eBay

mcamazi63 · ‎06-01-2023

Hello, we are already looking for support everywhere and we don't see a similar topic anywhere + ebay doesn't want to help us + companies which are specialized in ebay services don't know how to help us. We want to register a business account on ebay.com, but we are facing a problem during data verification step.

We have an LLC registered in the US, but the owners of the business are Polish and the addresses and documents of the owners are from Poland.
Because of this, the system won't let the automatic verification pass and blocks our account.

The account has already been unblocked 2 times, currently it is not blocked, but we need to complete the registration process.

We are already selling on ebay in Europe from another account from our European company.
The LLC was opened especially for sales in the US - we are actively selling on Amazon.com for half a year with this LLC. Now we would like to expand our sales to ebay, but ebay makes it impossible for us to verify our account.

Please advise us - has anyone registered an account for a company registered in the US, where the beneficial owners of the company have addresses outside the US?
Also, during registration ebay asks for SSN / ITIN numbers, but as citizens of another country we do not have these numbers.

Thanks in advance for your support! 🙂

lacemaker3 · ‎06-01-2023

@mcamazi63,

First off, you don't need to have a USA-registered account to sell on eBay USA. Many foreign-based sellers choose to sell on ebay.com. These help pages are specifically set up to help foreign-based sellers who are listing on ebay.com:

https://export.ebay.com/en/

For your current situation, I think that you need to consult with a lawyer, who is licensed to practice in the USA, and who is familiar with both small business, taxation and immigration law. They can advise you about the legal requirements for operating an LLC in the USA, when the beneficial owners have no legal status in the USA, which appears to be your situation. Normally, operating an LLC in the USA would be considered to be working in the USA, and without an SSN (or an ITIN in limited circumstances), you're not legally allowed to work in the USA.

An ITIN (Individual tax ID number) is specifically for people who need to have a USA tax ID number, but are not eligible for an SSN (social security number). At a minimum, you would need to have ITIN numbers for all the beneficial owners of the company, because they will have income tax liability in the USA (will owe income tax to the USA) for all of the USA-derived income they receive from the LLC.

The USA taxes all USA-derived income, whether the people involved are citizens, or residents of the USA or not. Depending on the tax treaty with the country where you live, you may be able to get tax credits for taxes that you pay to your own country on the USA-derived income.

Many LLCs (Limited liability companies) are operated as sole proprietors, with the income flowing through to the single individual who owns the LLC, and being reported on that person's individual tax return. That's what most eBay sellers do (who have an LLC). But I don't think that can be done with a multiple-owner LLC, which appears to be what you have. I don't know the details for this, but I think that the business has to file a business tax return for the LLC, but then the beneficial owners will be receiving income from the business, and that has to be accounted for and USA taxes paid by the owners as well.

I'm not sure that an LLC is the best business structure for your situation, but a foreign-owned corporation has some very complicated tax implications in the USA, so it's probably best that you haven't gone that far yet.

This is not something that you can get a reliable answer from the internet. You need to speak with an experienced lawyer who is licensed in the USA and knows how to set this kind of business up without incurring a lot of legal and financial expenses.

toysaver · ‎06-01-2023

It seems like an attempt to evade taxes. Nobody will collude with you to do that. Poland has a tax rate of about 20% for businesses.

maxine*j · ‎06-01-2023

I will repeat Lacemaker's words:

.. This is not something that you can get a reliable answer from the internet. You need to speak with an experienced lawyer who is licensed in the USA and knows how to set this kind of business up without incurring a lot of legal and financial expenses.

And I will add that, specifically, you need to consult with what is called an "international tax attorney." Your proposal is complicated, in several respects, and you need advice from someone qualified to give it.

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mcamazi63 · ‎06-01-2023

Thank you guys for your answers. Just to be clear, this is not an attempt to evade taxes 😉

We have opened a separate LLC company registered in the US and use it only for sales in the US. Through this company we sell products dedicated exclusively to the US market. We have been selling on Amazon.com through this company for six months.

Before starting this business, we consulted everything with lawyers and accountants.
Amazon allowed us to register an account and everything is done according to the law.

eBay does not let us through automatic verification, so I assume that the system is not prepared for our situation. Unfortunately, eBay does not give us the necessary information on what we need to provide them to verify our account properly.,

If the problem is only the ITIN number, that would be fine, because we will get this number, but the process of assigning it is taking a long time now.

I don't think consulting a lawyer or financial advisor is needed here - the company is working, we are being handled by a US-based accounting company.
What we need is an eBay expert to help us get through eBay's stubborn system - If it's possible at all 😅

There's also the emergency option to sell on ebay.com through our European account. The problem is that all the stock is owned by an LLC. In this case, we would have to sell the goods to our company in the EU and then to customers in the US.
We would prefer to sell directly through the LLC, which owns the goods and the brand in the US. However, we are consulting with our accounting in the US and the EU on this issue.

maxine*j · ‎06-01-2023

@mcamazi63 wrote:

... Before starting this business, we consulted everything with lawyers and accountants...

... we are being handled by a US-based accounting company...

Well, then, get the lawyers and accountants to deal with eBay. That's what you pay them for.

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lacemaker3 · ‎06-01-2023

@mcamazi63,

In addition to the ITIN numbers for all the beneficiary owners, you will also need a business bank account located in the USA. You will have to have a mailing address for the company, which is the actual physical location where your office is in the USA. All of these addresses need to be shown on the bank account statements, and they need to exactly match the information on your eBay account.

If you have ever started to register a selling account (register for managed payments) using an address or bank account in another country, then you probably won't be able to change that account to register in the USA. Once you have started to register (which creates a managed payments account) you can't change the country after that.

Most US-based accounting firms know the rules for accounting and book keeping for people and companies that are in the USA. They may or may not be aware of taxation issues even for clients who are USA citizens; that's not what an accountant is supposed to be an expert in. They probably won't be aware of international taxation or business-related issues, because they don't deal with that. Most USA-based firms (lawyers, accountants, financial planners) do not know about international implications, and they may make mistakes that can cost their clients a lot of money. My own advisors have warned me about this, and given examples.

I am aware of some of the issues for a small business, between the USA and Canada, especially as it applies to an eBay selling business. I'm not familiar with issues that would be important for a larger company, with multiple beneficiaries, or in any other countries. That's why you need to talk to an expert, as @maxine*j said, an international tax lawyer who is familiar with business structures and their implications.

From what you have said so far, I don't think there is a way for you to register an eBay account in the USA. I don't believe it is allowed to do that. It's not permitted. My understanding is that this is because of the legal and tax implications.

I have no idea how your Amazon business is set up, but as I understand the situation, it doesn't sound like it is compliant with USA tax requirements. They are complicated enough for people in the USA, and there have been a great many arguments about that here in the forum.

I'm not an expert in this, but I know that I would not try to do what you're doing, running a USA LLC from another country. I have run one in the USA, and I have residences in two countries, but I would not try to run a business in the USA without a physical presence here.

lacemaker3 · ‎06-01-2023

To clarify my last post:

Unless you can provide all the information eBay requests, including names, addresses and ITIN's of the beneficiary owners, and the physical address of your office in the USA, and a USA bank account with that address, then I don't think there is a way for you to register an eBay account in the USA.