What is Pan-European? Pan-European Review, Features

Pan-European is a cross-country shipping plan launched by Amazon in 2016 for FBA in five European countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Czech Republic). Sellers participating in the Pan-European plan can place their products in the FBA warehouse of any of the five European countries and publish product listings that meet the requirements in the five sites. When an order is placed, Amazon will arrange for pickup, packaging, delivery and customer service. If this service is used, sellers need to pay the corresponding product storage fees, platform service fees and delivery fees.

Conditions for participation in Pan-European

1. The product itself meets the Pan-European standard (the backend shows that it meets the conditions);

2. All five sites have active offers (you can synchronize them first and then create a pan-European offer);

3. Have FBA inventory in at least one country;

4. The ASIN information on the five sites is consistent, including SKU, UPC, labeling or no labeling.

cost

Remote sales threshold

UK: £70,000; Germany: €100,000; France: €35,000; Italy: €35,000; Spain: €35,000; Poland: PLN160,000; Czech Republic: CZK1.14 million.

Advantages

1. Save cross-border fees. After using the Pan-European plan, no matter where the product is shipped from, the seller only needs to pay the local Amazon logistics fees incurred in the market where the product is sold, and does not need to bear the cross-border fees of the European Logistics Network (EFN).

2. When using the Pan-European plan, products can be placed in the FBA warehouse of one country and shipped in a centralized manner, reducing the hassle of shipping to multiple countries.

3. Since the requirements for VAT numbers vary from country to country in Europe, if the product happens to be placed in only one country, then the VAT number problem can be reduced. However, there is no guarantee that Amazon will place the product in only one warehouse, which is how the VAT risk that everyone often talks about arises.

limitation

1. Not only do you need to understand the languages ​​of the five European countries, but you also need to open FBA warehouses in five countries.

2. Since the goods are only sent to one FBA site, you only need to do customs clearance in one country. However, your tax refund will be less because your goods are not sold in only one country.

3. Product selection is a big problem. Consumers on each site have different consumption habits, and products suitable for the UK may not be suitable for the other four countries.

4. If the seller only has UK VAT and ships to other sites, there is no need to charge VAT fees for other sites if the remote sales amount does not exceed the limit. However, if the remote sales amount exceeds the limit, it is necessary to register VAT for several other countries.

5. Participating in the Pan-European plan means agreeing to Amazon placing your inventory in any of the five European countries. Amazon may deliver your goods to warehouses in other sites. As long as the goods are shipped from the local warehouse, you need to apply for a local tax number, regardless of the sales volume. Therefore, using Pan-European will inevitably require registering for VAT in all countries, especially Germany.

risk

At the end of 2017, the German tax authorities began to strictly investigate VAT issues. If you use a local warehouse in Germany, you must have VAT and you need to keep normal accounts and declare taxes. If you do not have VAT, your account will face the following risks:

1. The seller’s account is suspended.

2. FBA inventory is quarantined and cannot be removed.

3. Even sellers who have activated the Pan-European Plan can no longer ship to Germany.

4. Your account funds are frozen until the German tax authorities confirm that you meet German VAT requirements.

How to face the VAT cleanup

1. For closed accounts, calculate whether it is necessary to register VAT. If it is not cost-effective, just change the information and open a new store. Please note that even if a tax number is registered, a closed account may not be able to be saved.

2. Participants in Pan-Euro will be required to handle VAT in five countries. If you do not want to handle VAT in five countries, please close Pan-Euro.

3. You can directly apply for a UK tax number and sell the products in other countries as long as the transportation does not exceed long distances.

4. Remember, if you use a local warehouse in any European country, you must have the VAT of the local country.