Amazon Europe · Compliance
The EU compliance maze.
Mapped, and handled.
Europe is the biggest prize in e-commerce — and the easiest place to get your listings suppressed, fined, or hit with an Abmahnung without knowing why. VAT, GPSR, EPR, batteries, packaging law, advertising rules: the part that's pure landmines, and the part AI and a 3PL can't do for you. We map it, screen your listings against it, and hand you a plain fix list.
Marktreif is not a law firm or tax advisor and this is not legal or tax advice. We surface and explain the high-risk requirements so you can act and bring in counsel where it matters.
Why it matters
Get it wrong and you don't get a warning — you get a takedown.
EU compliance failures are quiet and expensive. Most sellers find out only when the traffic stops. The four ways it costs you:
Listing suppression
Missing a LUCID, WEEE or GPSR detail? Amazon can hide or remove the listing automatically.
Abmahnung
German competitors and law firms bill you for unfair-advertising claims — a whole cottage industry.
Fines & back-taxes
Packaging non-registration alone can run to five or six figures; unregistered VAT means owed tax plus penalties.
Account risk
Repeated compliance flags put the whole selling account — not just one ASIN — on the line.
The compliance map
Six things every EU seller has to get right.
Here's the whole picture in plain English — what each rule is, who it hits, and why it bites. This is the maze we screen your listings against.
VAT & customs
The moment you store stock in an EU country (exactly what Amazon FBA does), you must register for VAT there — foreign businesses have a zero threshold. Selling cross-border from a single country instead? The EU-wide €10,000 distance-sales threshold applies and you can use the One-Stop-Shop (OSS). To import at all you need an EORI number for customs.
2026 change: Pan-EU FBA now requires valid VAT numbers in five EU countries (up from four) to stay eligible.
GPSR — product safety
The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 has applied since 13 December 2024. If your manufacturer is outside the EU, you need an EU "Responsible Person," and their name, address and email must appear on the listing and packaging, with safety info in the local language. (Amazon ended its own Responsible-Person service in 2024 — you arrange your own.)
EPR — packaging (LUCID & the new PPWR)
Anyone putting packaged goods on the German market must register with the LUCID packaging register before the first sale and license volumes with a dual system. Since July 2022, marketplaces verify LUCID and suspend listings without it.
2026 change: the EU PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) applies from 12 August 2026 — packaging EPR registration per member state, declarations of conformity, and e-commerce parcel rules (empty space capped at ~40%). Marketplaces will verify it.
EPR — electronics (WEEE)
Selling anything electrical? Register with Stiftung EAR for a WEEE number before you sell; non-EU makers appoint a German authorised representative first. Since 1 July 2023, marketplaces verify WEEE registration — a missing or invalid number triggers an automatic sales ban.
Batteries
Products with batteries fall under the EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, which replaces the old directive and applies directly across the EU. Register as a battery producer in each country you sell in and file the numbers in Amazon's battery compliance portal; labelling (capacity, chemistry, disposal) is required.
Coming: from 18 February 2027, batteries must carry a QR code linking to digital product info.
Advertising law (UWG / "Testsieger")
Germany's competition law (UWG) is uniquely strict. A "Testsieger", "Nr. 1" or superlative claim must cite a legible, independent source right next to the claim — not in the fine print (settled BGH case law). Get it wrong and a competitor's lawyer sends a paid Abmahnung. Listings translated from US copy are easy targets.
Done for you
The Compliance Review.
Send us your live listing (or your catalogue) and the markets you sell in. We screen it against everything on this page and hand back a prioritized, plain-English fix list: what's missing, what's risky, what to do about it, and which official register to do it in.
- ✓ A per-item pass / flag / fix verdict (VAT, GPSR, EPR, batteries, PPWR, UWG)
- ✓ The exact listing-text risks (e.g. an unsourced "Testsieger") rewritten safe
- ✓ Links to the official registers and what each one needs
- ✓ Reviewed by a native German speaker
What it isn't: legal or tax advice, and not a guarantee of regulatory approval. We make you compliance-aware and listing-ready and tell you plainly when something needs a lawyer or tax advisor — then point you to one.
Pricing
Standalone review of an existing listing.
What's changing in 2026
The rules are getting stricter — now is the time to get clean.
PPWR applies
EU-wide packaging EPR registration, conformity docs, and e-commerce parcel rules — with marketplace verification.
Pan-EU VAT: 5 countries
Pan-European FBA now needs valid VAT registration in five EU countries to stay eligible.
Battery QR codes
Batteries must carry a QR code linking to digital product info under the EU Batteries Regulation.
Sources
Everything here is sourced. Go straight to the official registers.
- GPSR — Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (EUR-Lex)
- PPWR — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (EUR-Lex)
- Packaging / LUCID — Verpackungsregister (ZSVR)
- Electronics / WEEE — Stiftung EAR
- Batteries — Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (EUR-Lex)
- VAT — Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt)
- UWG — Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb
- Deep dive — our free Amazon Germany compliance course
This page is educational orientation, not legal or tax advice. Marktreif is not a law firm or tax advisor. Regulations change and obligations depend on your product, structure, and circumstances — confirm specifics with a qualified professional before relying on them. Key facts verified against official sources as of June 2026.
Not sure where you stand? Let's find out — free.
Send one listing and we'll localize and compliance-screen it on us, so you can see exactly what's exposed before you pay a cent.