Here’s a wild stat to start: Every year in Europe, Amazon ships more than two billion drinks. Next time you crack open a soda from that box, think about just how many are flying around.
It’s not just about drinks—it’s a maze of rules. Taxes, refunds, paperwork. It's a headache for anyone selling this stuff.
And now, if you sell on Amazon, grab a marker. September 15, 2025 is the date you want to circle. On that day, Amazon Germany flips the switch. They’re updating how they figure out and report VAT on bottle deposits with their VAT Calculation Service (VCS). This was going to happen sooner, but Amazon pushed it back a year. You just won an extra twelve months to get your act together—no excuses.
Don’t snooze, though. The rules around VAT for bottle deposits are about to change a lot. If you ignore this, you could get slammed with audits, miss out on money, or get hit by fines so big they’ll crush your quarter.
Feeling stressed? Join the club. Tons of sellers are scrambling. But there are smarter ways to handle all this. Not sure where to start? AMC Cloud links to your Amazon data and more. It’ll help you keep books tight and ready for any surprise audit.
TL;DR:
Quick rewind. Across Europe (and Germany is first in line), more countries have these deposit-refund systems for drinks. You pay an extra €0.25 for your cola, you get it back if you return the bottle at the store. It’s a move to cut waste. Simple idea, right?
But add in VAT and it gets messy. Usually, you don’t pay VAT on deposits—unless bottles stay missing. If someone trashes a bottle instead of bringing it back, the deposit turns into business income and becomes taxable. Newer German and EU laws make places like Amazon actually keep up with all this. Who paid how much? Who brought bottles back? And who didn’t?
The dream is for Amazon to handle the VAT mess for you, and soon it kinda will. But as German VAT consultant Maria Bruckner says, “Sellers need to know their own risks. You can’t just hope Amazon’s got you.”
Thinking this is only a Germany problem? Nope. France is looking at similar eco laws. The Scandinavians and some Baltic countries want stricter rules too. Germany is just the guinea pig for now. But all of Europe is creeping this way. Don’t be shocked when other markets copy and paste this update.
Here’s what’s really new: Right now, Amazon’s VAT Calculation Report (VCR) lets you see what you sold, VAT, and tax-included prices. From September 2025, that column ‘OUR_PRICE Tax Inclusive Selling Price’ will list both your drink’s price and the bottle deposit you charged. Meaning, when the rules require it, the deposit is now counted in your tax base for VAT.
This change hits everyone—no matter if you use Seller Central or connect via the SP-API. Both will see the deposit amount plain as day. No more guessing or fixing stuff after the fact.
Let’s say you sell 10,000 sodas each month, each with a €0.25 deposit. That’s €2,500 in deposits to add to your “tax base”. By year’s end, that’s €30,000. Leave that out of your VAT and, well, you’re asking for trouble.
Simple: Anyone selling drinks that fall under Germany’s bottle deposit rules. Soda, energy drinks, juices—really, any sealed drink in a returnable bottle. Even if you’re not in Germany, if you sell on Amazon Germany, these rules still catch you.
Here’s the tricky part: Your accounting system must split up product prices, deposits, and which deposits turn into VAT if bottles aren’t returned. If your team lumps everything together? You’re on the fast track to a tax mess.
Why’s Amazon doing this? Because the rules in Europe are getting tighter. Manual reporting is full of mistakes and little loopholes. The extra year helps Amazon fix its own stuff and gives sellers time to get ready.
Time for some history. These bottle deposit laws in Germany go back over 20 years—since 2003. For ages, sellers listed deposits as “neutral” (no VAT) and only did the tax math later if bottles weren’t returned. Not perfect, but it kind of worked.
But then some sellers skipped reporting those lost deposits as taxable. Sometimes by mistake, sometimes on purpose. As recycling went up, tax folks started looking closer. Missing deposits, wrong VAT, sloppy books—rules got tougher.
So, regulators and Amazon both started pushing harder. Now Amazon is making a system so sellers don’t have to juggle wild spreadsheets or fear missing thousands in VAT. But if you skip the new steps, the audit spotlight’s on you—not Amazon.
To make things even more fun, Amazon is shutting down its VAT Services program at the end of 2024. That’s right—no more Amazon tax handholding. You’ll need your own tax expert, team, or a good app. With all these new deposit rules, you’ve got to have your setup working smoothly. You lose Amazon’s help and you get stricter record needs. Double trouble.
FYI: If you ignore these deposit rules, you’re risking more than a bad day. Fines, audits, getting booted off Amazon—all possible. This is business boot camp, and the final’s coming up.
Quick breakdown:
This update is about making things traceable, in real time. No hiding, no forgetting. Your finance folks and tax inspectors will thank you.
“Amazon’s playing it smart by automating bottle deposit VAT rules. That’s the only way to keep up with rules that keep changing,” says Ludwig Neumann, founder of an EU e-comm tax software startup.
Still reporting by hand? Start testing with the new fields now. Ask your ERP squad or API engineer to jump in early.
Yeah, September 2025 feels like ages away. But if you handle a ton of SKUs, lots of countries, and tech stuff, fixing your VAT flow is a marathon. Not a sprint. The folks who get on it now will be chill—while everyone else panics at the last minute.
Amazon will host live demos and send out guides. The sellers who start poking around now will be in the best shape. Trust us—no one wants to do an all-nighter fixing tax stuff.
Q1: Does this rule hit all EU countries?
A: No—at least for now, it’s only for Germany’s Amazon site. But other EU countries may follow, so stay alert.
Q2: What if I ignore these changes?
A: You’ll underpay your taxes and could face fines, back pay, or even lose your seller account. Not worth risking.
Q3: How does the API help with this?
A: The API adds new fields so the deposit shows in ‘OUR_PRICE Tax Inclusive Selling Price’. Sync your reports or your back-end will break.
Q4: When does Amazon stop its VAT Services?
A: Late 2024. After that, you’re on your own or with a new provider.
Q5: What if my packaging doesn’t need deposits?
A: Then no worries. Only products legally required to charge deposits are included. Double-check your list of SKUs just to be safe.
Q6: I sell through Seller Central and Vendor Central. Does this still matter?
A: Yup. The rule covers both platforms and their APIs anywhere the deposit law applies.
Bottom line: You’ve got more time—but not a pass to ignore this. If selling drinks is your jam, get serious about VAT and deposits now. Sellers who sort their systems early will have less stress—and more sales—when the new rules hit.
Want to save time or see how reporting automation works? Our Features page shows how to crush VAT and deposit tracking, built just for global Amazon sellers.
Curious how these Amazon changes really work? Check the Amazon Selling Partner API docs, and peek at our guides for Amazon seller compliance.