or returned to you. Enrollment isn’t required.
For more information, go to FBA Liquidations.
Amazon launches Black Business Accelerator to empower Black entrepreneurs
Amazon, in partnership with our Black Employee Network and a coalition of non-profit partners, has launched the Black Business Accelerator (BBA) grant program. This program will help to build sustainable equity and growth for Black-owned businesses by explicitly targeting barriers to access, opportunity, and advancement created by systemic racism across America. Backed by a $150 million commitment, this initiative aims to drive economic equity for Black entrepreneurs by providing them with resources to thrive as entrepreneurs and business leaders. Amazon’s BBA program will provide access to financial support, strategic business guidance, and mentorship, and marketing and promotional support to help both current and aspiring Black small business owners grow their businesses and maximize the opportunities of selling in Amazon.
Policy updates and reminders for US seller-fulfilled returns: Effective August 16, 2021
Starting August 16, 2021, as part of Selling on Amazon policy, Amazon will automatically authorize US return requests that fall within Amazon’s return policy, including items where sellers filed requests to exempt SKUs from the Prepaid Return Label program. For returns of seller-filed SKUs that are exempt from the Prepaid Return Label program, sellers will continue to have the option to upload a merchant-paid label. Return requests that are out-of-policy or category-exempt will continue to be sent for manual authorization.
For international seller-fulfilled returns, sellers are required to provide one of the following return options:
- Returnless refund: Offer a full refund without requesting that the item be returned.
- Provide a domestic return option: Provide a local return address in the buyer’s country.
- Provide prepaid international return shipping: Provide your own prepaid return mailing label for a return request from the marketplace in which you are selling.
Also starting on August 16, 2021, for international seller-fulfilled returns that do not follow the above policy, Amazon may refund the buyer on your behalf and charge the amount to your seller account.
To learn more, go to Automatic authorization seller-fulfilled return requests
Tracking now available on Shopify for Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders fulfilled by Amazon Logistics
Sellers who use Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) for their Shopify website orders delivered by Amazon Logistics are now trackable on Shopify.
Customers will receive a track.amazon.com link on their Shopify order confirmation page that allows them to see up-to-date tracking information.
Amazon Logistics tracking information is also available on Swiship.
To learn more about MCF, go to Multi-Channel Fulfillment.
Canada Goods and Services Tax / Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) and Saskatchewan Provincial Sales Tax (PST) Collection on Remote Services to begin July 1, 2021 for Canadian Residents
Where mandated by the Canadian and Saskatchewan tax authorities, effective July 1, 2021, Amazon will begin collecting Canadian GST / HST and Saskatchewan PST at the applicable rates on certain remote services when provided to Canadian residents. In this context, remote services provided by Amazon may include Selling on Amazon fees (listing/referral services), Advertising fees, and Subscription fees.
Note that such fees may already be subject to the Quebec Sales Tax and/or British Columbia PST, which were introduced previously. To ensure fees are taxed correctly, please confirm your address and tax details (GST/HST ID) are up-to-date in your Seller Central account.
VAT Services on Amazon: Start filing in five countries and get two for FREE
VAT Services on Amazon is running yet another promotion! If you start VAT filing in five European countries, Amazon will offer you the sixth and the seventh countries’ filings for free.
If you’re based in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, or the Czech Republic, you can still enjoy this promotion by filing in five countries other than the one where your business is established and getting the sixth country’s filing free of charge.
If your business is based outside of the seven European countries and you have already signed up for VAT Services on Amazon in five countries, Amazon offers you the sixth and the seventh countries’ filings at no cost. To take advantage of this opportunity, visit your VAT Services on Amazon registration dashboard and add countries to your subscription.
[Special Promotion]: When you join VAT Services on Amazon, Amazon will cover the cost of the first six months of filing and fiscal representation in all countries you’re subscribed in. You can also obtain a UK and/or an EU EORI number free of charge.* After the first six months, you’ll be charged a monthly fee for VAT Services on Amazon (as low as €33.30/month for one country, without fiscal representation).
*Free EORI service is provided by your tax service provider. Your tax service provider will also determine the appropriate country in the EU to apply for an EU EORI number.
To take advantage of this offer, sign in to your Seller Central Europe account and visit VAT Services on Amazon.
French tax compliance with VAT Services on Amazon
The French Anti-Fraud Act requires all Amazon Sellers who sell or store inventory in France to be compliant with French tax requirements. Noncompliance can lead to a suspension of your Amazon.fr account. VAT Services on Amazon can help you remain compliant with French tax obligations and allow you to focus on continuing to grow your business in France.
Start now to simplify your compliance with Amazon.
Please sign in to your European Seller Central account.
Learn more about the French Anti-Fraud Act here.
Remove HTML tags from your listings
After July 30, 2021, Amazon will stop supporting the use of HTML tags in the product description on product detail pages. Refrain from using HTML content on detail pages, as outlined on the product detail page rules.
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