New regulations for cross-border e-commerce platforms in 2022
Unconsciously, it's already 2022, and it's time to say goodbye to the past year of 2021. There is a new beginning in the new year, and of course, various cross-border e-commerce platforms are no exception. Various new regulations have also arrived as scheduled. Understanding these new regulations in advance can help sellers better avoid potential risks and operate our store in a more compliant and healthy manner. Below, the editor will take you to have a brief understanding.
1 eBay
(1) EBay prohibits the sale of products without a shelf life
If a seller sells a product on eBay, they need to provide any information about the shelf life to the buyer on the details page, product packaging, and ordering process. If the regulations are violated, in addition to being prohibited from selling, the seller also needs to pay compensation to the buyer and compensate eBay for customary fees and 100% surcharge, which is undoubtedly a huge expense.
(2) According to the French Circular Economy Anti Waste Law, starting from January 1, 2022, if you sell goods on the eBay platform, the platform will have an obligation to confirm whether you meet the extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements in the country/region where the goods are sold.
On December 18th, the eBay platform stipulated that the French EPR producer responsibility extension regulation will soon come into effect. According to the latest provisions of the French producer responsibility extension law, sellers are required to provide some additional information in the publication of certain categories on the eBay platform. Sellers can view more information on eBay's help page.
(3) Starting from January 1, 2022, sellers with annual sales exceeding $600 must provide the platform with a 9-digit Social Security Number (SSN) or Personal Tax Identification Number (ITIN) in order to continue selling on eBay.
(4) The management policies related to non-performing transactions on eBay accounts and the seller center policy section were updated on December 8, 2021. According to this policy update, eBay will also launch a new Seller Center policy section to display and analyze the non-performing transaction related indicators of its account, including the overall non-performing transaction rate of the account and various sub items of non-performing transactions.
(5) The eBay UK website has announced that starting from January 1, 2022, if the delivery address is located in the Eurozone and Northern Europe, the international fees for sellers registered in the UK will increase. For corporate sellers, the Eurozone and Nordic International fees will increase from 0.5% to 1.05%, excluding value-added tax; For non commercial sellers (private sellers), the related fees will increase from 0.6% to 1.26%, including a 20% value-added tax.
(6) EBay updates the import value-added tax for items sold to France. Starting from January 2022, eBay will collect value-added tax on all items shipped directly from outside the European Union to France, and this regulation will also apply to items exceeding 150 euros. For items worth no more than 150 euros, the seller needs to ensure that eBay's IOSS number has been added to the package; For items worth over 150 euros, ensure that the seller has added eBay's French value-added tax number to the package.
(7) EBay will add 20% value-added tax to Ukrainian users
EBay will charge a 20% value-added tax (VAT) to Ukrainian users to comply with the implementation of the "Google Tax". This law was initially referred to as the 'Google Tax', and in fact, it will affect all major foreign digital services used by Ukrainians, such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, etc. Foreign companies with an annual turnover exceeding 1 million Ukrainian currency (UAH) must pay this tax.
(8) EBay and Unity Pilot 3D Realistic View Technology
EBay announced that it will collaborate with Unity to pilot a new 3D realistic view technology. EBay stated that this technology is one of the pioneering technologies in e-commerce. Using proprietary applications, sellers can use their mobile devices to scan objects and capture videos from multiple angles. Then upload the data captured during this process to the cloud and use AI methods for processing to create a 3D image of the product. This technology enables sellers to display the actual products they are selling through a proprietary interactive 360 degree view.
(9) EBay Announces 2022 Auto Parts Strategic Category and Launches Efforts in Emerging Markets in Spain
On December 8th, based on the demand of end buyers in the European and American markets, and taking into account the advantages of China's supply chain, eBay released its 2022 eBay Auto Parts Overseas Strategic Category, selecting 300 sub categories of Auto Parts to help Chinese sellers find opportunities in the blue ocean market of overseas auto parts wiring. In addition, eBay will increase its support for the emerging market of automotive and motorcycle parts in Spain, launching multiple activities including exclusive brand marketing, full category transaction fee rewards, and logistics support to help sellers expand into the Spanish market. From April 2020 to September 2021, in just one and a half years, eBay Mygarage (my garage) showed that the new car ownership of eBay's automotive and motorcycle parts buyers increased by nearly 100%.
2 Wish
(1) On December 2nd, Wish requested that starting from 2022, merchants selling applicable products to France through the Wish platform will be required to comply with France's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance requirements. For the applicable category of the product, the merchant must have a valid EPR registration number (also known as a unique identification number, abbreviated as UIN).
If it is determined that the merchant has provided inaccurate or fraudulent EPR registration information for their products, their account may be suspended and/or their store exposure may be blocked.
(2) Wish has launched the Wish Clips short video module, which allows merchants to upload product short videos in order to better showcase products and tell product stories to global users. This feature is an upgraded version of the video function launched by Wish.
(3) Merchants must comply with the obligations stipulated in California Proposition 65. California Proposition 65 requires products containing chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm in California to be labeled with warnings. If the product sold by the merchant contains this list（ https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list ）Merchants must provide the required warnings on their product/product packaging or labels, as well as on the product details page online, for the listed chemical substances.
For merchants who repeatedly violate this policy, Wish may take other measures, including but not limited to suspending or blocking their accounts.
3-speed AliExpress
(1) On December 16th, the AliExpress platform released a notice regarding the obligation to recycle goods within France to sellers: Starting from January 1, 2022, sellers will be able to sell goods through AliExpress to France. AliExpress needs to confirm whether the seller meets the requirements of the French Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system. Therefore, AliExpress will collect and verify the seller's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registration number.
Starting from January 1, 2022, all merchants who sell goods through express sales to France will be collected and verified with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registration number.
At the same time, the AliExpress platform also notified sellers via email requesting compliance operations from January 1, 2022 to ensure compliance with the extended producer responsibility requirements.
(2) Starting from December 2021, individual businesses are not allowed to settle in AliExpress.
(3) Starting from December 2021, the entry threshold for major clothing categories will be increased, and the review will be stricter, requiring a minimum of 2 million yuan of revenue. Stores will be classified into brand stores, factory stores, and trade stores.
(4) Real time assessment of stores and clearance of zombie stores. Stores that have been in the store for more than a year will undergo sales assessment. Stores that do not meet the standards will be cleared in January. It means being a seller in the store group, and a large number of stores need to be cleaned up.
4 Amazon
(1) Amazon will close online ranking website Alexa.com in May 2022
On December 9th, according to foreign media reports, Amazon plans to close its global website ranking system and competitor evaluation tool "Alexa.com", which has been open for 25 years. Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue its Alexa.com platform on May 1, 2022, and will not release new monthly statistics in the future. It is understood that Alexa.com is a subsidiary of Amazon, founded in April 1996. Alexa collects over 1000GB of information online every day, not only providing billions of website links, but also ranking each of them.
(2) Amazon Europe Launch Marketplace Product Guide
Amazon Europe has launched a Marketplace product guide for sellers, which will help them identify opportunities to expand their product sales in the UK, Germany, and Japan, and provide sales advice for sellers' products
(3) Significant adjustment of FBA in the US station, with IPI threshold reduced to 400
In recent weeks, Amazon has further relaxed sellers' restocking restrictions. In addition, starting from January 1, 2022, the Amazon inventory performance threshold for Amazon US, UK, Europe (Germany/France/Italy/Spain), and Japan stations will be lowered to 400 points! Starting from January 1, 2022, the Amazon Inventory Performance Index (IPI) threshold will be lowered to 400. After this IPI change, less than 10% of sellers will have storage limit inventory.
(4) Update on warehousing policies for stations in the United States, UK, and Europe
Starting from April 1, 2022, if a seller continues to send the following three types of goods to Amazon Operations Center, the batch of goods may be rejected, and Amazon may suspend the seller's permission to send other goods to Amazon Operations Center:
a. The seller deletes the shipment after approving the storage plan;
b. The seller sent the shipment on the wrong route, that is, the shipment was sent to the wrong Amazon operations center;
c. The seller sends incomplete shipments, such as those in the "canceled" or "deleted" status.
Note: The specified quantity of each shipment in the plan needs to be sent one by one to the designated Amazon operations center.
(5) Starting from January 1, 2022, the new policy officially began. If the seller wants to sell goods in Germany and France, Amazon will confirm whether the goods on sale meet the requirements of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It is worth noting that Amazon requires you to meet this requirement whether you are using FBA logistics or self shipping.
Amazon will collect and verify the seller's EPR registration number. If the seller cannot meet the requirements, non compliant products will be restricted.
(6) Amazon Europe announced on December 30, 2021 that they are updating the customer return terms of their international sales policy. All most favored nation sellers who sell and fulfill customer orders from abroad on European sites, including Amazon. co.uk, Amazon. de, Amazon. fr, Amazon. es, and Amazon. it, must provide Amazon with a default domestic return address for products equal to or less than £ 20 or € 25 (including value-added tax), Or provide non return refunds for these products in other ways.
5 Dunhuang website
(1) On November 24th, Dunhuang website issued a requirement that starting from 2022, selling goods to Germany and France without an EPR registration number will be considered illegal.
