IEIM902510 - Determination of Excluded Sellers

As part of the due diligence requirements, Reporting Platform Operators (RPOs) must establish and maintain procedures to identify which of their Sellers are reportable in respect of a Reportable Period. It follows from the definition of a Reportable Seller (see 901620) that RPOs must also establish which Sellers are ‘Excluded Sellers’ (see 901630). 

In determining whether a Seller is an Excluded Seller, the RPO may rely on its own records for determining the number and value of Relevant Activities carried out during the Reportable Period.

It may not always be obvious to an RPO whether or not a Seller will meet the criteria to be an Excluded Seller. For example, if the RPO collects information at onboarding, it may not know whether or not the Seller will facilitate the provision of over 2000 services for the rental of immovable property, or whether the Seller will receive less than €2000 for the sale of goods. RPOs are therefore expected to put procedures in place to track transactions or to obtain early indications that Sellers are likely to be excluded or not.

Where a Seller is potentially an Excluded Seller because it is a government entity or an entity whose shares are traded on a recognised stock exchange, the RPO can draw on publicly available information (e.g. a list of entities listed on the relevant exchange) or on appropriate confirmation from the relevant Entity Seller, provided such confirmation is credible.

Notwithstanding the above, nothing in these regulations prevents RPOs from gathering information in relation to Sellers who later turn out to meet the definition of an ‘Excluded Seller’, where the RPO did not have the information at the time of collection to determine whether or not the Seller would be excluded. RPOs will need to ensure that their data collection and processing policies in relation to all Sellers, including Excluded Sellers, are compliant with the RPO’s GDPR obligations.