In December, Amazon updated some policies and platform dynamics for sellers, with some policies already having a clear effective date, and some will directly affect shipping, sales, and account permissions in 2026.

For sellers to quickly grasp the key points, it is recommended to bookmark and check against the list item by item.

01. A surge in changes to the main entities of Chinese seller stores

Data shows that throughout 2024, Amazon's entity changes remained in single digits. However, the situation reversed suddenly in 2025.

In September, there were 11 changes to the Hong Kong entities of Amazon stores, which rose to 381 in October and soared to 780 in November. This surge is not a coincidence, as it coincides highly with the implementation of the platform's mandatory quarterly data reporting policy in June 2025. The migration wave that began in September accelerated during this window.

The core motivation for sellers to switch to Hong Kong entities stems from tax considerations. Unlike mainland companies that are taxed at 25% corporate income tax, Hong Kong adopts a "territorial tax system": only profits from local sources are taxed. The corporate tax rate is 16.5%, and offshore income is tax-exempt.

For many cross-border sellers, this means a significant increase in tax and compliance risks.

02. Amazon Global Intelligent Hub Warehouse (GWD) lands in Shenzhen

Amazon announced that the first GWD will be located in Shenzhen and plans to officially open to Chinese sellers in March 2026. In the future, sellers only need to send goods to the local warehouse to sell to 20 global sites with one click. Compared to the past method of distributing to overseas warehouses through AWD, the overall warehousing cost is expected to save 20-40%.

GWD is a true one-stop global warehousing and distribution service. From warehousing, customs clearance, cross-border transportation to inventory allocation, it almost connects all links in the cross-border chain. And it can also seamlessly connect with FBA.

That is to say, as long as the goods use GWD, plus FBA service, the goods do not need to be sent to the overseas FBA warehouse, but can be directly supplied from the source to global consumers quickly.

03. Shared inventory will be officially offline on March 31, 2026

Amazon announced that from March 31, 2026, the "shared inventory" function that has been used for many years will be officially offline. In the past, as long as the UPC of the goods was the same and the seller used the manufacturer's barcode for warehousing, Amazon would put different sellers' identical goods into the same inventory pool for management. The advantage is that sellers save the trouble of labeling and warehousing is more convenient. But the problem is also obvious.

As long as a seller sends defective products to the warehouse, the overall quality of this inventory pool will be dragged down. The seller responsible for quality control may also be complained by buyers because of others' defective products.

After March 31, 2026, the rules will become simpler: inventory will no longer be mixed, and labeling requirements will be stricter. Whose goods correspond to whose reputation, and store reputation will also be completely bound to their actual inventory.

04. Amazon pushes tax data to sellers

Amazon pushes annual tax transaction data to third-party sellers on multiple global sites in batches,

with core fields including: seller number, site information, company name, unified social credit code, quarterly interval, total revenue/refund amount/net income, total platform commission & service fees, number of transaction orders.

And clearly require sellers to complete the tax declaration verification for the corresponding market before January 31, 2026. The platform has already synchronized your business "portrait" for this quarter with the tax bureau. It is important to note that this download link is only valid for 7 days.

05. Self-delivered Prime (SFP) welcomes important updates

Amazon seller self-delivered Prime (SFP) has been updated. Now,

SFP will evaluate the delivery performance according to the product size, including standard size, large and extra-large. The performance of one size level will no longer affect other levels. Sellers can freely choose to register for one or multiple size levels based on their actual delivery capabilities.

There are also new changes to the trial period. The trial period has been adjusted to four complete consecutive weeks, from Sunday to Saturday, consistent with the weekly performance assessment cycle.

If you have already joined SFP, the system will automatically open the qualifications for all product size levels for you. If you are in the trial period, it will still be evaluated based on the overall performance of the account. Once the trial passes, you will also automatically obtain the Prime qualifications for all size levels. Other Prime qualifications and plan requirements remain unchanged.

06. FBM refund policy adjusted again in 2026

Amazon announced that it will officially update the refund policy for self-delivered sellers' FBM on January 26, 2026.

According to the new policy, the time limit for FBM order refunds after the seller receives the return will be adjusted from the original 2 working days to 4 calendar days.

If the seller still fails to complete the refund within 4 calendar days after receiving the return, Amazon may directly initiate an automatic refund to the buyer.

Once it enters this kind of automatic refund situation, the seller basically cannot apply for compensation through SAFE-T (Seller Transaction Guarantee Claim Mechanism) again. Only in very few special cases can exceptions be made, such as: the returned goods are lost during transportation, the logistics system shows the signing information, and it is confirmed that it is not the seller's responsibility for the error. In these cases, sellers can still submit SAFE-T claims.

07. Amazon new seller qualification review (SIV) fully implemented in 2026

To ensure the account security of buyers and sellers in the Amazon marketplace, all new sellers need to pass the seller qualification review, also known as the SIV review, after completing the registration information filling.

Step 1: Submit identity verification materials

Sellers need to upload the company's business documents, such as the business license, and the legal representative's identity documents, which can be an ID card or passport. Note that it must be a color scanned copy or original photo, complete and clear, and no photo editing is allowed.

Step 2: Perform identity verification

Operated by the legal representative himself, complete the verification through system prompts. There are two verification methods: facial recognition photo or record a facial video, choose one of them.

Step 3: Perform bank account verification

You need to upload a bank statement, or follow the prompts to add a new receiving account for subsequent funds settlement.

Step 4: Address verification (some sellers will encounter)

Amazon will send a postcard containing a verification code to the address you filled in when you registered.

Step 5: Wait for the review results

08. KYC becomes a mandatory compliance item for the Canadian site

As Amazon's compliance requirements for the Canadian site continue to upgrade,

KYC qualification review has become an important link that all sellers selling on the Canadian site or planning to enter must face. KYC, short for Know Your Customer,

is a standard identity verification process stipulated by Canadian financial regulatory authorities. To comply with local regulations and ensure transaction security,

Amazon has fully implemented KYC certification on the Canadian site in 2025.

Whether you are already selling on the Canadian site or planning to enter the market in the future, as long as you trigger KYC, you must submit relevant information to complete the review as required.

When a seller triggers KYC on the Canadian site, the system will display a reminder on the "Policy Compliance" page in the backend. Prepare the materials in advance, submit according to the system prompts, and you can generally pass smoothly!

09. Compliance synchronization upgrade of two major categories on the US and Canada sites

Many Amazon sellers from the US and Canada sites have received emails reminding them of the platform's compliance policies. It is important to note that the compliance requirements for two categories, portable power sources and strollers and front-wheel walkers, have been updated. Please remember the timeline:

Portable Power Source:

Policy implementation date: December 10, 2025

Product removal date: December 3, 2025

Strollers and Front-Wheel Walkers:

Policy implementation date: March 10, 2026

Product removal date: February 16, 2026

These two types of products can only continue to be sold after passing the compliance review. To further improve product safety and compliance levels,

sellers must cooperate with third-party testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) service providers to test all ASINs that receive notifications, or verify existing test documents.

10. Sellers on the UK site will be restricted from creating new shipments if they do not provide IEN

According to the latest compliance requirements of the UK Customs,

all shipments sent to Amazon's operating centers in the UK must provide an Import Entry Number (IEN). If you do not provide an IEN as required, Amazon will directly restrict your permission to create new shipments. That is to say, whether you are an old seller who already has a VRN (UK VAT number) or a new seller who is just starting, you must ensure that you can obtain and upload the IEN after the shipment is cleared before shipping.

There are two common solutions for Amazon sellers:

Solution 1: Apply for EORI first to ship as soon as possible

Even if you haven't got your VRN yet, you can still apply for EORI first. In this way, you can still obtain and upload the IEN after the shipment is cleared, without delaying the sales rhythm and business opportunities.

Solution 2: Wait for VRN approval before shipping

If you do not want to bear the import VAT in advance, you can choose to suspend shipping first and prioritize completing the application for a UK VRN. After the VRN is approved, apply for an EORI with the VRN and then ship it. Similarly, you can obtain and upload the IEN after the customs clearance.

If the declared value of your shipment is less than £135, you can use the UK Customs' BIRDS low-value goods simplified customs clearance mode.

However, it should be noted that some carriers cannot provide IEN under the BIRDS mode. In response to this situation, Amazon has opened a temporary IEN exemption application channel, which is valid until January 31, 2026. Eligible sellers can complete the compliance through this channel to avoid affecting warehousing due to IEN issues.

Finally:

The above content is the main policy and platform dynamic updates of Amazon this month. It is recommended that sellers focus on the content with clear removal times, permission restriction nodes, and mandatory compliance requirements, prepare materials in advance, and avoid affecting shipping, sales, or account security due to information lag.

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