Amazon CEE: Selling in Poland & the Czech Republic as an Amazon Seller
Key Takeaways
- Amazon CEE (Central Europe Program, or CEE for short) involves the physical storage of goods in Poland and the Czech Republic to supply the German and European markets.
- Participation immediately triggers local tax and registration obligations in Poland and the Czech Republic—regardless of distance-selling thresholds or minimum turnover.
- In addition to B2C sales, cross-border transfers of goods (intra-Community transfers) must be declared correctly.
- The OSS procedure covers only cross-border B2C sales, but does not replace local tax registration in the storage countries of Poland and the Czech Republic.
- Errors in transfer reports or local tax returns can lead to findings during tax audits, penalties, and possible Amazon account suspensions.
What is Amazon CEE?
Amazon CEE (officially: Central Europe Program) refers to the expansion of the German FBA logistics network to fulfillment centers in Poland and the Czech Republic. Goods intended for sale on Amazon.de are strategically transferred by Amazon to Polish and Czech fulfillment centers.
As an incentive, Amazon grants sellers a discount on FBA shipping fees (€0.26 to €0.35 in savings per unit compared with storage exclusively in Germany). In return, the seller authorizes cross-border storage in Seller Central.
Although CEE was historically closely linked to the Pan-EU program, the two programs now operate independently of one another. The transfers offer logistical advantages, but trigger complex VAT obligations in the storage countries from the moment the first unit is placed in storage.
Why is Amazon CEE relevant to your bookkeeping?
As soon as storage in Poland or the Czech Republic is activated in Seller Central, Amazon moves goods across borders. From an accounting perspective, this creates two separate sets of obligations:
- Intra-Community transfers: Physically moving goods from Germany to a warehouse in Poland or the Czech Republic is treated for VAT purposes as an exempt supply in Germany and as a taxable intra-Community acquisition in the country of storage. This must be formally declared in both countries, including the recapitulative statement (ZM) in Germany.
- Local sales vs. B2C distance sales: Sales from a Polish warehouse to a Polish end customer are subject to Polish VAT (23%) and must be reported locally in Poland. Sales from the Polish warehouse to customers in Germany fall under the OSS procedure (19% German VAT).
Important: Distance-selling thresholds do not apply when goods are stored abroad. The local VAT identification number in Poland and the Czech Republic must be available before the first transfer takes place. The OSS procedure covers neither local sales nor transfers of goods.
What challenges does the CEE business create?
The greatest challenge lies in the complexity of the inventory movement data. Thousands of individual lines must be processed using Amazon reports such as the Amazon VAT Transaction Report or the VAT Transaction Report.
Pure inventory movements (transfers without sales) must be isolated from actual sales transactions and supplemented with the correction values (purchase prices for the intra-Community acquisition).
Country-specific VAT advance return periods, Polish SAF-T formats (JPK_VAT), and strict deadlines also make compliance more difficult. Incorrect transfer reports can cause tax authorities to deny the VAT exemption for transfers, which can result in substantial tax back payments on the value of the goods.
Practical example
A German seller activates the Amazon CEE program in Seller Central. Amazon then transfers 100 headphones from a German logistics center to the Poznan fulfillment center in Poland.
- The inventory transfer: This transaction constitutes an intra-Community transfer. The seller must declare an exempt intra-Community supply in Germany (including a ZM filing) and a taxable intra-Community acquisition in Poland.
- The sale: If a customer with a delivery address in Poland orders these headphones, this constitutes a local Polish sale. It is subject to 23% Polish VAT and must be reported directly to the Polish tax office via the Polish VAT identification number. Reporting it through OSS is legally impermissible.
- The cross-border sale: If a customer in Berlin orders the headphones from the Poznan warehouse, this generally constitutes an intra-Community distance sale to Germany. Provided the requirements are met, it can be declared through OSS.
How Amainvoice helps you with Amazon CEE
Amainvoice reads all Amazon transaction data on a daily basis and analyzes physical inventory flows in an audit-proof manner. The software automatically distinguishes between cross-border B2C distance sales for the One-Stop Shop (OSS), local sales in the country of storage, and tax-relevant intra-Community transfers.
Amainvoice determines the required tax bases for intra-Community acquisitions in Poland and the Czech Republic and provides prepared datasets for the recapitulative statement (ZM) as well as interfaces to financial accounting systems (e.g., DATEV). This protects sellers and tax advisors from costly estimates and compliance errors.
If you want to set up your CEE bookkeeping properly, test Amainvoice for free now: Test Amainvoice for free
Try Amainvoice now
Frequently asked questions about Amazon CEE
Which countries are specifically included in the Amazon CEE program (“Central Europe Program”)?
For both logistical and tax purposes, the Amazon CEE program exclusively covers the physical storage of goods in Poland and the Czech Republic as an extension of the German logistics network. Countries such as Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia do not have Amazon FBA storage locations and are therefore not part of the CEE storage program. Sales to these countries are made as cross-border shipments from the existing warehouses.
Is there a distance-selling threshold for storage in Poland or the Czech Republic?
No. When goods are physically stored abroad, no distance-selling thresholds or minimum turnover requirements apply. The obligation to register for tax purposes in the respective country arises on the day the first unit of goods is stored in a Polish or Czech Amazon logistics center.
Can I participate in the Pan-EU program without using the CEE program?
Yes. While Amazon previously required CEE to be linked to the Pan-EU program, the two programs are now considered separately. You can use the Pan-EU program and, for example, activate storage only in France or Spain without relocating inventory to Poland or the Czech Republic. However, in this case, the FBA fee savings for shipping from the Central European network do not apply.
Is the OSS procedure (One-Stop Shop) sufficient for sales through Amazon CEE?
No, the OSS procedure is not sufficient. The One-Stop Shop covers exclusively cross-border B2C distance sales to end customers in other EU countries. However, as soon as your goods are located in a foreign Amazon warehouse in Poland or the Czech Republic, two transactions arise that must be reported through local tax returns in the respective storage country: Intra-Community transfers (transfers of your own goods from Germany abroad). Local sales (e.g., shipping from the Czech warehouse to a customer in the Czech Republic).
What is an “intra-Community transfer,” and why is it critical for tax purposes?
When Amazon moves your goods from a German logistics center to a warehouse in Poland or the Czech Republic, this is a transfer of your own goods. For tax purposes, this process is treated like a sale to yourself: it is considered an exempt intra-Community supply in the country of departure (Germany) and a taxable intra-Community acquisition in the recipient country (Poland or the Czech Republic). This process must be fully declared in the local tax returns and in the recapitulative statement (ZM). If this evidence is missing, the exemption may be revoked retroactively, resulting in substantial back payments on the value of the goods.
How much lead time should I allow for tax registration?
Tax registration in Poland and the Czech Republic should be initiated at least 8 to 12 weeks before the planned activation of the CEE program in Seller Central. The foreign VAT identification numbers must be active in the Seller Central account and verified by Amazon before the first goods threshold is exceeded.
%20Amazon_%20XY.webp)