If you’re a seller on Amazon you probably received a notification from Amazon asking you to review and certify your account in the last month. We’ve seen these notifications in the past, but unlike when accounting information needs to be updated or Amazon finds an issue in your seller account, we’ve never experienced Amazon sending a requirement like this seller-wide.
The formal notice to Amazon sellers listed the US INFORM Consumers Act as the reason for requesting updated business information. Aside from the standard contact information, Amazon also asked for bank account information and the business Tax ID number.
With a 10-day deadline and threat of account deactivation, sellers scrambled to get accounts updated and verified by Amazon. Once they received the acknowledgment notice, sellers could continue selling, but unfortunately, sellers will be required to complete this process again.
No seller enjoys seeing their account at risk of deactivation, so here’s what they need to know when dealing with the INFORM Act going forward.
What is the INFORM Act?
The INFORM Consumers Act, effective June 27, 2023, is designed to make online transactions more transparent to discourage online sales of stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe products. The law requires all online marketplaces, including Amazon, to collect and maintain up-to-date business information for high-volume sellers.
As of April 2024, Amazon Sellers who have sold 200 or more new or unused products and earned $5,000+ in revenue within 12 months in the last 24 months are affected. Sellers will now need to complete the following:
Provide specific business information
Update their information when changes occur
Certify its accuracy annually
Verify an Amazon Seller account under the INFORM Act
- Identity
- Phone Number
- Banking Account
- Business Address
- Tax ID Number
Once account information is submitted, sellers will wait 24 hours to see if additional verification is needed. After Amazon completes their verification, sellers will receive an email notifying them that the certification is complete and the account is no longer at risk of deactivation.
Keep in mind that any time sellers submit updated business information on the seller account, the INFORM Act requires Amazon to verify the updates. If sellers do not respond promptly to Amazon’s information requests, the result could be account deactivation.
If sellers do not complete the verification updates within 10 days, the seller account could risk deactivation or withheld payments. If an account is deactivated, reactivation will not occur until the verification is complete. After completion, it could take 24-48 hours for the account to be active again.
Although it feels like Amazon is asking sellers to jump through another hoop, the INFORMs Act should help to improve the online marketplace’s health. If the law does what lawmakers hope it will, sellers will earn more credibility, and customers will have more confidence in their purchases. As long as sellers stay on top of their Account Health notifications and keep their business information up to date, the INFORMs Act will perform as a tool for overall account health.
