Sales on Amazon
Amazon is changing the game for brands. 4 updates that will affect costs, reports and the launch of sales in 2026
13 Apr 2026
Amazon has published four important updates that concern very different areas of selling: bonuses for new brands, VAT calculations, payment reports and FBA fees. This is not a series of random changes in Seller Central. Together, they show a clear direction - faster support at the start, greater order in finances and more accurate accounting of operations. For brands that are already selling on Amazon, this is a good moment to look at their processes. For those who are only planning to enter, even better, to set it up well from the very beginning and build their start on comprehensive sales management on Amazon.
Table of contents:
What connects these 4 changes
New Brand Bonus - faster credits and separate regions for the UK and EU
VAT Calculation Service - VAT calculated at total shipment level
Updated payment reports - better view of deferred and released funds
FBA removal and disposal fees - fees charged at the moment of processing items
What this means for your business
FAQ
You can read this article in 4 minutes.
What connects these 4 changes
At first glance, it is hard to find a common denominator here. One announcement concerns the bonus for new brands, another VAT, a third payment reports, and a fourth FBA fees.
From the perspective of a company selling on Amazon, however, this arrangement is quite simple. On the one hand, Amazon makes starting easier for new brands, and on the other hand, it brings more order to accounts, reporting and operations. There is a consistent logic in this: fewer ambiguities, more predictability and greater emphasis on well-established processes.
This is also another signal that today it is not enough to have an active listing and active campaigns. An increasingly important role is played by whether a brand has its foundations set up well: Brand Registry, how VAT is calculated, financial reporting and operational cost control.
New Brand Bonus - faster allocation of credits and separate regions for the UK and EU
The first change concerns the New Brand Bonus programme and is particularly important for companies that are only now building up sales on Amazon or are planning to enter subsequent markets.
From 26 March 2026, eligible sellers in Amazon EU stores - namely Germany, France, Italy and Spain - are to receive credits under the New Brand Bonus within a week, rather than monthly as before. In EU stores, the total value of these benefits can reach EUR 47,250.
From the same date, the UK and Amazon EU stores - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - are treated as separate regions under the New Seller Incentives programme. This means that a seller can qualify for the New Brand Bonus independently in each of these regions. Amazon points here to benefits worth up to GBP 42,000 in the UK and up to EUR 47,250 in EU stores.
The bonus itself works as a discount on the referral fee:
10% discount on the first EUR 45,000 of eligible branded sales
5% discount on the next EUR 855,000 of eligible branded sales
The benefits can be used for a maximum of one year from the moment of qualifying or until the full pool of EUR 47,250 is used - whichever occurs first.
Who can qualify
Amazon points to two conditions:
The brand must be registered in the Amazon Brand Registry before creating the first buyable ASIN in EU stores or within a maximum of 6 months from that moment
The seller must be identified as the first owner of the brand in the Amazon Brand Registry
One more thing is worth clarifying: these rules only apply to sellers whose qualification falls on 26 March 2026 or later. If someone qualified earlier, they will still receive credits monthly, according to the previous rules.
What this means for your business
For new brands, this is simply a better start.
Faster allocation of credits means that the discount on the referral fee appears earlier. In turn, separating the UK and EU into two separate regions gives greater flexibility when planning expansion. A brand no longer has to treat these markets as a single common area.
If a company plans to enter the UK and EU in parallel, this change can realistically affect the starting budget and the pace of further scaling.
For companies that are only just building their presence on the marketplace, it is particularly important to properly arrange entry to the platform, so it is worth seeing what sales management for manufacturers on Amazon looks like.
VAT Calculation Services - VAT calculated at total shipment level
The second change comes into effect on 1 June 2026 and concerns VAT Calculation Services, or VCS.
Amazon is updating how VAT is calculated to align the service with European e-invoicing requirements.
The most important change is simple:
VAT will no longer be calculated per item. Instead, VCS will calculate VAT on the total invoice amount, at the level of the entire shipment, according to the tax rate.
This means that when a customer purchases multiple items, the total values on the invoice may differ from those resulting from the current method of calculation.
How Amazon will calculate VAT
Amazon indicates two scenarios, regardless of whether the customer is registered for VAT.
Consumer website
VCS will calculate VAT from the gross price. If a customer buys multiple items, unit net prices may differ.
Amazon Business website
VCS will derive the unit net price from the unit gross price. Then, VAT will be calculated on the total net value according to the tax rate.
What this means for your business
This is a change that will most interest teams responsible for finance, invoicing and data compliance.
If a brand sells multi-packs, operates on different VAT rates or has integrations with ERP, accounting or external document flow, the new calculation method may affect the way amounts look on invoices and in reports.
The VAT rate itself does not change. The calculation method changes.
And this is usually the moment when it is worth checking whether the data in Amazon, the accounting system and internal reports still agree with each other.
Updated payment reports - easier reconciliations and better visibility of deferred funds
The third announcement concerns payment reports and has a very practical meaning from the perspective of finance departments.
Amazon directly admits that reports based solely on the moment of payout made accrual accounting difficult, especially when part of the transactions remained deferred. In response, the company is implementing updates to the Date Range Transaction and Summary reports.
The rollout began on 23 March 2026 and will last until 31 May 2026.
The change covers the following stores: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and UK.
Who is affected by this change
Amazon indicates two groups of users:
Sellers covered by the delivery-date based reserve policy
Developers who use transaction reports via the Reports API
What will change in reports
By 31 May 2026, when generating a Transaction or Summary report for a period starting on 1 January 2025 or later, three significant changes will appear.
1. All posted transactions will be in one place
The report is to cover both transactions already released to the balance and those that still remain deferred under the delivery-date based reserve policy. Thanks to this, there will no longer be a need to download separate deferred transaction reports to see the full picture.
2. Activity will be indexed by posted date
The Date/Time column in the Transaction report will refer to the transaction posted date, not to the release date or payout eligibility date. This is intended to give a more consistent picture of activity during the selected period.
3. The report will clearly show deferred and released status
A new column will appear in the Transaction report showing whether a given transaction is deferred or released. In addition, the Transaction Release Date column will indicate the moment the funds were released. If the transaction still remains deferred, this field will be blank.
Amazon also adds an important note for companies using external financial systems. If reports are integrated with other tools, it is worth updating mappings or scripts. Reports for periods before 1 January 2025 will remain in the existing format. Amazon also announces similar updates for subsequent stores by 30 June 2026.
What this means for your business
This is one of those changes that don't make a big noise, but in practice can greatly simplify work.
If a company accounts for sales on an accrual basis, has deferred funds or links data from Amazon to external reporting, the new report layout should give better transparency and facilitate the month-end close.
However, one thing must be kept in mind. The update in Seller Central itself will not solve everything if old integrations are still running on the company's side. In that case, the report in Amazon will already show data in the new layout, while internal systems will still read them according to the previous logic.
FBA removal and disposal fees - fees charged at the moment of processing units
The fourth change concerns warehouse operations in FBA.
From 1 May 2026, fees for FBA removal and disposal will be charged per unit, i.e. at the moment when a specific unit is removed or disposed of.
Amazon emphasizes very clearly that the fee rates themselves do not change. Only the moment of charging changes. Until now, fees were collected only after the entire removal or disposal order was completed. After the change, the charge will appear on an ongoing basis, as individual units are processed.
Amazon also notes that no additional actions are required on the seller's side. The new fee charging method will be applied automatically to new removal and disposal orders created on 1 May 2026 or later.
What this means for your business
This change gives greater transparency on the operations and accounting side.
In the previous model, the cost appeared only after the entire order was closed. Now it will be visible closer to the actual moment of executing the operation. Amazon directly indicates that such a change is to provide better visibility of activities related to removal and disposal.
From a financial and operational perspective, this means more accurate tracking of costs. From the team's perspective, this in turn means a greater need to regularly check the Transaction view to understand well when the fee was charged and how it translates into current settlements.
What this means for your business
If you look at these four news items together, the conclusion is quite simple.
Amazon is doing two things simultaneously:
It facilitates entry for new brands
It brings more order to the financial and operational backend of sales
This is good news for companies that have an organized business. For those that operate more reactively, it is a signal to look at processes more closely.
In practice, it is worth checking four areas:
Whether the brand is set up well for Brand Registry and whether it qualifies for the New Brand Bonus
Whether the way VCS is used is consistent with invoicing and reporting
Whether payment reports are correctly linked to accounting, ERP and internal reporting
Whether removal and disposal in FBA are monitored closely enough so that the team understands the moment the cost is charged
On Amazon, it is easy to focus on advertisements, offers and sales growth. However, these changes remind us of something simple: margin and operational order do not happen by accident.
FAQ - frequently asked questions
Since when is the New Brand Bonus granted faster?
The new rules apply from 26 March 2026. From that moment, eligible sellers in Amazon EU stores - namely Germany, France, Italy and Spain - are to receive credits under the New Brand Bonus within a week, rather than monthly.
Are UK and EU now counted separately in New Seller Incentives?
Yes. From 26 March 2026, the United Kingdom and Amazon EU stores - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - are treated as separate regions. A seller can qualify for the New Brand Bonus independently in each of them.
Will sellers who qualified earlier also get credits faster?
No. If qualification for the programme occurred before 26 March 2026, credits will still be granted monthly, according to the previous rules.
How does the New Brand Bonus work on the fees side?
The bonus works as a discount on the referral fee:
10% on the first EUR 45,000 of eligible branded sales
5% on the next EUR 855,000 of eligible branded sales
Who can benefit from the New Brand Bonus?
The brand must be registered in the Amazon Brand Registry before creating the first buyable ASIN in Amazon EU stores - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - or within a maximum of 6 months from that moment. Additionally, the seller must be identified as the first owner of the brand in the Amazon Brand Registry.
What exactly changes in VAT Calculation Services from 1 June 2026?
Amazon stops calculating VAT per item. From 1 June 2026, VCS is to calculate VAT on the total invoice amount, at the level of the entire shipment, according to the tax rate.
Does the change in VCS change VAT rates?
No. The calculation method changes, not the VAT rate itself.
How will VCS calculate VAT after the change?
It depends on the sales channel. On the consumer website, VAT will be calculated from the gross price. On the Amazon Business website, VCS will derive the net price from the gross price, and then calculate VAT on the total net value according to the tax rate.
Who is affected by changes in payment reports?
The changes affect:
sellers covered by the delivery-date based reserve policy
developers using reports via the Reports API
Since when are the new payment reports being implemented?
The rollout began on 23 March 2026 and is to last until 31 May 2026.
What new features will appear in payment reports?
Amazon announces three main changes:
All posted transactions will be visible in one place
Activity will be indexed by posted date
A clear division into deferred and released and a new Transaction Release Date column will appear in the report
Are FBA removal and disposal rates changing?
No. Amazon clearly indicates that rates remain unchanged. Only the moment of charging the fee changes.
Since when will removal and disposal fees be charged per unit?
The new rules are to apply for new removal and disposal orders created from 1 May 2026.
Do you need to set anything manually when changing removal and disposal fees?
No. Amazon informs that no additional actions are required on the seller's side.
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