Attention to misuse of VAT ID

Traders on Ebay should be careful that non-German traders misuse their own VAT ID.

The reason for this behavior are probably changes in the law, which I have described here. Asian retailers on Ebay and Amazon in particular are forced to apply for a SALES tax ID in order to continue operating on the platforms. The aim is to curb rampant VAT fraud and to oblige trading platforms.

However, many platforms, especially Ebay, are not yet able to verify whether the data you enter is correct, but check, if at all, only whether the VAT ID is correct and assigned.

Ebay will of course block the corresponding traders after a notification. And you should, so as not to be confronted with surprise at some point. Auditors who also know how to use Internet searches may come up with the idea that certain accounts on the platforms belong to the real holder of a sales tax ID and that they are trying to hide sales transactions.

Therefore, it is advisable to search regularly for your own VAT ID or to set up a Google alert.