Common roadblocks faced by sellers while selling cross-border
Summary:
- E-commerce is on the rise, but the constantly changing regulatory framework can be tough to keep up with.
- The sellers get into trading without being fully informed about international taxation.
- The international markets are promising, and sellers need not be afraid of the cross-border complexities because easier, cheaper automation solutions are available.
- This blog is about the commonly faced issues and how to tackle them with automation.
E-Commerce flourished like never before with a promise to grow even more in the years to come. As many buyers are willing to opt for online shopping, many sellers are trying to reach out to newer markets. Buyers and sellers across the globe have realized how the entire world is at their fingertips. It is a good time for trading across the world where newer markets and newer buyers are more than eager to try out new things. Many sellers are entering international selling without completely understanding the complexities of the market and without having a long term plan for problem-solving. Among the constant challenges that the cross border sellers face in the international market today, down below are the very common ones.
- Constantly changing tax laws
- Fear of missing deadlines and fear of being charged fines.
- Goods being held at customs
- Delay in delivery
- Unexpected charges charged to customers.
- Unhappy Customers.
How to tackle these problems?
Selling across borders can be a profitable business. Many businesses do extensive market research for demand and supply in international markets, logistics and finances. But less thought is put on international taxation. When that comes up, it is usually dealt with like fire fighting. The consequences of this plan however are disappointed customers and heavy penalties. Businesses of all sizes need to have a strategy for compliance as well. It all begins with informing yourself. How well informed a seller is, matters while entering the international markets.
Take this short quiz to find out how well versed you are with international regulations. International regulations keep changing. One needs to keep a constant eye on changing tax laws. For many businesses, it means appointing a special department that understands how international taxation works. Appointing a subject matter expert can often be a costly affair. Many small businesses can not afford it. And that doesn't solve the problems for large scale businesses either, because bigger scale means bigger volumes. Bigger volumes mean room for human errors.
Many organizations of all sizes are moving to tax automation to avoid these issues. Tax and compliance automation is cost-friendly and error-free. Avalara helps organizations of all sizes with their compliance needs. We have a solution for cross-border compliance that is helping many sellers comply with ease. Our HS code calculators are in place to make cross border selling seamless. To know more about our products, visit our website and book a free demo.
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