AliExpress tax advice focused on the seller
This service is for businesses operating in Spain that sell through AliExpress and need tax and accounting advice. We also review how this channel fits into companies using their own store or other marketplaces. We identify the sole trader or company holding the account to connect sales, expenses and obligations correctly.
If your business buys goods on AliExpress, we review those documents as part of its purchases and imports. The scope of that review is defined during the assessment. Tell us whether you sell products, buy for your business or receive affiliate commissions: these activities involve different documents and analysis. Questions about personal orders, warranties or returns should be handled with the seller or the platform.
What we review in your business
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Accounting for sales and receipts
We match documented sales and adjustments to settlements and bank records. We separate order amounts, returns, commissions, logistics costs and outstanding receipts. We check dates and balances so that a net receipt is not automatically recorded as the entire period's turnover. This work forms part of our business accounting service.
Hypothetical reconciliation example: a report shows €5,000 in paid orders, €300 in returns and €400 in platform charges. If all belong to the same settlement and there are no other adjustments, the payment would be €4,300. That payment alone does not explain sales or profit. Recording it requires separating any applicable VAT, checking evidence for the charges and verifying whether balances remain outstanding. These figures are illustrative; they are neither a fee nor a client case.
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Invoicing and platform expenses
We identify the invoices and supporting documents belonging to the business: services, commissions, logistics and other evidenced costs. We review the issuer, recipient, tax identification, description and VAT treatment. The entity invoicing one service may differ from the entity managing another: we check each document against the applicable contract rather than infer its tax treatment from the AliExpress logo.
An account summary does not by itself replace the necessary invoices. We agree how sales, expenses and corrections will be retained, and how to identify missing documents or those issued to another account holder.
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VAT according to origin, destination and customer
A sale's treatment depends on how it operates. We review the goods' origin and destination, the customer type and the platform's role. The Spanish Tax Agency explains when an electronic interface is deemed a supplier for VAT purposes: this rule does not apply to every seller's every sale. We therefore check which transactions belong to the business and which the platform reports.
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Purchases and imports of goods
If you import products, we request supplier invoices and the corresponding customs documents. We review who is named as importer and how purchases, transport and inventory connect. Specialist customs work is identified expressly if it requires an additional engagement or collaborator.
A charge labelled VAT on an order is not enough to conclude that your company can deduct it. The transaction, the named document holder and the applicable requirements must be checked before recording a deduction.
OSS and IOSS: what changes with the way you sell
The Spanish Tax Agency distinguishes the OSS and IOSS one-stop shop schemes. They are optional and concern transactions with final consumers that meet their requirements; they do not put every international sale into a single return.
- Stock in Spain and customers in other EU countries: we analyse whether there are intra-Community distance sales and whether the Union scheme is appropriate, alongside domestic obligations.
- Direct shipment from outside the EU to the consumer: we review potential eligibility for IOSS, which covers consignments with an intrinsic value no greater than €150, excluding excise goods. We also identify AliExpress's role in the transaction.
- Importing goods for your warehouse: we examine the purchase and its customs documents; we do not automatically treat it as a consumer sale covered by IOSS.
If you store goods in another country or the selling entity changes, we review potential local obligations. The one-stop shop does not replace every foreign registration. International scope is defined through our tax advisory service.
Scenarios that need to be distinguished
| Scenario | What we need to know | Work to assess |
|---|---|---|
| You sell from stock in Spain | Sales, customers and documentation | Accounting and applicable Spanish obligations |
| You sell to other countries | Destinations, customer type and dispatch | VAT analysis and international coordination |
| You buy goods for resale | Supplier, invoices and the goods' journey | Review of purchases, imports and inventory |
| You sell through several channels | Documents from each platform | Reconciliation without duplicating transactions |
How we work with your AliExpress business
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Initial review
we identify the entity, countries and flows of goods and money.
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Agreed documentation
we define the reports, invoices, statements and evidence to be supplied.
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Accounting and review
we cross-check the data and communicate issues before closing the period.
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Obligations and follow-up
we prepare the agreed work and review changes such as a new warehouse, another country or an additional channel.
Documents we need and what you receive
To assess your circumstances, prepare a sample period: orders and returns report, payment settlement, bank statement, commission and logistics invoices, and purchase invoices. If you import, add the available customs documentation. Also identify the account holder, countries where stock is held and sales destinations. If anything is missing, we identify which document needs to be recovered.
The proposal will specify these deliverables according to the service agreed:
- A list of documents and submission frequency by channel.
- Settlement and bank reconciliation, with differences and outstanding balances identified.
- The accounting or records required for the activity and a list of documentation issues.
- A calendar of obligations, included returns and filing receipts for submissions made.
When changing advisers, we also review the closing records, returns and balances received. Previous years and any corrections are quoted under a separate scope.
Fees and service scope
The quote depends on document volume, international activity and the state of the accounts. We separate recurring tasks from reviews of previous years, exceptional work and third-party costs.
Catalogue, campaign and order management are outside the tax service described here. We also do not promise tax reductions without first reviewing the business structure and transactions.