Quick answer. Sellers based in mainland China can sell in Amazon’s US store, but they have to pass the same verification as US sellers, meet US product safety, labeling and intellectual property law, and keep one consistent set of business details across every store they sell in. Under the INFORM Consumers Act, Amazon must collect and verify a high-volume seller’s name, government ID, business address, bank account, email, phone number and tax ID, and the seller must certify that information at least once a year. Since 2025, Amazon also reports China-based sellers’ identity and sales data to the Chinese tax authority every quarter. Most cross-border suspensions we review trace back to mismatched information, unsupported extra accounts, missing product certificates or IP complaints, and each of those is preventable.
Who This Applies To and Why Cross-Border Accounts Draw More Checks
The rules in this article apply to any business established outside the United States that lists products in the Amazon.com store, with a focus on manufacturers, trading companies and brand owners in mainland China. The US store applies one rulebook to every seller. What changes for a cross-border seller is the number of places where the evidence can break. Your business license is issued in one country, your bank account may sit in another, your inventory is made in a factory you may or may not own, and your products are sold under US law into a US fulfillment network.
Each of those handoffs creates a document Amazon may ask for. A domestic seller with a US LLC, a US bank and a US warehouse produces documents that agree with each other almost by default. A cross-border seller has to make them agree deliberately, often across translations, different address formats and different legal entity names. When they do not agree, Amazon’s verification systems treat the gap as a risk signal.
Verification Is the First Hurdle
The Business Solutions Agreement requires you to give Amazon your legal name, address, phone number, email and any other information Amazon requests, and says that information must correspond to your business name or to an individual legally authorized to act for the business. You authorize Amazon to verify it, including information you update later. Amazon’s seller code of conduct adds the obligation to provide accurate information to Amazon and customers at all times and to update it when it changes.
INFORM Consumers Act requirements
Amazon explains that the INFORM Consumers Act took effect on June 27, 2023, and applies to third-party sellers in the US store who, in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, sold 200 or more new or unused consumer products and had $5,000 or more in gross revenue. For those sellers, Amazon must collect and verify the following.
- The seller’s name.
- A government-issued identification document.
- A business address.
- Bank account information.
- A working email address and a working phone number.
- A tax identification number.
Amazon states that this information must be in the business name of the seller or of an individual legally authorized to act on the seller’s behalf. That clause is where many cross-border accounts fail. A bank account opened in the name of a relative, a payment account held by a service company, or an ID belonging to someone with no documented authority over the business does not meet it.
Annual certification and the 10-day window
High-volume sellers must keep their information current, notify Amazon of changes and certify at least once a year that it is correct. Amazon sends the certification request by email, in performance notifications and on the Account Health page. Once you open the Notice and Certification page, Amazon states that you must complete the electronic certification within 10 days to avoid deactivation. Teams that route Amazon emails to a shared inbox nobody reads, or that let the account holder’s contact details go stale, miss this deadline more than any other.
What happens if verification fails
Amazon states that if you do not respond within the requested timeline, or it cannot verify your information, it may withhold your payments or deactivate the account until verification is complete. For deactivations caused by INFORM requirements, Amazon directs sellers to the reactivation steps in the deactivation email or the “Reactivate your account” option on the Account Health page, and states that accounts are reinstated in 48 to 72 hours after both verification and certification are completed. INFORM is also one of the policies included in the Account Health Rating.
Amazon also discloses part of this information to customers. Each seller has a profile page on Amazon.com that shows the seller’s name and address, along with an optional customer service phone number and a link to Buyer-Seller Messaging. The address you verify is the address US customers see, so use a real business address you can support with documents.
China Tax Reporting Under Decree No. 810
This is the newest obligation for China-based sellers and the one older guides do not cover. Amazon states that reporting requirements issued by the State Council of China (Decree No. 810) and the State Taxation Administration of China (Public Notice [2025] No. 15, known as PN15) require domestic and foreign online stores to provide information on China-based sellers to the Chinese tax authority. Amazon files those reports quarterly. The first report, covering July to September 2025, was filed on October 31, 2025.
The requirement applies to China-based sellers who sell in any of Amazon’s stores worldwide. Amazon states plainly that a seller who sells only in the Amazon.com store is still covered. The data Amazon reports depends on whether the seller holds a business registration certificate.
| Data reported | Seller with a business registration certificate | Seller without a business registration certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Name on the business registration certificate and the unified social credit code or taxpayer identification number | Name on the national ID, the ID category and number, and the issuing country or region |
| Contact and account | Address, online store name, store URL, bank account details, point of contact name and phone number, Marketplace Company ID and marketplace | The same contact and account fields |
| Financial | Total revenue, net income, refund amount, total commission and service fees, and number of orders, in CNY | The same financial fields |
Amazon states that no action is required to comply, but it asks sellers to keep the information in that table complete and current. It also warns that if your information has already been verified, any change to account information will trigger new verification in the stores where you sell. That is the practical risk. A seller who updates a bank account or legal name to tidy up the tax report can set off a verification review in the US store at the same time. Plan changes, have the supporting documents ready before you submit them, and make one change at a time.
Amazon sends the previous quarter’s PN15 data to the merchant default contact email each quarter and recommends keeping a copy. It also notes that the figures will differ from Seller Central payment and VAT reports, because the tax report converts revenue at the Central Parity Rate on the ship date and includes shipping, gift wrap, discounts, taxes and surcharges in revenue.
What Cross-Border Sellers Need to Get Right
| Area | What Amazon requires | Common problem for cross-border sellers |
|---|---|---|
| Business information | Accurate details matching your business, kept current | Documents that do not match, or changes not reported |
| Number of accounts | One account per region unless there is a legitimate business need and all accounts are in good standing | Several accounts linked to the same people or business details |
| Product compliance | Products must meet the laws of the store you sell in, including safety, markings and labels | Missing certifications or labels required in the US |
| Intellectual property | No infringement of trademarks, copyrights or patents | Listings using another brand’s names, images or patented designs |
| Authenticity | Records proving products are authentic when Amazon asks | Factory or trading company invoices Amazon cannot verify |
| Taxes and customs | Understand tax, customs and export control obligations for each store | Treating cross-border tax and import rules as an afterthought |
Our Amazon account health maintenance team can take this Amazon case from first review to final submission.
Multiple Accounts and Related-Account Risk
Amazon’s selling policies allow one Seller Central account for each region in which you sell, unless you have a legitimate business need to open a second account and all of your accounts are in good standing. Amazon gives three examples of a legitimate need. You own multiple brands and maintain separate businesses for each. You manufacture products for two distinct and separate companies. You are recruited for an Amazon program that requires separate accounts.
The enforcement clause is the part cross-border groups should read twice. If any of your accounts are not in good standing, Amazon may deactivate all of your selling accounts until every account is in good standing. A factory group that runs several stores through different family members or different trading companies, with shared staff, shared offices or shared payment details, can lose all of them because of one.
Operational overlap is what usually links accounts. Shared office addresses, shared bank or payment accounts, the same contact phone number, the same staff logging in to several stores and shared devices are the patterns we see in related-account cases. If you have a legitimate reason for more than one account, keep the businesses separate in fact, not only on paper, and keep the records that show the separation. If you do not have a legitimate reason, consolidate before Amazon finds the link.
Network access deserves a specific note for teams in mainland China. Staff often reach Seller Central through VPNs, proxies or third-party tools. Constantly changing access points, shared login credentials and account-management services that log in to many sellers’ stores from the same environment make your account look connected to accounts you have never heard of. Give each authorized person their own user permissions, keep logins on dedicated devices, and limit third-party access to tools you have vetted.
Product Compliance in the US Store
Amazon’s guidance for global selling tells sellers to research their responsibilities in each store, including tax and customs, intellectual property rights and IP restrictions on parallel import, export controls, markings and labels, and environmental, health and safety requirements. Amazon points sellers to its Compliance Reference tool to find the requirements for a chosen store. Amazon’s Restricted Products policy applies in full, and Amazon notes that some products that are legal are still prohibited by its policies. Product safety and compliance and the Restricted Products policy are both part of the Account Health Rating.
CPSC certificates are now filed at entry
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s revised certificate rule requires importers to electronically file certificate data with US Customs and Border Protection for imported consumer products that CPSC regulates and that must be certified. The requirement took effect on July 8, 2026, for most regulated products, with products entered from a foreign trade zone following on January 8, 2027. The importer of record is responsible for the certificate data. For a China-based seller shipping inventory into FBA, that means the children’s product certificate or general certificate of conformity has to exist, be accurate and be filed with the entry, not produced after Amazon asks for it.
De minimis no longer covers low-value shipments
CBP’s notice implementing Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for covered shipments from all countries, for goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on August 29, 2025. Sellers who relied on low-value direct shipments from China to US customers now face duties and formal customs data on those orders. Price and plan inventory flows with that in mind, and keep entry records, because Amazon may ask for supply chain documents during a review.
Labels, markings and certifications
US rules differ by category. Electronics, children’s products, cosmetics, food and products with lithium batteries each carry their own testing, labeling and registration requirements. The fastest way a cross-border account loses ASINs is to ship inventory built for another market into a US warehouse and wait for Amazon to request documents. Confirm the US requirements and collect the test reports and certificates before the factory finishes production.
Related guides include Selling in Multiple Amazon Marketplaces From One Seller Account and Selling Electronics on Amazon Without Getting Suspended.
For a closely related case, read Selling Food on Amazon Without Getting Suspended.
Intellectual Property for Factory and Private Label Sellers
Many cross-border sellers manufacture their own products. Amazon’s Intellectual Property Policy covers copyrights, trademarks and patents, and Amazon takes action on infringement even when a seller did not know about the right. Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeiting and Intellectual Property policies are both in the Account Health Rating, so complaints count against the account, not only against the ASIN.
The pattern we see most often is a factory that produces a design for one client and then lists a near-identical product under its own brand, or lists a product type that a US company has patented. The second pattern is listing copy and images taken from a competitor’s detail page. Before launching a product in the US, check three things.
- Your brand name does not conflict with a US registered trademark.
- The product design is not covered by a US utility or design patent.
- Your photos, videos and listing copy are your own or properly licensed.
If you own a brand, a trademark lets you enroll in Amazon Brand Registry to manage and protect it. For a US trademark application, the USPTO’s rule at 37 CFR 2.11 requires an applicant whose domicile is not in the United States or its territories to be represented by an attorney qualified to practice before the USPTO. Filings made through unlicensed agents are a known source of trademark problems that later surface as Brand Registry issues.
Authenticity and supply chain records
When Amazon questions authenticity or product origin, it asks for invoices and supply chain documents. A factory that sells its own product needs production records that prove it, and a trading company needs invoices from the manufacturer with supplier details, buyer details, issue dates, product descriptions and quantities. Amazon’s own supplier due diligence guidance tells sellers to verify business registration and licenses, confirm authorized distributor status, obtain letters of authorization where relevant, and review invoices for all required information. Build that file when you onboard a supplier. Producing it during an active suspension is much harder.
Funds and Suspensions
The Business Solutions Agreement allows Amazon to withhold payments while it determines that risks related to returns, chargebacks, claims, disputes, policy violations or legal issues persist. Amazon may suspend or terminate an account immediately in situations that include deceptive or fraudulent activity identified by its controls and an Account Health Rating below the published threshold. Amazon says it will notify you of the reason and any appeal options, except where that would hinder an investigation of deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity.
For a cross-border seller, a fund hold is often the first sign of a verification or related-account review. Read the notice for the specific request, gather only the documents it asks for, and make sure every document shows the same legal name and address as the account. Sending a pile of unrelated paperwork slows the review.
How to Respond to a Verification or Compliance Suspension
- Identify the policy. Read the notice and the Account Health page to see whether the action is verification, INFORM certification, related accounts, product compliance or IP. Each one needs a different response.
- Audit your own records first. Compare the legal name, registration number, address, bank account holder and ID holder across your business license, bank documents and Seller Central. Write down every mismatch.
- Fix the source, not the symptom. If the bank account is in the wrong name, open one in the right name. If the address on the license is out of date, update the license before you update Amazon.
- Prepare clean documents. Use original documents, clear full-page scans and certified translations where the original is not in a language Amazon accepts for that request. Make sure names match character for character.
- Answer the exact request. Submit what the notice asks for through the path it names. For INFORM deactivations, use the reactivation steps Amazon provides.
- Write a plan of action where one is required. For policy violations, state the root cause, the corrections you made and the controls that stop it from happening again. Keep it specific to your business.
Mistakes That Make Cross-Border Cases Worse
Edited documents. Altering a utility bill, bank statement or license to match Seller Central turns a verification problem into a deception problem under the Business Solutions Agreement. Fix the underlying record instead.
Opening a new account after a deactivation. A replacement account with overlapping people, devices or payment details runs into the multiple account policy and can extend the original action to the new account.
Using borrowed identities. An account registered with the ID of someone who does not own or control the business fails the INFORM requirement that information belong to the seller or an individual legally authorized to act for it.
Changing several details at once. Updating the legal name, address and bank account in one week, especially after a tax report review, triggers fresh verification on all of them.
Ignoring the account contact. Missing a certification email because the default contact belongs to a former employee is a common and avoidable cause of deactivation.
First-Time Versus Repeat Problems
A first verification failure caused by an outdated document is usually resolved by providing the correct document. A pattern is different. Repeated verification requests, multiple accounts flagged together, or IP complaints across many ASINs signal to Amazon that the business has a structural issue. Those cases need a full review of entities, accounts, suppliers and listings before anything is submitted, because a partial answer often triggers the next request.
US, EU and UK Differences
The US store relies on the INFORM Consumers Act for seller verification and on US agencies such as CPSC and CBP for product and import rules. Selling in Europe adds separate obligations.
European Union. The General Product Safety Regulation, which applies from December 13, 2024, states that a product cannot be placed on the market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for it. Online offers must clearly show the manufacturer’s name and contact details, the responsible person’s details where the manufacturer is outside the Union, information that identifies the product, and any required warnings or safety information. A China-based manufacturer without an EU responsible person cannot meet that requirement.
United Kingdom. HMRC guidance makes the online marketplace liable for VAT on goods sold by overseas sellers when the goods are already in the UK at the point of sale, regardless of value, and on goods imported into Great Britain in consignments of £135 or less. Overseas sellers still need to understand their own UK VAT registration position for other sales.
Amazon’s Global Selling pages list separate tax and regulatory considerations for the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, Japan and other stores. If you hold a unified account, keep the information you verify in one region consistent with what you verify in the others, because a change in one store can trigger verification in the rest.
How to Protect a Cross-Border Account
- Use one consistent, verifiable set of business details and update Amazon whenever they change.
- Respond to verification and certification requests within Amazon’s timelines, and keep the default contact email monitored.
- Run additional accounts only with a legitimate business need that you can document.
- Give each team member their own user permissions and keep logins on dedicated devices.
- Confirm US compliance requirements and certificate data before inventory ships.
- Clear trademarks and patents before launching new products.
- Keep invoices and production records that show where every product came from.
- Keep copies of each quarterly PN15 report Amazon sends you.
If verification or compliance problems have already led to a suspension, our Amazon suspension and reinstatement team handles the appeal. For product compliance issues, see our product safety and compliance service, and for IP complaints, our rights owner complaint service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a seller in China sell on Amazon US?
Yes. Sellers outside the US can sell in the US store, subject to Amazon’s verification, the INFORM Consumers Act where it applies, and US product safety, customs and IP rules.
What documents does Amazon verify under the INFORM Consumers Act?
For high-volume sellers, Amazon must collect and verify the seller’s name, a government-issued ID, a business address, bank account information, a working email and phone number, and a tax ID. The information must belong to the seller or an individual legally authorized to act for it.
Does Amazon share my data with Chinese tax authorities?
Yes, if you are a China-based seller. Under Decree No. 810 and PN15, Amazon files quarterly reports with the Chinese tax authority covering identity, contact, bank and sales data, even if you sell only in the US store.
Can I run several Amazon accounts for different factories?
Only with a legitimate business need, such as manufacturing for two distinct and separate companies, and only when all accounts are in good standing. If one account is not in good standing, Amazon may deactivate all of them.
Why are my funds being held?
The Business Solutions Agreement allows Amazon to withhold payments while it determines that risks such as claims, chargebacks, policy violations or legal issues persist. Amazon may also withhold payments when INFORM verification is incomplete.
Get Help With a Cross-Border Account
Submit your case for a free assessment, or book a consultation.
Our Amazon account health maintenance team can take the case from here. You can also see all our marketplace suspension services.
Sources
- Amazon Seller Central, About the INFORM Consumers Act
- Amazon Seller Central, China tax information reporting requirement
- Amazon Seller Central, Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement
- Amazon Seller Central, Selling policies and seller code of conduct
- Amazon Seller Central, Policies included in Account Health Rating
- Amazon Seller Central, Taxes and regulations for Amazon Global Selling
- Amazon Seller Central, Select reliable suppliers with due diligence
- Amazon Seller Central, Intellectual Property Policy
- Amazon Seller Central, Additional information and resources about the Restricted Products policy
- Federal Register, Certificates of Compliance final rule (CPSC)
- GovInfo, CBP notice implementing Executive Order 14324 on de minimis
- Legal Information Institute, 37 CFR 2.11, requirement for representation
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety
- GOV.UK, VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces
