8 March 2019
The German tax authorities have announced that they will delay the requirement for non-EU sellers using online marketplaces to register and obtain a new “F22” tax certificate until 15 April 2019.
This new certificate will confirm that the online seller is up-to-date with their German VAT compliance. This certificate will need to be collected by all online marketplaces (such as eBay, Amazon etc.) which the seller uses to sell their goods or services in the country. Failure to obtain and produce these certificates by the marketplaces will automatically make them liable for any unpaid German VAT of the seller.
Originally, this new requirement was to be introduced for non-EU sellers from 1 March 2019 and for EU sellers from 1 October 2019. However due to the large number of applications that the German tax authorities have received, an extension to the 15 April 2019 has been given for non-EU sellers.