• Written by: James Carey, CA CTA
• 19/04/2026

Amazon AU GST for Foreign Sellers: FBA Rules in 2026

Selling into Australia via Amazon? Here is exactly when you owe GST, when Amazon collects it for you, and whether you need an ABN, an ARBN, or both. The single fact that decides nearly everything is whether your stock sits in an Australian fulfilment centre or stays overseas. That one decision flips your obligations across two different agencies (the ATO and ASIC), two different statutes, and two different registration pathways.

This guide walks through it the way we explain it on calls with foreign sellers preparing to launch on Amazon AU. Where the law is unsettled, particularly around whether Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) inventory triggers ASIC foreign-company registration, this article says so plainly. Nothing here is a substitute for legal or tax advice on your specific facts.

The FBA flip: the one distinction that matters

There are two ways a foreign seller can fulfil Amazon Australia orders. Either stock stays overseas and ships to each customer internationally (direct ship, including Amazon's "Remote Fulfilment" variant), or you bulk-ship inventory to an Amazon fulfilment centre inside Australia (FBA-AU).

That single choice flips your tax position. When you ship from overseas, Amazon almost always handles the GST as the "Electronic Distribution Platform" (EDP) operator, and you may not need to register for anything in Australia. The moment your stock lands in an Australian Amazon warehouse, you become the GST collector, you must register for Standard GST with an ABN, and you are in the grey zone of ASIC foreign-company registration.

The reason is in the legislation, not Amazon's policies. The EDP rules push collection responsibility onto the marketplace only when the goods are imported as part of the supply. Once the goods are already inside Australia at the time of sale, the marketplace carve-out does not apply. The ATO confirms this in its merchant guidance and addresses warehoused stock directly in Law Companion Ruling LCR 2018/2.

How GST applies, scenario by scenario

Australian GST is 10% on taxable supplies. The question is who collects and remits it.

Scenario A (LVIG, under AUD $1,000). Since 1 July 2018, Amazon as a registered EDP collects the 10% GST at checkout and remits it. The seller does nothing. The ATO confirms in LCR 2018/2 that "if the EDP operator is responsible for GST, these sales don't count towards your GST turnover when calculating if you need to register". Tobacco and alcohol are excluded (taxed at the border).

Scenario B (over AUD $1,000, direct ship). GST and any duty is collected by Australian Border Force at importation. The importer of record (typically the customer) clears the goods. Most foreign sellers keep listings under $1,000 to preserve the clean Amazon-collects experience. If you sell higher-value items, consider acting as importer of record yourself; Standard GST registration then lets you claim import GST as input tax credits.

Scenario C (FBA Australia). The EDP rules switch off. The ATO's position is explicit: "A non-resident business that imports goods and warehouses them in Australia prior to selling them online, directly or through an electronic distribution platform, will have a GST obligation for the goods sold because the goods are located in Australia." Simplified GST is not available. You must register for Standard GST: ABN, monthly or quarterly BAS, and almost always an Australian BAS agent (you cannot lodge electronically from outside Australia). The ATO illustrates this in a worked example called "Household Harriet", a Hong Kong seller using marketplace fulfilment in Australia, where Harriet (not the marketplace) charges GST.

The $75,000 turnover threshold still matters in scenarios A and B. Sales where Amazon collects do not count, but direct sales (Shopify, eBay, own site) do. Hit AUD $75,000 in rolling-12-month sales connected with Australia and registration becomes mandatory. For deeper background, see our Selling into Australia GST guide.

Simplified GST or Standard GST: which one applies

The ATO offers two non-resident registration pathways. They are mutually exclusive.

If your sales sit in scenario A or B and you cross the $75,000 threshold (usually via non-Amazon channels), Simplified GST is the lighter touch: register through the ATO's AUSid portal, get an ARN, lodge a quarterly two-field BAS, and pay. No ABN. No ASIC. No Australian tax agent strictly required.

The moment scenario C arrives (you ship even one carton to FBA-AU), Simplified is off the table. The ATO is explicit: "If you hold an ARN, you can't hold an ABN". Switching means cancelling the ARN first, then applying for an ABN through the Australian Business Register.

Do you need an ABN to sell on Amazon Australia?

The answer is conditional:

• Pure overseas fulfilment, all sales via Amazon AU as LVIG: no ABN required. Amazon collects, you do nothing.
• Pure overseas fulfilment plus direct sales (own site, Shopify) over $75k AU turnover: Simplified GST with an ARN. Still no ABN.
• FBA-AU at any volume: ABN is required because Standard GST registration is required.
• You want to claim GST credits on import duty, Amazon fees, ad spend, or other AU costs: Standard GST with an ABN, even where Simplified would technically work. A commercial choice.

ABN entitlement does not require an Australian-resident director, an Australian company, or a registered Australian address. The ABR's companies and other entities entitlement page states that a foreign company is entitled to an ABN if it is "registered with ASIC under the Corporations Act with an Australian registered body number (ARBN) or making supplies connected with Australia's indirect tax zone". Either limb is sufficient, which is why an ARBN is not a prerequisite to obtaining an ABN. The ABR's non-resident proof-of-identity process reflects this: companies without an ARBN identify themselves with a certified copy of the home-country certificate of incorporation instead. For the foreign-seller pathway in detail, see our ABN and GST registration service page.

The ARBN question: do FBA sellers need to register a foreign company with ASIC?

This is where the law is genuinely unsettled and where most online articles give you a confidently wrong answer in either direction. ASIC has not published a definitive position on whether holding stock in a third-party Amazon AU fulfilment centre, with no other Australian footprint, amounts to "carrying on business" under the Corporations Act. We strongly recommend taking advice on your specific facts before deciding.

The two-test structure in the Corporations Act

Section 21 of the Corporations Act 2001 does not positively define "carrying on business in Australia". It does two things:

1. A deeming provision. A body corporate is deemed to carry on business if it has a place of business in Australia, establishes or uses a share transfer office, or administers Australian property in a fiduciary capacity.
2. A counter-indicative list (s21(3)). A body corporate does not carry on business merely because it does any one of nine specific things, including:
   • Maintains a bank account
   • Effects a sale through an independent contractor
   • Solicits or procures an order that becomes a binding contract only if accepted outside Australia
   • Conducts an isolated transaction completed within 31 days
   • Invests funds or holds property
   • Holds internal directors' or shareholders' meetings

If your activities sit between the deeming provision and the carve-outs, Australian courts apply a holistic, fact-specific test built up over case law. There is no clean rule.

How FBA-AU stock fits the test

The cautious technical reading: warehoused stock in Australia, under the seller's commercial control, looks uncomfortably close to a "place of business". The inventory is the seller's, the seller decides what to ship in and when, and the seller bears the inventory risk. Under that view, an ARBN should be obtained.

The pragmatic reading taken by many advisers: a third-party logistics provider's premises are the 3PL's place of business, not the seller's. Amazon FBA fits this analysis, and the s21(3)(d) carve-out for sales effected "through an independent contractor" is on point. Under that view, an FBA-only seller with no employees, office, or contracts signed in Australia is not carrying on business in Australia, and ARBN registration is not strictly required.

Practitioners take different views. The ATO position on the GST side is unambiguous (FBA equals Standard GST, full stop). The ASIC position on the ARBN side is not, and there is no published ASIC ruling on FBA-only sellers as at April 2026. Indicators that push toward conservative ARBN registration include: signing leases or distribution agreements in Australia, appointing Australian contractors as your representatives, substantial long-held inventory, or any Australian-located employee.

If you register, the process is ASIC Form 402, which requires certified copies of your home incorporation documents, the appointment of a local agent (a person resident in Australia who is personally liable for your ASIC compliance), and a memorandum of directors' powers. ASIC issues a 9-digit ARBN and you take on ongoing financial-statement lodgement obligations. See our Form 402 guide for the mechanics.

The cost profiles differ. Standard GST registration plus a BAS agent is the lighter ongoing commitment. ARBN registration adds Form 402 lodgement, a local agent, registered office, and annual ASIC financial-statement lodgements on top. AusBusinessRegister's typical fee for the ARBN-pathway add-ons is summarised in the practical-path section below; check current pricing on our services pricing page. The pragmatic path may suit smaller FBA-AU operations with no other Australian footprint, while the conservative ARBN path gives certainty for larger sellers or anyone whose Australian footprint is likely to grow. Which is right for you depends on your facts and your tolerance for the unsettled position. Take advice.

Practical path: a US LLC starting on Amazon AU

1. Decide your fulfilment model. Direct ship vs FBA-AU. This determines steps 2 to 4.
2. Direct ship only: confirm Amazon Seller Central is collecting GST on LVIG sales. Monitor your non-Amazon Australian sales. If those approach $75,000, register for Simplified GST via AUSid.
3. FBA-AU at any volume: apply for an ABN through the ABR (non-resident POI). Register for Standard GST. Engage an Australian BAS agent. Charge 10% GST on every Australian sale of FBA stock.
4. Decide the ARBN question. Take advice. Document the analysis either way. If you proceed with ARBN, lodge Form 402, appoint a local agent, and budget for ongoing ASIC compliance.
5. Australian Consumer Law: check listings against ACL consumer guarantees, refund policy, and any product safety standards in your category.
6. Income tax: confirm you have no Australian permanent establishment. For most overseas Amazon sellers the answer is no.
7. Re-check annually. As your Australian footprint changes, the ARBN and PE positions can flip.

ABR's pricing for the relevant pieces: ABN registration from $400 (combined ABN + TFN), GST registration from $200, local agent from $1,900/yr, ongoing ASIC compliance from $2,500/yr (which includes registered office). Resident director services from $6,000/yr are only relevant if you set up an Australian Pty Ltd subsidiary, and that fee does not include D&O insurance (you arrange that with your own broker) or registered office (which is part of the separate ASIC compliance service).

Income tax: is your foreign company taxable in Australia?

For a typical overseas Amazon seller with no Australian employees, no leased premises, and no dependent agent, the typical position is no Australian PE. Under Australia's permanent establishment rules and the relevant double tax agreement (the US-Australia DTA for US sellers, similar for UK, Canada, Singapore and most likely jurisdictions), business profits are only taxable in Australia to the extent they are attributable to an Australian PE. A website hosted by an independent ISP is generally not a PE. The treatment of inventory held at a third-party fulfilment centre is treaty-dependent. Many treaties contain warehousing carve-outs that suggest no PE arises, but OECD BEPS Action 7 narrowed these carve-outs (preparatory and auxiliary activities, anti-fragmentation rules) and Australia is a signatory. The conservative answer is that FBA-AU inventory may not create a PE under typical treaty wording, but you should take treaty-specific advice on your facts before relying on that position.

What changes the answer: an Australian-resident employee or dependent agent who habitually concludes contracts, leasing office space, or operating an Australian fulfilment centre yourself. GST and income tax are separate questions. You can be obligated to charge GST (FBA scenario) without owing any Australian income tax. The ATO confirms this on its selling goods into Australia page.

Australian Consumer Law: the bit foreign sellers underestimate

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to any business supplying goods to Australian consumers, regardless of where the business is located. The ACCC has stated that mandatory product safety standards apply to overseas sellers no matter where they are based. The practical implications:

• Consumer guarantees (acceptable quality, fitness for purpose, matching description) cannot be excluded. A US-style "all sales final" disclaimer is not enforceable in Australia.
• Refund and replacement obligations apply for major failures. Your Amazon AU returns policy must align with ACL, not just your home jurisdiction.
• Product safety standards in specific categories (children's products, electrical goods, batteries, cosmetics) can trigger recalls and ACCC enforcement against overseas sellers.
• Misleading conduct (price, country-of-origin, performance claims) is enforceable against overseas sellers in Australian courts.

Most foreign sellers handle this with an Australia-specific returns and warranty policy on their listings. Category-specific safety compliance (testing, certification, labelling) is the larger ongoing cost.

Five common mistakes foreign Amazon AU sellers make

1. Assuming Amazon collects GST on FBA-AU stock. It does not. Stock-in-Australia is the seller's GST obligation, full stop. This is the single most common compliance gap we see.
2. Registering for Simplified GST while planning to use FBA-AU. Simplified is unavailable as soon as you warehouse. Switch to Standard before your first FBA shipment, not after.
3. Skipping ABN application because "we're a foreign company". ABN entitlement under the ABR rules is satisfied by either ASIC registration (ARBN) or making supplies connected with Australia's indirect tax zone. The two registrations are governed by different statutes and the ABN is available without an ARBN where the supplies-connected limb is met.
4. Treating the ARBN question as a yes-or-no answered by Amazon. Amazon does not advise on ASIC obligations. The analysis is fact-specific and requires your own legal/tax advice.
5. Using a US-style returns policy on Amazon AU listings. ACL consumer guarantees override your terms. Build an Australia-specific policy or risk ACCC enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an ABN to sell on Amazon Australia?

Only if you hold stock in Australia (FBA-AU) or your projected Australian sales reach $75,000 a year and you choose Standard GST registration. Pure overseas-fulfilled sellers with all sales handled as LVIG by Amazon do not need an ABN.

Can I get an ABN without an ARBN?

Yes. The ABR's companies and other entities entitlement page sets the test as ASIC registration with an ARBN or making supplies connected with Australia's indirect tax zone. Either limb is sufficient, so a foreign company that is making (or about to make) Australian supplies can apply for an ABN without an ARBN. The ABR's non-resident proof-of-identity process accepts a certified copy of the home-country certificate of incorporation as the company's identifier when no ARBN is held. Whether you should also register with ASIC (and obtain an ARBN) is the separate "carrying on business" question under the Corporations Act, addressed above.

Does Amazon collect GST for me?

For low-value imported goods (under AUD $1,000) shipped from overseas, yes. For stock held in an Australian fulfilment centre, no. The seller collects and remits.

What is the GST registration threshold?

AUD $75,000 in current or projected turnover from sales connected with Australia, rolling 12 months ($150,000 for non-profits). Sales where Amazon is responsible for GST do not count.

Does FBA inventory in Australia create a permanent establishment?

Often no, but the answer is treaty-dependent and not free from doubt. PE typically requires a fixed place of business at your disposal or a dependent agent habitually concluding contracts. A third-party fulfilment centre frequently fails both tests, and many treaties carve out warehousing for storage or delivery. OECD BEPS Action 7 narrowed those carve-outs and Australia has implemented several of those changes. Large or long-held inventory and significant operational control over the warehouse can shift the analysis. Take treaty-specific advice. See our permanent establishment guide.

Do I need a resident director to register an ABN?

No. The Australian-resident director requirement applies to Australian Pty Ltd subsidiaries, not to foreign companies obtaining an ABN. A US LLC or UK Ltd can hold an ABN with no Australian director.

How long does ABN registration take for a foreign company?

Typically 1 to 2 weeks if proof-of-identity documents are in order. Plan for 4 weeks to be safe; ATO verification can extend the timeline.

What if I switch from direct ship to FBA-AU later?

Cancel any Simplified GST registration, apply for an ABN, and re-register under Standard GST. Do this before your first FBA-AU shipment arrives at the Amazon warehouse. Backdating is technically possible but creates penalty exposure.

Do I need a tax agent in Australia for Standard GST?

Effectively yes. The ATO does not accept BAS lodgement electronically from outside Australia. Paper lodgement is possible but most sellers engage an Australian-registered BAS or tax agent. See our taxation services.

What about Australian Consumer Law compliance?

ACL applies to overseas sellers supplying Australian consumers. Consumer guarantees, refund obligations, and product safety standards apply regardless of where the seller is based. Build an Australia-specific returns policy and check whether your products fall within any mandatory safety standards.

How AusBusinessRegister can help

We work with foreign Amazon sellers across both pathways: pure overseas fulfilment (Simplified GST setup, ongoing BAS) and FBA-AU operations (ABN, Standard GST, BAS agent, and the ARBN judgement call where it applies). If you would like to talk through the structure for your situation, book a call and we can scope it in 15 minutes. For broader background see our register a business in Australia pillar and the foreign company registration checklist.

Sources

• ATO, Simplified GST registration
• ATO, Standard GST registration
• ATO, If you are a merchant
• ATO, If you are an EDP operator
• ATO, GST on low value imported goods
• ATO, Selling goods into Australia
• ATO Law Companion Ruling LCR 2018/1 (LVIG)
• ATO Law Companion Ruling LCR 2018/2 (EDP supplies)
• ABR, ABN for businesses outside Australia
• ABR, Companies and other entities entitlement
• ABR, Proof of identity for non-residents
• ASIC, Register a foreign company
• ASIC, Form 402
• Corporations Act 2001, section 21
• ACCC, Selling online