When you sell through Amazon, Etsy or another marketplace, you are not always the one who remits the VAT. In precisely defined cases the platform itself accounts for the tax as a so-called deemed supplier under § 8(7) of the Slovak VAT Act; in all other cases the duty to declare and pay the tax stays with you as the seller. What decides it is whether you are established in the EU and whether the goods are imported from a third country.
When does the platform become a deemed supplier?
The Slovak VAT Act introduced, in § 8(7), the fiction of a deemed supplier. Where a taxable person uses an electronic interface — a marketplace, platform or portal — to facilitate a supply of goods to a final consumer, for VAT purposes it is treated in defined situations as if it had acquired and supplied the goods itself. Physically the goods travel from the original seller to the customer, but for tax the single supply is split in two: the seller supplies the platform, and the platform supplies the customer.
The fiction does not apply to every sale. It applies only in two cases: distance sales of goods imported from third countries in a consignment with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150, and supplies of goods within the EU made by a seller not established in the EU to a final consumer. Example: if a Chinese seller offers goods through a platform to a Slovak customer, the platform settles the VAT towards the customer, not the original seller.
Who remits the VAT when you sell as a company from Slovakia?
For Slovak companies one distinction is decisive: if you are established in Slovakia (or elsewhere in the EU) and sell your own goods to consumers within the EU, the platform is not the deemed supplier. The duty to declare and pay VAT rests entirely with you. The platform acts only as an intermediary and charges a commission for it. The § 8(7) fiction therefore does not cover a typical Slovak online seller trading through Amazon — the tax is their own responsibility.
When selling to consumers in other member states, watch the single EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 per year for distance sales of goods. Below it you charge Slovak VAT at the standard rate of 23 %; above it you must charge the VAT of the customer's country and remit it through the OSS scheme. For when and how to register, see our note on the Slovak tax advisory for companies.
How does it work for imported goods up to EUR 150?
If goods are imported from a third country directly to the customer and their intrinsic value does not exceed EUR 150, a sale through a platform falls under the IOSS scheme (Import One Stop Shop). As deemed supplier the platform charges VAT already at the point of sale and remits it in a single return for the whole EU, so the customer pays nothing extra on delivery.
If the consignment exceeds EUR 150, IOSS does not apply and VAT is collected in the standard way on import, together with any customs duty. It is in this band that sellers most often get confused about who accounts for the tax and when. Setting the regime up correctly from the start is far cheaper than a later correction.
How is the platform commission taxed?
The commission that Amazon, Etsy or another platform deducts from each sale is, from your side, a service received from abroad. The operators are usually established in another member state (for instance Ireland or Luxembourg). Under § 15(1) of the VAT Act the place of supply of such a service is where you are established — in Slovakia.
If you are a VAT payer, you self-assess the commission under § 69(3): you declare Slovak VAT of 23 % on the commission and, under the same conditions, deduct it, so the net effect is usually neutral. This self-assessment is also reported in section B1 of the control statement. Example: on a EUR 100 commission you declare EUR 23 and deduct the same EUR 23. If you are not a payer, merely receiving this service may oblige you to register under § 7a before receiving it.
What does the platform report to the tax authority (DAC7)?
Since 2023 operators of digital platforms have had to report data on sellers and their income to the tax authority. This follows from Act No. 442/2012 on international assistance and cooperation in tax administration, which transposed the DAC7 directive into Slovak law. The platform reports your identity and the income earned through it by 31 January of the following year.
DAC7 does not itself change who remits the VAT — it is a transparency tool. It does mean the tax authority sees your platform turnover and can compare it with the return you file. Failure to comply exposes the platform to a fine of up to EUR 10,000. Keeping your platform sales records in order — ideally through solid accounting in Slovakia — is therefore essential.
How to report marketplace sales correctly?
If you are the seller towards the customer (the typical Slovak online trader), you declare taxable supplies in the VAT return and the control statement; distance sales above the EUR 10,000 threshold go into the OSS return, not the ordinary domestic return. The platform commission is self-assessed and shown in section B1 of the control statement.
Keep your monthly platform settlement reports, commission invoices and transport documents — in an audit they prove where the goods travelled from and who was liable for the tax. If you are unsure whether a sale falls under the deemed-supplier fiction, verify it before your first larger volume of sales.
Selling through Amazon, Etsy or another marketplace and unsure who has to remit the VAT? Let us go through your sales and commissions and set up records that match your return.
FAQ
Does the platform remit VAT for me when I sell through Amazon?
Not automatically. If you are established in Slovakia or elsewhere in the EU and sell your own goods to consumers in the EU, the platform is not the deemed supplier and you declare and pay the VAT yourself. The platform only takes over the tax for imported goods up to EUR 150 or when the seller is not established in the EU.
Do I have to self-assess the commission the platform deducts?
Yes, if the operator is established in another state. The commission is a service received with its place of supply in Slovakia, so a VAT payer self-assesses it under § 69(3) at 23 % and deducts the same amount, reporting it in section B1 of the control statement. A non-payer may be obliged to register under § 7a upon receiving such a service.
What does the platform report about me through DAC7?
The platform reports your identity and the income you earn through it to the tax authority, by 31 January of the following year under Act No. 442/2012. DAC7 does not change who pays the VAT, but it gives the tax authority a view of your turnover that it compares with your return.