VAT on Amazon.ae and noon Seller Fees: Who Charges 5%, How You Reclaim It and What to Keep

Amazon.ae states that all listed fees are displayed excluding applicable VAT and that it will add VAT to every fee shown. So a referral fee, FBA fee or storage fee in the pricing table is the amount before tax. The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) treats a marketplace commission as a separate service from your sale, and the default VAT rate on agency services in the UAE is 5%. This page shows how that works for a UAE-based seller, as of October 2026.

Do Amazon.ae and noon charge VAT on seller fees?

Amazon.ae. Yes. The pricing page says fees are shown excluding VAT and VAT is applied on top. The note sits under the fee tables, which cover referral fees and fulfilment and storage fees, so the same rule applies to them.

noon. This page could not retrieve a noon statement on how VAT is shown against commission and fulfilment fees, so we do not state it here. Check your noon seller agreement and the fee statements in your seller account, and compare the VAT line with the Amazon.ae pattern. Our noon seller fees guide covers the fee structure itself.

Neither platform's pricing page is a tax invoice. What you need for your VAT return is the invoice or statement the platform issues for the period, with its tax registration number (TRN) on it. See tax invoice requirements for UAE e-commerce.

How does the FTA treat a marketplace commission?

The FTA's e-commerce VAT guide separates the sale from the marketplace's service:

• Where a marketplace is a disclosed agent, the supply is treated as made directly by you to the customer, and the VAT obligations for that sale stay with you as principal supplier.
• Where an agent charges a fee or commission, those agency services are a separate supply from the underlying goods. If the place of supply is in the UAE, they are taxable, at a default 5%.
• Where a marketplace is an undisclosed agent, there are two supplies: you to the marketplace, and the marketplace to the customer.

Which model applies to a given marketplace depends on how it contracts. The guide does not name Amazon.ae or noon, so read your seller agreement. The guide is dated August 2020; check the FTA site for newer guidance.

Can you reclaim VAT on marketplace fees?

If you are VAT-registered, VAT charged on business costs is generally input tax that you can offset in your return, as long as you hold a valid tax invoice and the cost relates to taxable sales. The FTA's e-commerce guide describes this: taxable persons are generally able to recover input tax, subject to certain conditions. Confirm the conditions for your own case with the FTA or a tax agent.

If you are not registered, you cannot reclaim it. You pay 5% extra on every fee, with no offset. The VAT registration threshold is AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports, and voluntary registration is possible from AED 187,500. A seller well below the threshold with high fee costs can compare the cost of fee VAT against the work of registering. Read UAE VAT registration for sellers before deciding.

Which marketplace costs carry VAT?

Advertising invoices may come from a different entity from the marketplace itself, with a different VAT position. Treat each invoice separately and keep the entity name and TRN. Our Amazon.ae seller fees guide breaks down the fee types.

Worked example: fee VAT on a month of sales

Illustrative only. Assume a VAT-registered seller has AED 10,000 of marketplace fees in a month (referral, fulfilment and storage, shown before VAT), and the fees carry the default 5% rate.

A non-registered seller in the same position pays AED 10,500 and recovers nothing, so margin planning should use the VAT-inclusive figure. The 5% default rate comes from the FTA e-commerce guide. The AED figures are made up for the example.

Does it change if you sell from a free zone?

Your license type does not by itself remove VAT from marketplace fees. The VAT rules say a person established, registered or resident in a designated zone is deemed to have a place of residence in the UAE for VAT purposes. Whether the supply is taxed depends on where the service is supplied and to whom, not on the zone's marketing. Only free zones specified by Cabinet decision are designated zones, and a free zone that is not designated is treated like any other part of the UAE. See VAT for designated zone and free zone sellers for the test. When in doubt, ask the FTA or a tax agent before you assume a fee is VAT-free.

What can go wrong?

• Fees entered without VAT. Your landed-cost sheet uses the listed fee, but the real charge is 5% higher. Add the VAT line to every fee in your margin model.
• No TRN on the invoice. Without a valid tax invoice for the marketplace's own fees you may not be able to reclaim the VAT, so keep the fee invoice with the marketplace entity's name and TRN. Do not confuse this with the separate rule for sales invoices: a VAT-registered marketplace acting as agent may issue the tax invoice for your sale to the customer, but if it shows the agent's details it should still reference your name and TRN.
• Mixing marketplace payouts with sales. Your bank payout is net of fees and VAT. Report gross sales on your return, not the payout.
• Wrong period. Ask your tax agent which date your return uses for each fee invoice; the payout date is not necessarily the right one.
• Late registration. If you passed the threshold and did not register, see late VAT registration penalty.
• Delivery and COD lines. VAT on your own delivery charges is a different question; see VAT on delivery and COD.

FAQ

Does Amazon.ae charge VAT on seller fees? Yes. Amazon.ae states that listed fees are displayed excluding applicable VAT and that it will additionally apply VAT to all fees displayed. The rate applied to a given fee is on your fee statement.

What VAT rate applies to marketplace commission in the UAE? The FTA says the default VAT rate for taxable agency services in the UAE is 5%. Zero-rating can apply in some cases where the service is supplied to a non-resident principal, but not to physical handling and delivery of goods in the UAE.

Can I reclaim VAT on Amazon.ae fees? If you are VAT-registered and hold a valid tax invoice for taxable business costs, VAT on fees is normally input tax you offset in your return. If you are not registered you cannot. Confirm the conditions with the FTA or a tax agent, as this is general information.

Does noon charge VAT on commission? This page could not retrieve noon's own statement, so check your seller agreement and fee statements. The FTA e-commerce guide says a marketplace commission is a separate taxable service where the place of supply is in the UAE.

Do I need to be VAT-registered to sell on Amazon.ae? Registration is mandatory only above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports, and voluntary above AED 187,500. Amazon.ae may still ask for VAT details during account setup, so check its account requirements.

Who charges VAT to my customer, me or the marketplace? Under the FTA's disclosed-agent model, the supply is treated as made by you, so the VAT obligation on the sale stays with you. Under an undisclosed agent model there are two supplies. Your seller agreement decides which applies.

What to do next

Add the VAT line to every fee in your margin sheet, download each marketplace's tax invoices for the period, and match them to your return. If you want help with the marketplace side, Blooprint, an Amazon SPN verified partner, runs Amazon.ae account management and noon account management. For return mechanics, read VAT return filing for online sellers.