Trading in the intermarket is possible as a supplement to spot trading (shop) as well as as as the only sales channel.

You can trade on the Internet through your individual internetwork, or through sales platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy. Online commerce can also happen through mobile apps.

When creating your own Internet store, you need to register the domain name for your website address. The domain name is part of the address of the website located between the prefix “www” and the extension “en”, “com”, and more. Registration of domain names as a fee service is offered by different private companies andUniversity of Latvia Mathematical and informatics Institute Network Solutions (NIC). NIC also offers you the ability to verify that the domain name you have chosen has not already been registered on your website.

When designing your own internetwork or trading on one of the sales platforms, you often need to translate the content of a site. You can use a trusted translation platform for translationHugo.lvin which, by copying the text or website address to be translated, it is possible to translate the individual text or the entire content of the website accordingly. Each interstore host can use the translation widget offered by Hugo.lv to allow site visitors to easily translate its contents into English or Russian.

An interstore should be registered as a unit, whether or not the goods are traded on-site or online. For more information about how to register a business unit, see “Registration of the business and business unit”.

If you have created a name for the identity of your assortment of goods that allows you to distinguish between your company's goods and those of other companies, it is recommended that you register a trade mark. It can be easily done online through the Patent Office's e-service.To apply for a trade mark”. The application for and registration of a trade mark must be paid for by the servicefee.

To make sure that the trademark is not already registered and protected, use “Trade mark databases”. When registering a trade mark, it is recommended that you consider protecting your trade mark abroad, since the trade mark is protected only in the country in which it is registered.

If you have created an individual design for your product, you can protect it by registering the design using the e-service of the Patent Office. "To apply for a design”. The application for and registration of a design must be paid for by the servicefee. To make sure that the design is not already registered and protected, use “Design databases”. When registering a design, it is recommended that you consider the protection of your design abroad, since the design is protected only in the country in which it is registered.

Before starting online sales, see:rulesto be observed when trading on the Internet:

1. the obligation to provide pre-contractual information or to provide information in an interstore:
   • the main characteristics of the goods or service;
   • price, supply and other costs;
   • the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal form;
   • supply, performance of the contract, payment procedures and other contract terms;
2. pre-contractual information is an integral part of the distance contract rules;
3. the obligation to provide pre-contractual information and contract terms in a manner to be maintained;
4. obligation to confirm receipt of the order.

An undertaking (a legal person), when trading on the Internet (including by publishing advertisements on advertising portals), has an obligation to indicate the business (name), registration number and actual address or place of the pursuit of economic activity (website, mobile app, etc.), contact information, licensing information (if any) and other information (according to the Information Society the Services Act).

Use the Enterprise Register Information Portal to obtain information about a legal person if necessary.

A natural person, when trading on the Internet (including by publishing advertisements on advertising portals), has an obligation to indicate the name, surname, second part of the personal code (full personal code not to be specified) and the actual address or place of business activity (website, mobile application, etc., do not have to indicate the declared place of residence), contact information on professional evidence of formal qualifications (if necessary).

Read the website of the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) for more detailed rules on online marketing.

If you have decided to start your business – Internet sales, you must first choose a form of business, such as an economic operator, individual merchant or limited company. You should also register your own internal store separately by registering it as a unit.

• For business registration, read more in the description of the life situation “Getting started”.
• Information on registration of economic activity is available in the description “Home production”.

Read the website of the State Revenue Service (SRS) more broadly than taxes binding on economic operators.

The Value Added Tax (VAT) Law does not prescribe a different framework for taxable persons trading on the Internet. Thus, VAT on these transactions is applicable in general order in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Value Added Tax, taking into account the economic nature of the transactions carried out and drawing up relevant supporting documents.

If the total value of VAT supplies and services provided exceeds the amount specified in VAT Law within 12 months, you will also have to register as a VAT payer. It is most convenient to do this in the State Revenue Service Electronic Declaration System (SRS EDS) . In some cases, You have to register with the SRS VAT register, regardless of the value of the taxable transactions.

If, in the case of distance sales of goods, VAT is to be paid in another EU Member State, it is also possible to register for a more convenient payment of the tax in one of the special VAT regimes of the One Stop Shop.

If you are trading on a platform such as Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, or social networks such as Facebook, you should register the profile/shop created by a particular taxpayer on a trading platform or social network as a unit in the State Revenue Service (SRS).

The department should be registered within 10 days of taking a decision on the establishment of the unit.

The registration of the unit can be easily performed remotely in the “Registers” section of the State Revenue Service Electronic Declaration System (SRS EDS). For more detailed recording steps, refer to the description of the life situation “Business-to-Business” or service video:

If you want to avoid sending and receiving paper documents at the declared address of residence, use the e-address for legal persons. If you use an e-address to send documents, such as applications, to the authorities, they must be signed with a secure electronic signature.

Online sales are also convenient when you want to sell movable items belonging to you, such as clothing, accessories, furniture, household appliances, books. Mostly in practice, people use social networks or sales advertising portals for this purpose.

Income from the sale of personal property is not subject to personal income tax, so when you sell your personal property on an occasional basis, without the intention of making a profit, you do not have to register as a performer of economic activity. However, if the total amount of income from such trade and other non-taxable income exceeds EUR 10 000 per year, they must be declared by submitting an annual income statement to the State Revenue Service (SRS). For the presentation of the declaration, read the description of the life situation “How to submit the annual income statement?”.

There are different definitions of economic activity within the meaning of the Population Income Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act, and therefore the definition contained in the Value Added Tax Act is binding on the application of value added tax (VAT). A natural person does not have to pay VAT when selling his or her personal property once every 12 months, since one such transaction within the meaning of the Value Added Tax Act does not constitute an economic activity. Consequently, there are no grounds for registering with the SRS VAT register and for paying VAT in the budget.

However, if a natural person performs an economic activity within the meaning of the Value Added Tax Law, for example, performs the sale (supply) of personal property, it must comply with the provisions of the Value Added Tax Law regarding the registration procedures in the SRS VAT register.

If you are selling improvised cases or things purchased for sale (goods, goods), then you must register as a performer of economic activity!

Before starting online trading, significant consideration should be given to what goods will be in the offer of an internetwork shop, as it should be noted that there are different marketing restrictions.

Some restrictions and bans involve moving goods across the border. Consignments cannot contain tobacco products, perishable foods and a number of other potential harmful cases.

Licensed pharmacies in Latvia are permitted to distribute over-the-counter medicinal products registered in Latvia or included in the Latvian Register of Medicinal Products via the website. For more information on Internet sales of medicines, refer to the description of the life situation “Internet shopping”.

It is permitted to market alcoholic beverages, coffee and non-alcoholic beverages on the Internet from excisable goods.

Alcoholic beverages may be marketed only from the website and/or mobile application indicated in the special permit (licence) for retail sale of alcoholic beverages or beer. Read the website of the State Revenue Service more broadly than the sales of alcoholic beverages on the website and/or mobile application.

You may purchase coffee and non-alcoholic beverages from a warehouse keeper who must have a special permit for the storage of products subject to excise duty. You can also import coffee and non-alcoholic beverages from another Member State of the European Union (EU).

If your company itself has a permit to store excisable products, you must submit a “declaration of excise duty on coffee and non-alcoholic beverages” for payment of excise duty. This can be done easily in the State Revenue Service Electronic Statement System (SRS EDS).

In order to receive a special permit (licence) for the activity of an approved tax warehouse keeper, the SRS EDS, the section “Applications for licences, security, licences, certificates and certificates for excisable goods” must submit an application and attach the necessary documents.

The State fee must be paid prior to the receipt of the authorisation licence. The permit is sent electronically to the recipient - SRS EDS.

When marketing coffee and non-alcoholic beverages, you must also register as a VAT payer when reselling the goods. It is most convenient to do this in the SRS.

When selling on the Internet, it is important to think about the channels for receiving customers' orders. It may be a delivery by courier, mail, receipt in a compost or in an internetwork shop.

The preferred type of selection of the consignment is a registered (recorded) or express consignment. In the “track-trace” system, it is possible to track the consignment path at all stages of its transhipment. In order to encourage customer satisfaction, it is important to inform them about the expected delivery duration before ordering.

In the case of supplies to third countries outside the European Union (EU), the consignment must be declared to customs in the form of an export declaration. If the total value of the consignment is up to EUR 1000 and it is sent via the Latvian Post, the declaration may be carried out by the mail itself. For postal consignments made by the Latvian Post, the customs clearance process is facilitated by using the type of customs declaration, an instrument which is considered to be a customs declaration, namely that the goods are deemed to have been declared for export when they are exported from the customs territory of the Union. In this case, the postal receipt shall be proof that the mail has accepted the consignment and acts in accordance with that type of declaration.

Where a consignment with a value of up to EUR 1000 is delivered by means of an express letter, an oral declaration and an authorisation for the express post to make the consignment declaration to customs shall be possible.

If the consignment to third countries exceeds the value of EUR 1000, it is necessary to complete and submit a standard export declaration. This can be done remotely in the Electronic Customs Data Processing System (EMDAS), to which it is possible to connect via the State Revenue Service Electronic Statement System (SRS EDS).

Also take care of orders and inform consumers about them by speaking on the Internet site before making purchases. Payment may be possible through a transfer prior to the receipt of the order (prepayment) or in cash or through a transfer to the order (post payment). In any case, you must provide the buyer with a proof of business document and lay down the conditions for return of goods and money in cases where the orders do not comply with the terms of the contract.

If you sell digital content products, such as e-books, games, videos, and music files, you can supply them online or in a media (DVD, CD, etc.) to customers.

If the sale (a transaction with a natural person who is not an individual merchant and has not registered with the SRS as a performer of economic activity) takes place as a cash transaction, and the amount of the transaction in one operation exceeds EUR 3000, the merchant must declare it. The declaration must be submitted by 1 February of the following year. It is most convenient to do this in the SRS.

If the transaction is conducted in cash with a legal person, an individual merchant or a performer of economic activity, the declaration must be submitted to both parties (both the seller and the buyer) if the transaction amount exceeds EUR 1500. The declaration must be submitted for a month by the 15 th day of the following month.

Transaction participants (both legal and natural persons) shall not be allowed to carry out cash transactions amounting to more than EUR 7200 (regardless of whether the transaction takes place in one operation or in more than one operation), regardless of the period during which such transactions take place. The restriction imposed on taxable persons to carry out cash transactions amounting to more than EUR 7 200 shall apply to each individual transaction with one counterparty.

In order to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts with customers in the Internet shop, it is first necessary to make sure that the information provided by traders on online products is complete and consistent with the truth. Consumers, when shopping on the Internet and purchasing goods from economic operators, have the right to receive a document certifying the purchase - a check, receipt or an invoice. This provision also applies to purchases on social networks. Purchasers have the right to lodge a claim regarding the inappropriate quality of the goods. This right applies when the buyer buys the goods from a legal person.

Similarly, buyers have a 14-day right of withdrawal when purchasing goods in an intermarket. Customers have the right, without giving a reason, to return the goods to the internetwork shop and to receive back the amount of money paid for the item and its delivery.

The consumer must bear the direct costs of returning the goods, except where the seller or service provider has agreed to cover these costs or has not informed the consumer that the costs must be borne by the consumer.

Where the consumer expressly wishes to use the type of supply other than the cheapest standard method offered by the seller or service provider, the seller or service provider shall not be obliged to repay the additional supply costs to the consumer.

In cases where traders fail to comply with their consumer obligations (failure to comply with the decisions imposed by the Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission), traders may be included in the “Black List” by the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC). If potential irregularities are identified in the internetworks, they may be included in the “List of suspicious Internet sites” created by the PTAC.

For more information on the rights of customers of internetworks, refer to the “Internet shopping” description of the life situation. The Consumer Rights Framework should be consulted in the description of the life situation “Consumer rights” as well as in the Consumer Rights Protection Act.

Information on consumer rights when purchasing digital content products is available on the PTAC website.

• Translation platform - Hugo.lv.
• E-address for legal persons.
• Information support and advice for business.
• Consumer Rights Protection Centre guidelines for merchants.