Marketplace Liability Under Section 25e VAT Act: What Online Sellers Must Know

1. What is marketplace liability under Section 25e VAT Act?

Section 25e of the German VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz, UStG) is a rule that holds operators of online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Kaufland responsible. If a seller sells goods through such a marketplace without correctly declaring and paying the VAT due, the marketplace operator itself can be held liable for that tax debt. The legislator's aim is to prevent sellers, especially from non-EU countries, from selling through marketplaces while simply ignoring German VAT, putting honest sellers who follow all the rules at a price disadvantage.

For you as a shop owner who also sells on a marketplace in addition to your own online shop, this means first of all: Section 25e VAT Act does not directly create a new obligation for you personally. The actual liability rule is aimed at the marketplace. So that the marketplace does not have to be liable in the first place, it asks you for proof that you are properly registered for tax purposes. In practice this proof is called a certificate under Section 22f VAT Act, colloquially often referred to as a "tax certificate" or "USt 1 TI". Without this proof, the marketplace will, as a rule, block your seller account to rule out its own liability risk.

You can think of the principle as a kind of doorman rule: the marketplace itself does not want to advance money for someone else's tax debt, and therefore asks every seller for proof of proper tax registration, essentially as an entry ticket. Whoever can show this proof keeps selling as normal. Whoever cannot show it is left standing at the door, regardless of whether something was actually done wrong or the proof simply has not been organised yet.

2. Since when does it apply?

The liability rule for marketplace operators has applied since 1 January 2019. It was introduced as part of a law aimed at preventing VAT losses in online trade. The accompanying record-keeping obligation for marketplaces under Section 22f VAT Act, that is, the duty to obtain certain data and a tax certificate from every seller, was switched on in stages: first for sellers without a registered office in the European Union, shortly afterwards for all other sellers.

What has changed since then is mainly the way the proof is transmitted. In the past, only a paper certificate from the relevant tax office was common. Meanwhile, at many tax offices and marketplaces the proof increasingly runs electronically, so the administrative burden for sellers has become lighter. Important for you in 2026: marketplaces continue to check this proof consistently, and newly registered seller accounts are often restricted after a short time if valid proof is missing.

For practical planning this means: anyone opening a new marketplace account today should factor in the proof from the very start, not only once a warning message from the marketplace lands in the inbox. Especially in the early phase of an additional sales channel, this point is easily overlooked in day-to-day business, because product data, prices and logistics usually get more attention than a form at the tax office.

3. Who is affected, does this apply to small shops too?

Yes, explicitly also to small and side-business shops. The rule does not distinguish by company size or turnover. Anyone who sells goods through a marketplace with a registered office or market connection in Germany is affected, whether as a small business under the German small-business VAT exemption (Section 19 UStG), as a regular sole proprietorship, as a limited company, or as a foreign seller. Anyone who thinks that a small side-business shop stays "under the radar" is mistaken: the marketplaces themselves must actively prove that they hold valid proof for every seller, and they now do this largely automated and without gaps.

The topic becomes especially relevant for shop owners who run their own online shop as the main channel and use Amazon or eBay only as an additional sales channel, for example to reach new customer groups. Precisely because the marketplace channel is often seen as "extra business", the tax certificate is easily forgotten while attention stays on the main shop. That is exactly what leads to an unpleasant surprise when the marketplace account is suddenly blocked.

4. What you specifically need to do

The most important step is to take care of the certificate under Section 22f VAT Act with your local tax office in good time, as soon as you plan to sell through a marketplace, or at the latest when the marketplace asks you to. In practice, an informal application or a special form that many tax offices provide is enough. Because processing at the tax office can take some time, you should not wait to submit this application until the marketplace has already announced a block deadline.

It is also important that your basic tax data, that is, your tax number, your legal form and, where applicable, your small-business status, are stored consistently across the tax office, the marketplace account and your own online shop. Inconsistencies, for example a different company name in your legal notice page than the one registered with the tax office, frequently lead to queries and delays during review. Anyone who regularly adds new products or additional marketplaces should routinely check the proof, much like an expiry date noted in a calendar.

It also makes sense to name a single responsible person or department within the company who keeps an overview of all marketplace accounts and the associated proofs. Especially when several people are involved in the shop, bookkeeping and marketplace accounts, responsibility can otherwise easily fall between the cracks, and in the end nobody feels truly responsible for renewing the proof in time.

6. Fines and risks of non-compliance

Section 25e VAT Act does not primarily provide for a direct fine against you personally, because liability formally falls on the marketplace operator. The real risk for you lies elsewhere and, in practice, often hits harder than a fine: the blocking of your seller account. Marketplaces react very consistently, because they themselves are liable if they continue to list a seller without valid proof. An account block can mean that an entire sales channel disappears from one day to the next, often with little advance warning.

Regardless of marketplace liability, your actual tax obligation naturally remains in place: anyone who does not correctly declare and pay VAT risks the usual tax consequences, and in the worst case the criminal consequences of tax evasion, which apply independently of Section 25e VAT Act and can be severe. The proof under Section 22f VAT Act is therefore not an additional fine risk, but primarily the doorman deciding whether you can keep selling on the marketplace at all.

Beyond the immediate loss of revenue, there is often a second, softer kind of damage: customer reviews and ranking position on the marketplace suffer if an account was temporarily inactive or orders could not be processed during the block. This loss of customer trust is often harder to recover from than the block period itself, which is an additional reason not to keep pushing the topic aside.

7. Common misconceptions

A widespread misconception goes: "I only sell a few items on eBay as a side thing, this doesn't affect me." In fact, the rule does not distinguish by turnover or by whether the business is a main or side occupation. Even small businesses under Section 19 VAT Act need the proof, albeit with different details than regularly taxed businesses. A second misconception is the assumption that the proof only needs to be provided once and then applies permanently. Depending on the tax office and marketplace, renewed confirmation may become necessary, for example after a certain period or when company data changes.

A third misconception concerns the order of steps: some sellers register with the marketplace first and want to "submit the tax certificate later if there are problems". Because the processing time at the tax office is not something you control yourself, this order can lead to weeks of lost revenue. It is more sensible to apply for the proof in parallel with setting up the marketplace account, so that both are roughly ready at the same time.

A fourth, less frequently mentioned misconception is the assumption that an own online shop without any marketplace connection is never affected by Section 25e VAT Act at all and the topic can be ignored completely. That only holds true as long as no marketplace is actually involved. As soon as an additional sales channel such as Amazon, eBay or a comparable marketplace is added, the proof usually becomes relevant immediately, often faster than expected.

8. What Mironsoft can take care of for you

We understand that tax topics like Sections 25e and 22f VAT Act often create more confusion than clarity for shop owners, precisely because two authorities, a marketplace and your own online shop are all in play at the same time. Mironsoft takes care of the technical and organisational side for you: together with you, we check which marketplaces and sales channels you currently use or plan to use, make sure company data is stored consistently across your online shop, your legal notice page and your marketplace accounts, and keep an eye on where deadlines or renewed proofs might be coming up.

For specific tax questions about the certificate itself, we work closely with your tax advisor or, if needed, put you in touch with a suitable contact. This way you do not have to fight your way alone through forms and the responsibilities of different authorities, but have a single point of contact who keeps the threads together and lets you know in time, before a formal detail turns into a real revenue problem.

Especially for shop owners managing several sales channels at once, this creates a reliable overview in one place, instead of scattered information across emails, marketplace inboxes and tax office letters. It does not take away your tax responsibility, but it takes away the worry of overlooking something important amid the day-to-day business.

9. Summary

Marketplace liability under Section 25e VAT Act formally targets Amazon, eBay and similar platforms, but has a very practical effect on every seller who sells through these channels. The marketplace needs a tax proof from you, usually the certificate under Section 22f VAT Act, to rule out its own liability risk. If this proof is missing, no official fines threaten you personally, but rather a block on your seller account that can paralyse an important sales channel overnight.

Small and side-business shops are explicitly affected too, regardless of turnover or legal form. Anyone who applies for the proof in good time and keeps their company data consistent can avoid this risk entirely. This article offers a general overview and does not replace individual legal or tax advice for your specific case.

10. FAQ: Marketplace Liability Under Section 25e VAT Act

This article offers a general overview of Section 25e VAT Act and does not replace individual legal or tax advice for your specific case.