
World MSME Day 2021: The Most Important One Yet
The 27th of July marks the annual World MSME Day. This day is devoted to championing Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and raising awareness of the value they provide and the struggles they face. Globally, MSMEs are responsible for about 70% of employment and 50% of GDP. Bearing this in mind, there has perhaps never been a time when recognising the significance of MSMEs has been more important…

The Amazon Launchpad Startup Of The Year
Amazon announced they were launching the competition earlier this year in order to support and champion emerging and innovative European startups. They received over 1,800 applicants from 26 different European countries who were all vying to be named as the best and most innovative startup of 2021. Amazon’s judges, who were assessing the applicants’ products on their aesthetics, social and ecological sustainability and uniqueness, have whittled the applicants down to 5 finalists. All of these finalists will receive $10,000 in prize money but only the winner, who will decided by the public vote, will receive the first placed prize of $100,000. So let’s take a look at the five finalists. Read to the end to find out how you can vote and be in with a chance of winning a £50 Amazon voucher.

Extension To Lockdown Hard To Swallow For Hospitality
One of the main factors that has caused anger for the hospitality industry is the fact that the extension hasn’t been accompanied by any further support from the UK Government. Industry leaders have pleaded for additional support, but it looks as though the UK government believe that the support they already in place is sufficient. In fairness, all the current support will stay in place. This means that the sector will continue to benefit from the reduced VAT rate of 5%. This initiative was extremely well received when it was first announced. On top of this the Recovery Loan Scheme and the furlough scheme are still available for business owners to use.

The ‘Seismic’ G7 Tax Reforms: Will You Be Affected?
What will the G7 Tax Reforms mean for the average seller? As it stands, not much. Even those on Amazon, are unlikely to see any changes to the service for a while since these reforms are still in their infancy. There is still a long way to go in terms of actually agreeing to more concrete rules of the reforms – as it stands, there is just an agreement in principle in place.

The New CE-Marked Legislation & How It Affects Amazon Sellers
nyone who imports CE-marked products into the EU to sell will be required to adhere to the new legislation. This includes Amazon sellers. The good news for Amazon sellers is that Amazon can act as your Responsible Person. Amazon offer a service called ARP (Amazon Responsible Person) which you can subscribe to. This means that your products will be covered by Amazon. You do not necessarily need to use Amazon as your responsible person, but it is highly recommended that you do.

The Flat Rate Scheme (FRS) & Online Marketplaces
From the beginning of 2021, the UK VAT regulation for overseas online sellers has been changed. However, for those traders under the Flat Rate Scheme, it might not be beneficial in terms of the input VAT claim restrictions. It is mainly because of the new VAT collection responsibly of Online Marketplaces (OMPs). Some traders mentioned that HMRC might allow online sellers to claim back VAT on the stock on hand value when the OMP’s started to deduct VAT. However, so far, there is no written guidance regarding this specific VAT treatment.

Brexit 6 Month Review: A Difficult Start
Brexit has clearly not gone completely smoothly for merchants and businesses. However, sellers should not be too dismayed. It was never going to be an easy start to post-Brexit life, and the pandemic has certainly not helped. As the lockdowns end, companies grow more accustomed to the new procedures and the EU Ecommerce VAT Package brings the EU ecommerce rules more inline with the UK’s, we should see a more positive outlook by the end of the year.

Drop Shipping Not Delivering Profits Since Brexit
The first major change that Brexit brought about was shifting the responsibility for VAT away from the customer at the point of receipt and on to the company or facilitating market place at the point of sale. This meant that prices went up to account for the VAT. This is extremely problematic for drop shippers since they are obviously already working with narrow profit margins since they are reselling from a third party.

One-Stop-Shop Guide For Online Marketplace Sellers
If you mere use Amazon as a platform to showcase your products, then you can benefit from the OSS. This also goes for any sales an Amazon seller makes through their own website or online store. However, Amazon sellers and those who use an online marketplace to facilitate their trades through fulfilment cannot use the OSS for their sales.

How To Register For The OSS – Get A Quote Today
Each country in the EU will has got an electronic portal that you can access to sign up for the OSS. You will need to submit an application that will need all the relevant information, such as your VAT number and business registration and address. Once the application is completed the relevant tax authorities will check everything is in order before approving your registration.