European Union

Legislative changes effective 1 January 2024 may change the VAT rate applied by AWS on bills for accounts located in Estonia, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

On 1 July 2018, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (“AWS Europe”), our Luxembourg-based AWS entity, started selling our services. AWS Europe provides all AWS cloud services for your accounts based in these countries and territories in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Please read the AWS Europe FAQs for more detail.

Overview

AWS Europe is an entity established in Luxembourg which began selling services on 1 July 2018. In addition to its headquarters (“HQ”) in Luxembourg, AWS Europe also has branches (or “succursales” in French; “Niederlassungen” in German) in several countries in EMEA, including 17 countries in the EU.

These are not subsidiaries (or “filiales” in French; “Tochtergesellshaften” in German), they are the same legal entity as AWS Europe HQ in Luxembourg. Every branch has the relevant resources to be a registered establishment in its country and is, therefore, treated as a local vendor for the purposes of Value Added Tax (“VAT”).  

The table below details in which EU countries AWS Europe has a branch, and the date from which the branch was treated as a local vendor for the purposes of VAT.

Country Effective date Country (cont.) Effective date (cont.)
Austria 01 February 2020 Ireland 01 July 2018
Belgium 01 July 2018
Italy 01 July 2018
Czech Republic 01 August 2020
Netherlands 01 July 2018
Denmark 01 July 2018
Poland 01 July 2018
Estonia 01 April 2023 Portugal 01 July 2018
Finland 01 July 2018
Romania 01 November 2020
France 01 July 2018
Spain 01 July 2018
Germany 01 July 2018
Sweden 01 July 2018
Greece 01 January 2021    

VAT charged by AWS Europe

If you have accounts located in the countries listed above, AWS Europe (HQ or branch) charges VAT on service charges incurred from the effective date listed, unless you have a "special status". Please note that "special status" includes:

  • International Organizations, such as the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, etc.; Please note that local charities do not qualify for special status;
  • VAT exemption purchase certificate (for e.g. VAT56B in Ireland); and
  • Article 17 split-payment in Italy.

For the applicable rates of VAT, please see our VAT Rates Summary Table (EMEA).

All VAT collected from customers will be paid to the local tax authorities on the local VAT return of the HQ or branch.

If you have accounts located in any other EU countries AWS Europe is required to charge VAT on sales of electronic services to non-business customers (B2C) in the EU.

  • AWS Europe charges local VAT, unless you have a valid TRN associated with VAT. Please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your Tax Registration details. For additional information on TRNs, please see the section below.
  • All VAT collected from customers will be reported to the local tax authorities under the EU simplified VAT registration regime known as the Mini One Stop Shop (“MOSS”).

Please note that if AWS Europe does not charge you VAT, you may have to self-assess VAT if required by your local regulations.

AWS Marketplace

For tax information relating to the AWS Marketplace, please visit AWS Marketplace- Tax Help for Buyers or AWS Marketplace- Tax Help for Sellers.

Telecommunications Services

Certain telecommunications services are sold by AMCS LLC, an Amazon entity. For further information, please see Tax Help - Telecommunication Services.

AMCS LLC is required to charge VAT on sales of telecommunications services to non-business customers (B2C) in the EU.

If you have accounts located in the EU, AMCS LLC charges local VAT on all service charges incurred from 1 July 2018, unless you have a valid TRN associated with VAT.

If you have a TRN, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). Once you have added a valid TRN on your account(s), no VAT will be applied on your purchases of telecommunications services from AMCS LLC.  Please note that you may have to self-assess VAT in your local VAT return.

AMCS LLC is registered for VAT under MOSS. All VAT collected from customers will be reported to the local tax authorities under the MOSS of AMCS LLC.

If applicable, AMCS LLC also issues valid VAT Invoices, available on the Bills section of the console.

Tax Registration Numbers

AWS collects Tax Registration Numbers (“TRNs”) associated with VAT in certain countries to determine your status, as a business (B2B) or private / non-business customer (B2C), as this is a key factor to determine AWS’ liability to charge VAT on your service charges.

If you have a valid TRN associated with VAT, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). This will ensure that your TRN is displayed on the VAT invoices issued by AWS Europe (HQ or branch), to enable you to claim a credit for VAT charged by AWS Europe (HQ or branch), in accordance with your own circumstances, as well as local laws and regulations.

For more information on TRNs please visit Tax Help- Tax Registration Numbers.

Tax Invoices and Bills

If applicable, AWS Europe (HQ or branch) also issues valid VAT Invoices, available in the Bills section of the console under the header “Tax Invoices”.

If you have a valid Tax Registration Number (“TRN”) associated with VAT, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). This will ensure that your TRN is displayed on the VAT invoices issued by AWS Europe (HQ or branch), to enable you to claim a credit for VAT charged by AWS Europe (HQ or branch), in accordance with your own circumstances, as well as local laws and regulations.

For information on how to receive a VAT invoice from AWS please visit our Knowledge Centre- How do I get a VAT invoice from AWS?

How do I get a VAT Invoice?

How does AWS determine if your account is located in the EU?

At the moment of invoicing, AWS determines the location of each individual account, based on certain information, including your TRN, your Billing address and your Contact address. The result of AWS’ determination is shown as the “Tax Address” on the Tax Settings page of each account.

If you have a consolidated billing family, please note that each account is assessed individually: linked accounts do not inherit the Tax Address or the TRN of the payer account.

The payer account can view the Tax Address of all their linked accounts on their own Tax Settings page of each account.

For more information please see Tax Help- Location.

Additional Information

For additional information on the application of VAT in the EU, please visit the European Commission website about Telecoms Broadcasting and Electronic Services and the Mini One Stop Shop scheme.  

Back to Tax Help Home