By the end of this lesson you will have one page holding everything in this course that can end the business, with the rule, the consequence, and where it was explained.
This lesson adds nothing new. It exists because the things that destroy an Amazon business are scattered across fifteen lessons and across three different authorities — Amazon, federal agencies and the tax system — and nobody rereads fifteen lessons. Print this one, or bookmark it.
What ends the account
| The mistake | Why it is fatal | Covered in |
|---|---|---|
| Selling goods you cannot document | Approval requests and intellectual property complaints both come down to invoices from a legitimate supplier. Retail receipts are not supply chain documents. | Lessons 1, 7, 8 |
| Altering a document | Editing an invoice to pass a review is fraud, not optimism, and it removes the account permanently. | Lesson 7 |
| Manipulating reviews | The FTC rule in effect since 21 October 2024 bans fake reviews, compensation conditioned on sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, review suppression and fake social indicators, with civil penalties for knowing violations. Amazon prohibits the same conduct separately.1 | Lesson 11 |
| A second account after the first stalls | One selling account per region unless there is a legitimate business need; linked accounts can be deactivated together.2 | Lesson 6 |
| Letting the metrics drift | Order defects, late shipments, cancellations and tracking are measured continuously against published targets, and small sellers move the rates fastest.3 | Lesson 12 |
| Ignoring a policy notice | Notices have deadlines. A short, literal, once-only reply resolves what silence escalates. | Lessons 6, 12 |
| Breaking a brand's pricing policy | It does not end the Amazon account, but it ends the supplier account you spent two months opening. | Lesson 8 |
What ends the company, not just the account
| The mistake | The consequence | Covered in |
|---|---|---|
| Skipping Form 5472 | A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 annually whether or not it traded. The penalty is $25,000, with a further $25,000 for each 30-day period after notice and 90 days. It cannot be filed electronically.4 | Lesson 2 |
| Missing the state annual report | States dissolve companies that stop filing. Wyoming's report falls on the first day of the anniversary month; Delaware's tax is due 1 June.5 | Lesson 2 |
| Registering for sales tax without needing to | Every registration creates an obligation to file each period, even with nothing to report.6 | Lesson 5 |
| Cold email without compliance | Commercial email requires accurate headers, a valid physical postal address, a working opt-out honoured within 10 business days, with penalties up to $53,088 per offending email — and liability stays with you when a tool sends on your behalf.7 | Lessons 8, 13 |
| Importing on the old rules | The $800 de minimis exemption is suspended for all modes including post; shipments need formal or informal entry and a bond on file before goods move.8 | Lesson 9 |
| No liability insurance above the threshold | Required by the Business Solutions Agreement once monthly gross proceeds pass the stated figure, naming Amazon as additional insured. | Lesson 12 |
The quiet ones
Nobody writes lessons about these, and they end more small sellers than counterfeits do.
- Losing the phone number that receives your security codes, because it was free and got reclaimed.
- A shared login that leaves with an assistant.
- Reinvesting every payout until a supplier deposit and a tax bill arrive in the same week.
- Six months of stock bought for a unit discount, now paying an aged-inventory surcharge and consuming next quarter's capacity.
- Never opening a settlement report, so the margin in the spreadsheet has never met the margin in the bank.
- A repricing rule with no floor.
- Believing a number from a course. Including ours: every figure here carries a date and a source precisely so you can check whether it still holds.
The pattern behind almost all of them
Every entry on these lists is a case of something that was true when you set it up and stopped being true later — a rule changed, a deadline arrived, a rate drifted, a supplier moved on. The habit that prevents most of it is not diligence in the moment but a calendar: annual filings, insurance thresholds, capacity announcements, and a monthly half-hour of reading your own numbers.
The one-page annual check
- Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120 are filed, by post or fax, or extended with Form 7004.
- The state annual report is filed and the registered agent renewed.
- Every sales tax registration I hold still has a reason I can state in one sentence.
- My insurance certificate is current, names Amazon correctly and is uploaded.
- Account health has stayed inside every target for twelve months.
- I can produce a supplier invoice for every product I sell, today, without asking anyone.
- My security phone number and primary email are still under my sole control.
- Every settlement report for the year is filed, and the year's numbers match my books.
- The figures I rely on have been rechecked at their sources this year.
Next
Lesson 15 closes the course by answering the question that arrives once the U.S. operation is stable: whether, and when, to take it to Europe.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule questions and answers — in effect 21 October 2024; prohibited practices and civil penalties for knowing violations. ftc.gov Checked 5 September 2026.
- Amazon Seller Central, selling policies and code of conduct — one selling account per region unless a legitimate business need exists; linked accounts may be deactivated together. sellercentral.amazon.com/help Requires a seller account to view.
- Amazon Seller Central, Account Health — published targets for order defect rate, late shipment rate, pre-fulfilment cancellation rate and valid tracking rate. sellercentral.amazon.com Requires a seller account to view.
- Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form 5472 — filing obligation for foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entities, $25,000 penalty plus $25,000 per 30-day period after notice, and no electronic filing. irs.gov/instructions/i5472 Checked 4 September 2026.
- Wyoming Secretary of State online filing and Delaware Division of Corporations — Wyoming annual reports due the first day of the anniversary month; Delaware LLC annual tax of $300 due 1 June. wyobiz.wyo.gov, corp.delaware.gov Checked 4 September 2026.
- Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System FAQ — registered states expect returns each reporting period even where there is no tax to report. streamlinedsalestax.org Checked 5 September 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM compliance guide — requirements, the 10-business-day opt-out window, retained liability when a third party sends, and penalties up to $53,088 per email. ftc.gov Checked 5 September 2026.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, e-commerce FAQs — de minimis suspended indefinitely for all modes; informal and formal entry thresholds; bond required before activity. cbp.gov Checked 5 September 2026.
Educational content, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Laws and Amazon policies change; verify with the official source and a licensed professional.