Introduction

In European countries, the supply of most goods and services is subject to Value Added Tax (VAT). If you are a publisher based in the European Union (EU), Norway, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom (UK), you may be required to collect VAT from some of your advertiser partners.

Collecting VAT

If you engage in a commercial activity regularly, you will likely need to register for VAT and collect VAT on the supplies you make to certain advertisers. However, there may be cases where you are not required to collect VAT. This could be, for instance, if your annual turnover is below a certain level set by local tax authorities.

VAT Identification Number

If you are required to collect VAT, you will receive a VAT Identification number (VAT ID) as part of your VAT registration process with the local tax authorities. Provide this number to us via your Publisher Manager or in response to the email we sent asking you to notify us of your VAT status. If you do not have a VAT ID when you launch your program but register for one later, it is your responsibility to provide us your VAT ID. If you have two or more VAT IDs in different countries, provide us with the VAT ID of the country where you operate your business, your home country. 

Having a Swiss VAT ID while not being based in Switzerland might affect how VAT is collected on your commissions. If that is the case for your business, consult your accounting and tax professionals. 

Adding or Updating your VAT ID

You can add or update your VAT ID in your account details in the Publisher Dashboard:

1. Go to Account in the navigation header and click Account Details.
2. In the General tab, scroll down to the Tax Declaration section to add your VAT number.

When is VAT applied?

If you are subject to VAT, Rakuten Advertising will collect the VAT at the rate relevant to your country from advertisers on your behalf. If you are partnered with an advertiser based in another country, as a general rule your taxable supply is considered as carried out in that other country. In such cases, no tax will be collected on your behalf. The advertiser will most likely be responsible for self-assessing VAT/GST, also known as a reverse-charge, or other tax on services received.

If you are not subject to VAT, Rakuten Advertising will not collect this tax from any advertiser on your behalf.

Tax Invoice Details

Once your advertiser partners approve your related commissions, invoices are generated for each calendar month during which you have provided services to the respective advertisers. Events such as a bonus or cancellation of commissions previously accepted by advertisers can also trigger the generation of a tax invoice. The tax invoice states the amounts of commissions approved, commissions cancelled, and bonus granted by the respective advertiser. VAT is added to these amounts where applicable.

We generate publishers’ tax invoices addressed to advertisers through our platform, in the name and on behalf of the publisher. Such invoices indicate the VAT number of the publisher and the VAT number of the advertiser. Rakuten Advertising has no VAT obligations in relation to the publisher-advertiser supply, and therefore the invoices do not contain the VAT number of Rakuten Advertising.

Rakuten Advertising is only part of the transaction in the specific case of Direct Engagements or Accelerate Engagements. If you have entered into such engagement, your publisher commissions will be invoiced to Rakuten Advertising and not to the advertiser. 

The publisher tax invoices are generated in line with the general invoicing requirements set forth by the VAT legislation of the respective country. However, you as the publisher are responsible for verifying the local invoicing requirements of your country; should the VAT invoice generated by Rakuten Advertising not satisfy those requirements. For example, if you need an invoice in a language other than English, German, French, or special format digital invoices, it is your responsibility to issue compliant invoices for the services you have provided, for your own VAT records and filing.