Amazon's 2022 European Fee Changes and Fuel Surcharge

In brief: Amazon announced its 2022 European referral and FBA fee changes on 27 January 2022, blaming rising costs, and most took effect on 31 March 2022. The fulfilment fee structure changed: the large envelope got thinner, an extra-large envelope tier was added, parcels were split into two size tiers, and oversize items started being charged on the greater of actual or dimensional weight. Then, from 12 May 2022, Amazon added its first ever fuel and inflation surcharge — 4.3% on FBA fulfilment fees in Amazon's five biggest European stores (UK, DE, FR, IT, ES), about £0.10 per unit on average in the UK.

The 2022 fee changes on 31 March

Change	Detail
Large envelope (960 g)	Maximum thickness cut from 5 cm to 4 cm (33 × 25 × 4 cm)
Extra-large envelope (960 g)	New tier up to 33 × 25 × 6 cm
Parcels	A new small-parcel tier, giving two parcel tiers
Oversize (small, standard, large)	Charged on the greater of unit weight or dimensional weight (L × W × H in cm ÷ 5,000)

Envelopes, parcels and special oversize stayed on unit weight. The changes applied to local FBA, Pan-European FBA and the European Fulfilment Network.

The May 2022 surcharge

Rather than raising base fees again, Amazon added a 4.3% surcharge on top of per-unit fulfilment fees from 12 May 2022, describing it as a response to fuel and inflation costs whose duration was unclear.

A worked example

A seller ships 6,000 FBA units a month in the UK. At the average £0.10 surcharge per unit, that's about £600 a month extra from 12 May 2022. A product that moved from large envelope into the new extra-large envelope tier because it was 4.5 cm thick would also have paid more from 31 March.

What it means for your bookkeeping

• Two fee rises in two months. Settlements from April and May 2022 each reflect a different rate; compare per-unit FBA fees, not monthly totals.

• Measure your products. Size-tier changes and loose packaging can push items up a tier. Amazon accepts remeasurement requests if its dimensions look wrong.

• The surcharge is part of the fulfilment fee. It shows inside the FBA fee rather than as a separate line.

• VAT: fees billed in 2022 used the reverse charge for UK VAT-registered sellers — see VAT on Amazon fees.

• Where it shows up. Surcharges arrive inside the settlement rather than on a bill — see reconciling an Amazon settlement.

How TrueBooks helps

TrueBooks posts FBA and referral fees from every settlement to their own accounts in Xero, and its analytics show fee ratios by marketplace, so step changes like these are easy to spot. See the Amazon Xero integration.