Amazon’s two-year recovery limit is now affecting UK and European vendors

Amazon is rejecting recovery claims against invoices more than two years old across UK and European vendor accounts, making it increasingly important for brands to review outstanding deductions before they lose the opportunity to challenge them.

Our recovery team is seeing the same rejection message across accounts in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands: ‘This invoice is more than two years old’.

For vendors with a backlog of unresolved deductions, this could have a direct financial impact. Money you expected to investigate and recover later may fall outside the window Amazon will accept, even if you have the records to support your claim.

What has changed?

A two-year limit on shortage and price disputes was previously reported in North America, with indications that it was extending into other regions. We are now seeing age-based rejections across the UK and several European marketplaces, which brings the issue much closer to home for brands trading in these markets.

The restriction concerns the age of the invoice being disputed. For affected claims, an invoice more than two years old can be rejected through Vendor Central’s dispute process, including where a vendor is attempting to challenge a previous decision.

Shortage deductions occur when Amazon records fewer units received than you have invoiced, while price deductions arise where there is a difference between your invoiced price and the price Amazon recognises for the order. Both need investigating, because a deduction appearing on your account does not necessarily mean it is correct.

Different recovery categories have their own rules, so vendors should check the requirements for each type of deduction rather than assume the same deadline applies to everything.

Why this matters, even if you already manage your claims

Most finance teams will recognise how these backlogs develop. A deduction needs checking, the delivery paperwork is held elsewhere, someone raises a dispute and Amazon rejects it, then the whole thing gets put aside while more immediate work takes priority.

There may be every intention of returning to it, but the invoice continues to age while it waits.

That becomes a more expensive problem when the recovery window is restricted. A claim can have supporting evidence and still be rejected because it is too old, so the strength of your case is only useful if you can submit it within the applicable timeframe.

It also means that raising a dispute is only part of the job. Someone needs to track the response, deal with requests for information and check whether an approved recovery has actually been paid, rather than assume the matter is resolved once the case has been submitted.

Waiting for the next audit could leave money outside the window

A historical recovery audit can still identify money worth pursuing, but relying on an occasional review leaves a gap between a deduction appearing and someone investigating it.

If your next audit is six months away, some of the invoices currently eligible for review may be too old by the time it starts. Others may be approaching the limit, leaving little time to gather evidence or respond if Amazon rejects the initial submission.

We would start by looking at the outstanding balance by age, alongside the value and status of each claim. A large deduction will naturally attract attention, but a smaller, valid claim approaching its deadline may need dealing with first.

The useful question is how much remains eligible for recovery, and what needs to happen before that opportunity closes.

What vendors should do now

Start with a review of unresolved deductions across your vendor accounts and marketplaces, checking the invoice dates, claim types and any previous dispute activity. This should give you a clearer picture of what is still open, what has already been challenged and which items need urgent attention.

For claims that appear valid, bring the relevant evidence together before submitting. Depending on the discrepancy, that could include purchase orders, invoices, shipment records, proof of delivery or confirmation of agreed pricing.

From there, give each unresolved item an owner and a next action, with regular checks on active cases and approaching deadlines. A monthly reconciliation is a sensible starting point, supported by more frequent monitoring where a response is needed.

There may also be waiting periods before certain claims become eligible for dispute, so acting quickly means preparing early and following the current process for the account. It does not mean submitting everything immediately.

Make recovery part of how you run the account

Amazon continues to change how Vendor Central works, from the information available to vendors to the routes through which deductions can be challenged. A process that worked previously needs checking against what the system accepts today.

For brands, the immediate priority is to understand whether valid claims are sitting unresolved and how much time remains to deal with them. Beyond that, recovery needs a regular place in the management of the account, with finance, operations and the Amazon team sharing the information needed to keep cases moving.

If you have outstanding Amazon deductions and are unsure what is still recoverable, speak to RT7 Digital about our Amazon Vendor Central reimbursement service. We can review the account, identify eligible claims and help prioritise the work before more invoices fall outside the recovery window.