New US INFORM Consumers Act imposes new requirements for sellers
The INFORM Consumers Act takes effect in the US on June 27, 2023. This law places obligations on high-volume third-party sellers to provide, and on Amazon to collect, verify, and disclose, information about their businesses.
To ensure a trusted store for both customers and sellers, Amazon already maintains and continues to innovate on robust processes for collecting and verifying sellers’ business information during and after registration. While many of these processes are more sophisticated and effective than the basic requirements of the INFORM Consumers Act, this new law requires us to take certain additional steps to verify information related to high-volume sellers.
You may be required to provide information about your business for verification, such as your name, a government-issued identification document, a business address, bank account information, a working email address, a working phone number, and a tax identification number. You may also be required to annually certify that your information is current.
In most cases, if you already completed verification for any of the required information, you won’t need to submit it again, as long as your information hasn’t changed.
If you need to take further action, we will contact you via email with specific instructions. We ask that you respond to these messages within the specified timelines, as the law may require us to deactivate your selling account until you successfully complete verification.
We recommend you go to your Account Information now to confirm that all of your business information is accurate and current.
To learn more about the INFORM Consumers Act, go to About the INFORM Consumers Act.
We have also updated the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement for consistency with the new law. To learn more, go to Changes to the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement.
New US INFORM Consumers Act imposes new requirements for sellers
The INFORM Consumers Act takes effect in the US on June 27, 2023. This law places obligations on high-volume third-party sellers to provide, and on Amazon to collect, verify, and disclose, information about their businesses.
To ensure a trusted store for both customers and sellers, Amazon already maintains and continues to innovate on robust processes for collecting and verifying sellers’ business information during and after registration. While many of these processes are more sophisticated and effective than the basic requirements of the INFORM Consumers Act, this new law requires us to take certain additional steps to verify information related to high-volume sellers.
You may be required to provide information about your business for verification, such as your name, a government-issued identification document, a business address, bank account information, a working email address, a working phone number, and a tax identification number. You may also be required to annually certify that your information is current.
In most cases, if you already completed verification for any of the required information, you won’t need to submit it again, as long as your information hasn’t changed.
If you need to take further action, we will contact you via email with specific instructions. We ask that you respond to these messages within the specified timelines, as the law may require us to deactivate your selling account until you successfully complete verification.
We recommend you go to your Account Information now to confirm that all of your business information is accurate and current.
To learn more about the INFORM Consumers Act, go to About the INFORM Consumers Act.
We have also updated the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement for consistency with the new law. To learn more, go to Changes to the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement.
155 replies
Seller_J0oYW5z7lRVft
We want to comply, but your system has failed to allow us to change the coutnry details to proceed from Step 1. We are continiously told to create a support case, only to be told that the Seller Verification Team doesn't deal with this issue. We're literally hanging in limbo. I have so many case Numbers for you to look at so you can see we're running in circles while time is running out.
Seller_5xUDjRTyrAgVB
Just wondering... All the Chinese and South/Central American sellers that caused so many issues for Amazon US, do they have the same requirements?
Seller_W1w4IAbSKp9ki
If only our suppliers agreed with the Govs definition of volume...we'd all be rich right?
Seller_9Uf78DYSZ2lcW
Am I the only one seeing the benefits to this?
1) The verification process for over-seas sellers will be difficult meaning more sales for US sellers.
2) Scammers will have a harder time opening and maintaining an account. I have recently made three personal purchases that wound up being scammers. Sure I got my money back, but think about how many buyers are losing faith in Amazon due to these fake sellers. Hell! EVERY seller should have to verify!
3) I'm sick of the tax cheats saying that the government shouldn't have access to their income information. Pay your taxes!
I don't think this re-verification is likely to mean US sellers have it any easier. There will still be overseas sellers, there is a whole verification system for getting your account in the first place now days, it is just now they are going to require Amazon to go through the process in some form or another on all sellers on a regular basis.
About the only people I would expect this to catch are going to be the ones who have "purchased" selling accounts from sellers who have "walked away" and decided to "sell" access to their accounts.
And it is going to make it harder on the scammers who thought they could open an account under a fake name or without using a real address.
Unless you are an old timer and got your account before the verification that have existed for at least 5 years (probably much longer) then they already have your ID information. If you are doing business, you don't get to hide your Identity.
Now we do all hope that Amazon has robust systems in place to protect the important information that is stored with them because they do have a lot of it on all of us! But complying with this law isn't really changing that.
I just really hope they get the verification and re-verification system bugs worked out because I've been hearing plenty of bugs and glitches are really messing up the flow of all this.
Seller_waD5es6ha7259
How are such low numbers considered high volume?
Don't you know? There is a budget crisis and the government needs all of our help to bail them out so the politicians can keep going to their country clubs and expensive dinners.
Seller_0xdtD36hDLHBC
Perhaps not. But look at this store.
https://www.amazon.com/sp?seller=AH9RE2ICX0BGW
Clearly this seller has never had their address verified. Oh, BTW, 1000+ orders and it appears that NONE of them have ever been delivered.
Holy cripes Amazon! Why are you letting these sellers destroy OUR marketplace?
Seller_cCwRiCrjZMd4T
Is this email supposed to have individual verification needs in it? I personally haven't seen one yet and am not seeing it anywhere in my account.
Seller_SpHSX1raAIk97
I am unable verify the Bank Account information as the Account holder name shows my name instead of the Business name.
Seller Support confirmed on case this is a known issue,
Can you (Amazon reps) confirm this is a known issue and you won't be deactivating our seller account for not verifying the Bank account?
Seller_9Uf78DYSZ2lcW
Because in Amazon's Eyes, it is Amazon's Marketplace.
And we all know that there are certain countries that seem to have "special status" being able to do things on Amazon which would get a US accounts deactivated if we simply think about it, let alone actually try it and they seem to get away with it long term.
But I too, do hope that this new policy will help clean up/close down such accounts.
Seller_MXXlfySZ18Ozh
Absolute mess.
DON'T WORRY, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW
Received an email about some sellers needing to reverify. "You don't need to do anything, if you need to reverify, we'll send an email to let you know"
No email... just an ominous popup in Seller Central.
Completed and sent back immediately. No confirmation email.
BOTH SIDES NOW
A) Form has 3 upload slots labeled Front of ID, Back of ID & secondary document.
When both sides of ID are uploaded per form instructions, the form updates to show that they've been combined into a single PDF.
B) Denial email: Please submit both sides of ID in a single photo or scan.
- Literally impossible without editing which would then also presumably invalidate the files.
- Can't submit without 3 files being uploaded.
SECURITY FEATURES
Denial email: We require a high resolution photo (what was provided) or scan with all security features including holograms, watermarks, background patterns, etc. must be fully visible and in focus.
Umm... it should be rather obvious that most security features are there to prevent reproduction.
For a couple easy examples, on mine the holograms are clearly shown when photographed but when scanned they're invisible and the background image becomes super prominent vs when viewed in person... as that's supposed to be a telltale sign that it's a copy.
So which does Amazon want? The holograms or a clear view of the background image? Neither a scan nor a photo will be able to capture all security features in the way Amazon is demanding.
WHO YOU CALLIN' BLURRY?!
How are sellers with bad and/or blurry photos on their IDs supposed to make them clear and crisp "high resolution" without editing them which defeats the entire purpose?
This is a pretty common thing. DMV's aren't known for their staff of prize winning photographers or their cooperation when asked to retake ID photos. My current photo looks like they just pulled my bloated corpse out of a lake, propped it up and only managed to get this one photo before it exploded into goo.
To be clear, it is my face and I was very much alive at the time... but the response to my request for a retake of the photo was not unlike what one might expect if they'd been asked to regather the goo and try again.
GO HERE & FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Initial denial email instructs sellers to login to Seller Central and follow instructions to resubmit... except, when one logs into Seller Central there are no instructions, no pop up, etc.
Secondary denial email (same submission) restates it as "log into Seller Central and follow instructions on the identity verification page" with a link to said page. Link just goes to dashboard in Seller Central. Still no instructions, popups/banner/widget or links.
WHEREFORE ART THOU?
Did eventually find that the banner does reappear if you access the Seller Account Information page within Seller Central.
No new instructions, it's the same form that was previously filled.
That said, hesitant to attempt it again without clarification of how exactly sellers who upload valid documentation are supposed to pass it aside from sheer chance as I'd imagine failing it multiple times (again, with valid documents) will only complicate matters.
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Anyone else managed to successfully navigate these particular issues? @AmazonMods, able to provide us with some guidance and/or help ensure this nonsense is actually addressed & resolved before the clock runs out and many of us have even larger problems?
