Following the 2018 South Dakota vs. Wayfair U.S. Supreme Court decision that eliminated the physical presence standard for sales tax nexus, not only have most states enacted economic nexus legislation, but many have also started requiring marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of the third party sellers.

A marketplace facilitator (or MPF) is a business or organization that contracts with third parties (“sellers”) to sell goods or services on its platform, facilitating the sales that arise (large examples include Amazon or Etsy). These companies facilitate sales of goods or services between a seller and a buyer – but generally, the MPF does not take title to or even carry the inventory.

Because of the complexity that can arise for these marketplaces, we often share articles detailing the most up-to-date marketplace facilitator laws. You can read some of our past articles here and here. Today, we share what the new INFORM Consumers Act means for marketplace facilitators.

What Is The INFORM Consumers Act?

The INFORM Consumers Act, which was signed into law on December 29, 2022, is designed to reduce and ideally eliminate counterfeit sales. It was signed into law as a last-minute addition to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, a bill that authorizes federal government spending for the upcoming year. The consumers act applies to online marketplaces and requires them to collect, verify and make available to buyers certain identification information for ‘high-volume third-party sellers’ on their platform (sellers with more than 200 transactions and $5,000 in revenue in a 12-month period). The Consumers Act requirements go into effect on June 27, 2023.

What Do Online Marketplaces Need To Implement To Comply With The INFORM Consumers Act?

Online marketplaces must implement policies, procedures and controls to comply with the following new requirements:
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