Recently, we have received many sellers from Yamasen cross-border to understand what conditions are required for products to be compliant when entering the European market? How can we protect our products from being removed from the shelves, complaints and so on.

Today I organize it to share with you.

The first point of intellectual property rights is very important

The first and foremost is trademark awareness, because on today's Amazon platform, trademarks have become an essential element of sellers' operations, which not only protects their brands from infringement, but also facilitates advertising promotion and establishment of store image.

Trademarks are protected by country. Such as European countries can register EU trademarks (including 27 countries are protected).

In the United Kingdom, you need to register a British trademark separately, because the United Kingdom has already left the European Union.

The following are the benefits and advantages of registered trademarks on Amazon:

If the sellers just made a whitelist and did not register the trademark, they may be robbed by malicious "trademark hooligans" for registration, and the situation of anti-infringement complaints will outweigh the gains.

Is there a need to do the copyright and patent sections on intellectual property? Read the previous article for a detailed explanation.

The second point of product compliance certification

A–Basic Certification

Of course, in addition to the following basic certifications, some special products also have other requirements. For example, energy-related products require EU ERP energy labels. For details, please contact our customer service.

CE Certification – Europe

Although the scope of CE marking of products in European countries is wide, not all goods sold in the European Economic Area need to have CE marking.

Products within the scope of CE marking include toys, electronic appliances, personal protective equipment, medical devices, etc.

UKCA certification – UK

From January 1, 2021, after the end of the Brexit transition period, electrical products entering the UK market need to use the UKCA logo. According to the transition period policy, until January 1, 2022, the CE mark can still be used as a conformity mark to enter the UK market.

According to the latest guidelines on the adoption of the UKCA mark published on the official website of the UK on August 24, 2021, the guidelines continue to extend the adoption period of the mark by one year, that is, until January 1, 2023, CE marked products can still be used. accepted by the UK. However, only products for which CE marking and UK UKCA marking requirements remain consistent.

Declaration of Conformity DOC

Preparing the declaration of conformity is the last step for the seller's product to obtain CE safety certification. It is to declare that the product complies with the relevant European product health and safety directives. Take full responsibility for the corresponding safety regulations.

Declaration of Conformity DOC, which declares the meaning of the equivalent guarantee. Applies to all EU countries. (CE safety certification is regarded as a passport for manufacturers to hit and enter the European market)

B–authorized representative

Europe is referred to as Odai, and Amazon requires that no Odai is prohibited from entering the warehouse from June 1, 2021;

The UK is referred to as Yingdai, and like UKCA, it will be until January 1, 2023;

After the above application, you need to upload the Odai/Engdai information to the Amazon backend.

According to EU/UK regulations, after obtaining the relevant certification, the product packaging is required to be marked with the CE/UKCA mark and the company name and address of the EU/UK company. In this case, CE/UKCA is issued on behalf of the product passing the safety certification. , then the words of Oudai/Yingdai are traceable, and if there is any problem with customers, customs or the EU government, you can directly contact Oudai/Yingdai, and Oudai/Yingdai can communicate and deal with it, and play a role in communication. around to ensure traceability.

If it is not processed within the specified time, it is illegal to sell CE marked products without uploading within the specified date according to Amazon's official email. It will cause the goods to be seized; the product link will be removed from the shelf; the category review will not pass, etc.

C–EPR (Germany, France)

EPR compliance Many sellers are unprepared. It is clear that in 2022, if you are selling in France and Germany, Amazon will confirm that you are eligible for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the country where you are selling. The EPR registration number is required. If it cannot be provided to Amazon, Amazon will suspend your non-compliant products listed under the EPR product category. And in France, if the seller does not provide the EPR UIN (EPR's unique identification number), it will start to be withheld and paid.

There are three types of EPR in Germany, namely:

French EPR currently has ten categories, namely: packaging law, DEEE (electrical and electronic equipment), batteries, furniture, textiles, paper, tires, toys, sporting goods, DIY garden products

Third point tax compliance

If the products of Amazon sellers are shipped from local warehouses in the UK/other EU countries, they belong to the VAT payable in the UK/other EU countries. There is an obligation to register a tax number locally.

What is VAT?

VAT is the abbreviation of Value Added Tax, which refers to a tax system applied in EU countries. It is an indirect tax levied on the value added of goods or services. Generally, EU countries need to pay three kinds of taxes when conducting import and export trade, import tax, customs duty, and value-added tax.

Value- added tax is a tax levied on the value-added amount generated during the circulation of goods or services as the basis for tax calculation. In Europe, sales VAT (unless otherwise specified, hereinafter referred to as VAT) is collected by VAT registered merchants on their sales within Europe, and declared and paid to the relevant national tax authorities.

Why do cross-border sellers have to register for European VAT?

European Value Added Tax (VAT) Operation Process

1. Merchants store goods in European warehouses and sell goods to consumers in Europe;

2. The merchant applies for a value-added tax (VAT) number to the country where the goods are stored;

3. The merchant displays the value-added tax (VAT) number on the webpage of the goods sold;

4. Merchants sell goods and charge value-added tax (VAT) to buyers;

5. The platform pays and withholds value-added tax (VAT) and the merchants make tax declarations;

The following is the VAT rate of each country

AT-Austria: Austria: 20% BE-Belgium: Belgium: 21% CZ-Czechia: Czech Republic: 21%

DE-Germany: Germany: 19% ES-Spain: Spain: 21% FR-France: France: 20%

IT-Italy: Italy: 22% NL-Netherlands: Netherlands: 21% PL-Poland: Poland: 23%

SE-Sweden: Sweden: 25% UK-United Kingdom: United Kingdom: 20% (withdrawn from the EU)