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Amazon updates its policies ahead of Black Friday 2026: a new customs fee, an extended returns window, and more tools for sellers
Last updated: 05/11/2026
Between 30 October and 3 November 2026, Amazon published four important updates covering holiday returns, cross-border customs charges, peak-season preparations and a new AI-powered tool for brand protection.
While some changes affect sellers across European marketplaces, others are particularly relevant to UK businesses selling directly to customers in the European Union.
Here is what has changed, why it matters and which areas sellers should review before the busiest shopping period of the year.
Table of contents:
New EU customs fee. What does it mean for Amazon sellers?
Amazon extends holiday return window for 2026
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: How Amazon sellers should prepare
AI helps brands report intellectual property infringements
Summary
You can read this article in 4 minutes.
Black Friday preparations: Are your listings and inventory ready?
On 2 November, Amazon issued a reminder encouraging sellers to review their accounts ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The message was not about introducing another promotional feature. Instead, it focused on the operational issues that can prevent sellers from making the most of seasonal demand.
Competitive discounts are important, but they are only one part of the equation. If a product is unavailable, a deal fails to meet Amazon's requirements or a listing is missing essential information, even an attractive promotion may struggle to deliver the expected results.
Amazon highlighted five areas worth reviewing.
Inventory availability
Sellers should confirm that ASINs included in their planned deals are in stock. For FBA orders, the relevant inventory should also have arrived at fulfilment centres in time for the event.
Product listing quality
Titles, product images, bullet points and A+ Content all deserve attention before traffic increases. Clear and informative listings help customers understand what they are buying and assess whether a product meets their needs.
Promotional eligibility
Deals need to meet Amazon's minimum discount requirements. Sellers should also check for suppressed promotions or offers at risk of becoming ineligible.
Account Health
Outstanding policy warnings or violations should be addressed before the shopping events. Keeping the account in good standing is an important part of maintaining business continuity.
Advertising campaigns
Finally, Amazon recommends checking that advertising campaigns are either live or correctly scheduled for the promotional period.
The practical takeaway is straightforward: Black Friday preparation should cover the entire selling process, not simply the discount shown on a product page.
Holiday returns: Customers have longer to send purchases back
Another significant update concerns Amazon's extended returns window for the 2026 festive season.
Announced on 30 October, the policy gives customers additional time to return eligible purchases made in the run-up to Christmas.
For most items bought between 1 November and 25 December 2026, returns will be accepted until 31 January 2027 or within 30 days of delivery, whichever is later.
The extended window applies to both Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) orders.
Importantly for UK sellers, Amazon.co.uk is included in the policy, alongside nine other European marketplaces: Spain, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland.
However, sellers trading across multiple markets should be aware that the dates are not identical everywhere.
In Spain, items purchased between 1 November 2026 and 6 January 2027 can be returned until 6 February 2027 or within 30 days of delivery, whichever is later.
Germany, Italy and France also have exceptions for certain product categories. In those cases, the return deadline is 15 January 2027 or 14 days after delivery, whichever is later.
Amazon has confirmed that sellers do not need to take action to activate the extended returns window. Standard return eligibility criteria remain unchanged.
Why does this matter for sellers?
Longer returns periods can give customers greater confidence when buying gifts early.
For merchants, however, they also extend the period during which seasonal orders may result in returns.
That makes it worth reviewing post-Christmas stock management, returns handling and cash flow expectations rather than treating the end of December as the end of the seasonal sales cycle.
Shipping from the UK to the EU? A new €2 customs handling fee may affect costs
For UK businesses selling into the European Union, one of the most important recent announcements concerns customs handling charges.
Amazon's 30 October notice stated that, from 1 November 2026, a €2 customs handling fee applies per line item on the customs declaration for goods shipped directly from outside the EU to customers within the EU.
The charge applies regardless of the shipment's value and is described by Amazon as a requirement under EU customs rules rather than an Amazon fee.
For UK sellers, the distinction is particularly important.
This is an EU import charge, not a new fee on domestic UK orders. It becomes relevant where goods are shipped directly from the UK or another non-EU country to customers located in the European Union.
The way the charge is collected depends on how orders are fulfilled.
Merchant-fulfilled orders
For FBM shipments, the carrier invoices the seller for the fee and remits it to the relevant EU customs authorities.
Sellers are responsible for paying the charge to their carrier, making it an additional factor in the cost of fulfilling eligible cross-border orders.
Remote Fulfilment with FBA
Where orders are handled through Remote Fulfilment with FBA, Amazon incorporates the fee into the price displayed to the customer.
That adjusted price appears on the product detail page, in the basket and at checkout.
As a result, EU customers may see a higher price than the one originally set by the seller.
Businesses using automated pricing rules should pay particular attention to this difference, as the additional amount may affect how competitively an offer is presented.
What should UK sellers review?
Businesses sending goods directly into the EU should check which orders fall within the new charging rules and how the fee affects their pricing calculations.
It is also worth reviewing final customer-facing prices rather than relying solely on the prices configured in Seller Central.
For sellers operating across several European marketplaces, small additional charges can become an important consideration when assessing individual product margins.
Amazon introduces an AI assistant for intellectual property reports
The fourth update, published on 3 November, focuses on brand protection.
Amazon has introduced Reporter Assistant, an AI-powered tool designed to guide eligible Brand Registry users through the process of reporting intellectual property infringements.
The feature is available to users with Rights Owner or Registered Agent permissions.
Submitting an infringement report can involve several decisions, including identifying the type of violation, selecting the appropriate reporting route and providing the evidence required to support a claim.
Reporter Assistant aims to make these steps easier to navigate.
It can help users understand reporting requirements, identify suitable infringement categories and resolve form errors before submitting a report.
The assistant also allows users to ask questions throughout the process or choose from suggested prompts.
To access the feature, eligible users can open Report Infringement and select Ask Reporter Assistant.
There is, however, an important limitation.
The assistant supports the submission process but does not change how Amazon reviews or resolves infringement reports. All submissions remain subject to the standard assessment procedure.
For brand owners, the potential benefit lies in preparing more accurate and complete reports while reducing avoidable mistakes during submission.
What should Amazon sellers prioritise now?
Taken together, these announcements highlight the importance of looking beyond short-term promotional activity.
For sellers preparing for Black Friday, the immediate focus should be on ensuring that products are available, deals remain eligible, advertising campaigns are ready and listings provide customers with the information they need.
The extended holiday returns policy also deserves attention, especially when planning inventory and operational resources for the weeks after Christmas.
UK businesses exporting directly to EU customers have an additional consideration: understanding where the new customs handling fee applies and how it may influence the final selling price.
Meanwhile, brands enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry can explore Reporter Assistant as another way to simplify intellectual property reporting.
The wider message is clear: successful peak-season selling is not just about attracting customers with discounts. It also depends on reliable fulfilment, accurate pricing, well-maintained listings and effective account management.
Reviewing these areas before demand reaches its seasonal peak can help sellers approach the final months of 2026 with greater operational confidence.
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