FBA inventory during an Amazon account suspension: requesting returns or disposal, and storage fees

Amazon Seller Reinstatement Support ("we" below) is not an official Amazon contact channel and has no ownership or partnership relationship with Amazon. This article is for sellers whose selling account has been stopped and who want to know what happens to the inventory they stored at fulfillment centers (FBA warehouses).

Even if your account is stopped, the inventory you stored stays in the warehouse, and inventory storage fees are charged every month. At the same time, the agreement also provides that if you don't give instructions to return or dispose of inventory within 30 days of receiving notice that removal is required, Amazon may dispose of "unfulfillable units" (取扱不能ユニット; inventory deemed unsuitable for sale or delivery, for example because it is damaged, has labeling defects or doesn't comply with policies).

To give the short answer first: whether inventory during a suspension is "returned" or "disposed of" depends on the reason for the suspension, the condition of the inventory, the notices you received, and the requests and settings you have made yourself. It can't be summed up by the wording alone. Based on Amazon's seller Help pages and the agreement as of October 2026, this article lays out the paths your inventory can take, the fees, and how inventory is handled when an account is closed. Help content and fees can change, so also check the latest Help pages before you submit a request.

Our role is to prepare submission drafts and advise on revisions. You log in to your account and handle appeals and submissions to Amazon yourself.

First steps: making sure you don't miss inventory deadlines

• Check whether the body of the notice you received mentions removal, return or disposal of inventory, along with a deadline
• Write down how much inventory you have and where it is (warehouse, in transit, on hand), using Manage Inventory (在庫管理) and the inventory ledger report
• Actually check in Manage Inventory whether you can create a removal order (返送/所有権の放棄依頼). Depending on the product or situation, you may not be able to; in that case, note the reason shown on the screen and contact Technical Support through a case
• In your automated removal settings (自動返送/所有権の放棄), check what is covered (unsellable inventory and inventory that has been stored for a long time) and whether it will be returned or disposed of (Help explains that automated removal settings are enabled by default)
• Don't close your selling account yourself or close your shopping account just to tidy things up

If you're unsure how to read the deadline in a notice or whether to choose return or disposal, send us the body of the notice and your inventory quantities on LINE. Please do not send your login ID, password, or verification code.

What to know first about FBA inventory during a suspension

Your inventory stays in the warehouse, and storage fees keep accruing

Inventory storage fees are charged monthly, prorated by day, on all products stored at fulfillment centers. Even while your account is stopped, these fees are, as a rule, charged for as long as your inventory remains in the warehouse.

Help explains that the Professional selling plan's monthly subscription fee is not charged for months in which the account is blocked or suspended. However, other fees, such as inventory storage fees, are not covered by this treatment. Even if the subscription fee stops, think of your inventory costs as running separately.

Fees may be deducted from your sales proceeds balance

Even while your sales proceeds are held because of the suspension, the held amount can go up or down as charges are settled, such as the costs of returning inventory or abandoning ownership of it and fees you haven't paid yet. Inventory storage fees may arrive in the month after you remove your inventory. Check your Payments transactions each month to see which fees have been deducted.

The words "suspended" and "closed" alone don't determine how your inventory is handled

We could find no official document that defines "suspended" (停止) and "closed" (閉鎖), and the wording of a notice alone doesn't determine how serious the situation is. For inventory, too, what you need to do changes depending on whether the notice asks for removal or sets a deadline. Whether you have to return or dispose of inventory, and by when, is something to check in the notice you have and in the guidance in Seller Central.

The paths your inventory can take

We've laid out, by situation, the paths inventory can take as described in Help and the agreement. Which path applies differs for each item of inventory, and inventory within a single account may split across several paths.

Inventory situation	Where it goes according to Help and the agreement	What to do
You submitted a removal order yourself	If it's a return, it's sent to the address you specified; if it's a disposal, it's disposed of. Ownership of inventory you asked to have disposed of transfers to Amazon's side at no cost	Note the order ID and track the return status in the detail report
You were notified that removal is required because of a suspension or other reason	If no instructions to return or dispose of it are given within 30 days of the notice (or within the period set by policy), Amazon may dispose of it (the provision covers "unfulfillable units")	Write down the date of the notice and the deadline, and give return or disposal instructions before the deadline
Amazon determined there is a risk of liability to third parties, for example because of involvement in fraud or illegal activity	Amazon may dispose of unfulfillable units immediately	Check the affected inventory and the reason in the notice you received
Inventory was held for investigation on suspicion of being counterfeit or similar	If you don't provide the requested information by the deadline, it may be disposed of	Check the deadline and how to submit, and submit the information first
A policy violation is suspected, such as suspected intellectual property infringement	You can't create a removal order for that product	Check the relevant item in the Policy Compliance (規約の遵守) section of the Account Health page, and deal with it first following the guidance
Inventory that has become unsellable (damaged, etc.)	Help explains that Amazon holds it for 30 days and, if there is no request, automatically disposes of it after the holding period	If you want to keep it, request a return within the 30 days
Automated removal settings are enabled	It's returned or disposed of according to your settings. Unsellable inventory may be processed earlier than the 30-day notice period	Check whether your settings are set to return or dispose, and whether the return address is still correct
The items couldn't be received at the return address, or the address was wrong	Ownership is deemed abandoned, and the items may be disposed of	Check the address and phone number, and be ready to receive all the packages that arrive together
No notice, no request, automated settings turned off, and the inventory is simply left as is	It stays in the warehouse and inventory storage fees are charged. If storage exceeds 270 days, the long-term storage surcharge (長期在庫追加手数料) is added as well	Decide whether to wait for reinstatement or have it returned, weighing the fees and deadlines side by side

The "where it goes" column shows how Help and the agreement describe the handling. Actual handling differs by inventory and by case, so check the notice and what your screens show.

Submitting a request before the deadline doesn't mean the inventory is sure to come back to you. A request may be canceled if it includes ineligible inventory, and items may be disposed of if they can't be received at the return address or the address is wrong. There is also a provision allowing disposal without waiting for the deadline when the reason is involvement in fraud or illegal activity or something similar.

Don't feel reassured just by looking at your automated settings; also check the body of the notice, the record of the requests you've submitted (the removal order detail report), and the inventory ledger report.

There is also an example of Amazon staff answering on the forums that if a suspension continues for a certain period, disposal orders are created automatically. This is an example of an individual response, and the official Help pages we have read don't describe any such rule. For accounts suspended several years ago, the inventory may already have been returned or disposed of, so check your notices and ask Amazon if it's unclear.

Requesting a return or disposal (abandoning ownership)

Steps to create a request

Both returns and disposals are requested through the same procedure, called a "removal order" (返送/所有権の放棄依頼).

• On the Manage Inventory page, select the products and choose "Create removal order" (返送/所有権の放棄依頼を作成) from "Apply to selected" (選択中の商品を一括変更) (you can also start from the unsellable inventory page or the recommended removal report (返送推奨レポート))
• To have items returned, choose a ship-to address; to let them go, choose "Disposal" (廃棄)
• Enter an order ID (one is assigned automatically if left blank). Enter the sellable and unsellable quantities separately
• Proceed through "Review" (確認) and "Confirm" (確定), and check that the message "Removal order confirmed" (返送/所有権の放棄依頼が確定しました) appears

Note the order ID, since you'll use it later to look up the return status. You can check the return status by order ID in the removal order detail report.

What to check before submitting a request

• Return addresses are limited to the seller, the seller's warehouse, a supplier, or a vendor. Items can't be sent outside the country where the inventory is located, to another fulfillment center, or to a convenience store or a carrier's local office.
• Submitting a request means you're deemed to have agreed to accept all the packages that arrive together. If you don't accept them, Amazon may instruct the carrier to dispose of them, and the cost is borne by the seller.
• The carrier uses the phone number to arrange the delivery date and time. Enter a correct number.
• You can cancel only while the status is "Planning" (計画中), which usually lasts a few hours. Once it becomes "Processing" (処理中), it can't be canceled. Sellers can't cancel requests for inventory they've been asked to remove.
• Returned items may have a label with a number starting with "LPN." Help says that if you later send the same items in again, you should remove this label so that the product barcode or FBA product label is visible.
• Processing usually takes 10–14 business days, and from October to December or at times when requests pile up, it can take 30 days or more. If a deadline is near, submit your request early.

Inventory you can't create requests for, and your screens during a suspension

Removal orders can't be created for products under dangerous goods (hazmat) review, some prohibited products, or products suspected of policy violations. When a policy violation is suspected, Help's guidance is to first check the relevant item in the Policy Compliance section of the Account Health page and deal with the violation issue.

Within the scope of our research, we could not find any official Japanese Help page that explains whether the request screens can be used while an account is stopped. There are also reports of sellers who couldn't carry out requests and kept incurring storage costs in the meantime. Check removal notices and your screens early, and if you can't create a request, contact Technical Support through a case.

Amazon may also cancel a request (when it includes ineligible inventory, such as items being used for buyer orders). You can submit the request again, and if it's canceled a second time, Help advises contacting Technical Support.

Storage fees and fees for returns and disposals (Help as of October 2026)

The amounts here are those listed in Amazon's seller Help pages as of October 2026, and all of them include 10% consumption tax. Fees can be revised, so check the latest Help pages before submitting a request.

Inventory storage fees

• How they're charged: They're charged monthly, prorated by day, based on the size of the products you store (per 10cm×10cm×10cm). They're usually billed between the 7th and the 15th of the month after the fees are incurred.
• Example amounts: For small and standard-size products other than "Clothing & Fashion Accessories" (服&ファッション小物) and "Shoes & Bags" (シューズ&バッグ), the base inventory storage fee per 10cm×10cm×10cm is ¥5.676 from January to September and ¥10.087 from October to December. Amounts vary by product type and size tier.
• Additional fee: For Professional sellers, if the storage utilization ratio (average inventory volume over the past 13 weeks divided by average shipped volume) exceeds 26 weeks, an additional inventory storage fee (在庫保管追加手数料) is added. It doesn't apply to Individual sellers, sellers for whom fewer than 52 weeks have passed since their first inbound shipment, and some others.

Long-term storage surcharge

• Who it applies to: Products that, as of the 15th of each month, have been stored at fulfillment centers in Japan for more than 270 days. It's charged in addition to inventory storage fees and is usually billed between the 18th and the 22nd of that month.
• Amounts: Per 10cm×10cm×10cm, ¥16.662 for 271–300 days, ¥17.475 for 301–330 days, ¥18.085 for 331–365 days, and ¥34.239 for 366 days or more. For products stored 366 days or more, the higher of this amount and a minimum of ¥20 per unit is charged (applied to non-media products as well from April 15, 2026).
• How to avoid it: Inventory for which a removal order was submitted before the 15th is not charged this fee, even if it hasn't actually shipped out by that date. The deadline for requests is 11:59 p.m. (Japan time) on the 14th of that month.
• Storage days are counted on the assumption that inventory leaves in the order in which it arrived.

Inventory you've kept since before the suspension may pass 270 days during the suspension. Use the recommended removal report and other reports to check which inventory will be subject to the surcharge on the next 15th.

Fees for returns and disposals (abandoning ownership)

• They're charged per item, and the same table applies to both returns and disposals. From April 1, 2026, they're charged, in Help's words, "at the time each individual item is removed."
• Small and standard size: ¥60 up to 200g, ¥90 for 201–500g, ¥130 for 501–1,000g, and for 1,001g or more, ¥200 plus ¥85 for each 1,000g over 1,000g.
• Large and extra-large size: ¥170 up to 500g, ¥220 for 501–1,000g, ¥310 for 1,001–2,000g, ¥520 for 2,001–5,000g, and for 5,001g or more, ¥870 plus ¥100 for each 1,000g over 5,000g.
• You can see the billing record under "Service Fee" (サービス料金) in your Payments transactions.

Inventory when your account is closed or when you close it yourself

When Amazon closes or terminates your account

The agreement provides that, after Amazon notifies you that removal is required because of the suspension, termination or closure of your seller account or a similar reason, Amazon may dispose of unfulfillable units for which no instructions are given within 30 days (or within the period set by policy). In addition, including when the FBA terms end, Amazon may return inventory to the address you specify after giving notice. However, if the address isn't valid, you don't provide an address in Japan, or you can't arrange payment for shipping, the inventory may be deemed abandoned and disposed of.

There are also examples of notices stating that the account will be "completely closed" if the required information isn't provided by the deadline. The number of days until the deadline differs from notice to notice, so write it down together with your inventory deadlines. Also check early that your registered address isn't out of date.

When you close your account yourself

Help lists requesting the return of your FBA inventory or the abandonment of its ownership as a step to take before you close your selling account yourself. A selling account you've closed yourself can't be reactivated later. Even if you close your account during a suspension, the hold on your sales proceeds and your inventory issues remain.

Decide whether to continue appealing for reinstatement or to wrap up what remains and proceed with closing your account after checking the content of the notice and your remaining inventory and sales proceeds. Whether your account can be reinstated is decided by Amazon.

Keep your inventory information in order for consultations and records

The inventory ledger report shows your opening quantity, movements such as receipts, sales, returns, disposals and losses, and your closing quantity. If you also note the date you submitted a removal order, the order ID, the quantity and the date the items arrived, it will be easier to check later if the numbers don't match.

When your fiscal year-end is approaching, decide early whether to bring the inventory back, leave it in the warehouse or let it go. If you've received a notice asking for removal, put the notice's deadline ahead of the fiscal year-end. For inventory that was disposed of or abandoned, record the quantity, date and circumstances separately, and confirm the accounting treatment with a tax accountant. If you need a legal judgment or need to make a claim regarding inventory or sales proceeds, consult a lawyer.

Inventory that comes back to the warehouse because it couldn't be returned continues to incur inventory storage fees. If delivery failures continue, you may become unable to submit removal orders at all.

Frequently asked questions

Q. My account is stopped. Am I still charged inventory storage fees?

A. Inventory storage fees are charged on products stored at fulfillment centers, and as a rule they're charged monthly for as long as the products are stored. What Help says is not charged for months of suspension is the Professional selling plan's monthly subscription fee, and inventory storage fees aren't covered by that treatment. Because fees may be deducted from your sales proceeds balance, check your transactions. If fees and other charges exceed your sales and your balance becomes negative, the amount may be charged to your registered credit card, or you may need to pay by wire transfer.

Q. I haven't received a removal notice. Will my inventory be disposed of right away?

A. The agreement states that Amazon may dispose of unfulfillable units if no instructions are given within 30 days after it notifies you that removal is required. However, there is a provision allowing immediate disposal when the reason is involvement in fraud or illegal activity or something similar, and Help says that unsellable inventory is automatically disposed of after being held for 30 days. Your automated removal settings can also trigger returns or disposals. The absence of a notice doesn't mean you can relax, so check your notices, settings and screens.

Q. Can I request a return of my inventory during a suspension? What if I can't create a request?

A. Within the scope of our research, we could not find any official Japanese Help page that explains whether the request screens can be used during a suspension. First, check in Manage Inventory whether you can actually create a request. Requests can't be created for products suspected of policy violations, products under dangerous goods review, or some prohibited products. When a policy violation is suspected, check the relevant item on the Account Health page and deal with it first following the guidance. If you can't create a request for any other reason, check the removal notice and your screens, then contact Technical Support through a case.

Q. I can't decide whether to wait for reinstatement or have my inventory returned.

A. Whether your account can be reinstated is decided by Amazon, and we cannot promise reinstatement. While you wait, inventory storage fees are charged, and if storage exceeds 270 days, the long-term storage surcharge is added as well. Returns also cost a fee per item. If the notice sets a removal deadline, deal with that first, and decide after laying out your inventory quantities, storage days and expected fees side by side.

Q. Can I consult you about inventory alone?

A. Yes, you can. Please send us your inventory quantities and storage locations, and the body of the notice you received. You may send the notice to us on LINE as a screenshot. Please do not send your login ID, password, or verification code. Consultations are free, as often as you need.

Summary

• Even if your account is stopped, your FBA inventory stays in the warehouse, and inventory storage fees are, as a rule, charged every month. Fees may also be deducted from your sales proceeds balance.
• Where your inventory goes depends on the notices, the condition of the inventory, and your own requests and settings. If you're notified that removal is required, give return or disposal instructions within 30 days (or within the period set by policy).
• Help explains that unsellable inventory is automatically disposed of after being held for 30 days and that automated removal settings are enabled by default. Check what your settings cover, whether they return or dispose, and your return address.
• Both returns and disposals are submitted as removal orders. For products suspected of policy violations, first deal with the relevant item on the Account Health screen. If you can't create a request during a suspension, contact Amazon through a case.
• Closure or closing your account yourself doesn't make inventory issues go away. Don't close your account just to tidy things up; write down your inventory quantities, deadlines and fees before deciding.

*This article provides a general explanation. The appropriate response in individual cases depends on the circumstances.

Further reading

Preparing to close an Amazon seller account: outstanding orders, inventory and payments Read article → Checking funds after an Amazon suspension: holds, disbursement requests and video interviews Read article → Distinguishing Amazon seller account suspension from closure: notices and reinstatement inquiries Read article →