Thursday, April 16th, 2009...4:17 pm

Delay in your apple app store contracts? Perhaps you have missed a step

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I’ve been getting antsy about the length of time it was taking to get my app store contracts in place (over 4 weeks now).

I was talking to someone this morning who had his sailed through, so I asked him about the length of time it took. He mentioned that it was only a week since he had sent his contract to Texas.

Hold on. Sent the what to where now? I checked itunesconnect; I downloaded the contracts that were pending. Nowhere did I find anything to suggest I had to send something to Apple. So…I spoke to the guy on Skype (thanks @grib!). After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing he mentioned a mail he had received from Apple.

So I went back over mails I had received. Sure enough, as part of the process they mail you your W-8BEN contract along with the following instructions:

Please print the attached .pdf and follow the instructions included. If you have any questions regarding the tax form, please see our Frequently Asked Questions on iTunes Connect. If you have further questions, email iTStax@apple.com.

D’Oh!

So…if you’ve had a delay…perhaps it was because you missed this step?

Having said all of this, there does not appear to be an equivalent step for free apps, and these contracts are still pending for me for over 4 weeks too.

If only someone from Apple would answer a mail. If you’ve had similar experiences, feel free to comment.

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7 Comments

Filed under iphone, iphonedev

7 Comments

  • Toad
    April 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Hi,

    I’ve been waiting about the same amount of time. (I’m also Irish). I’m awaiting the final step in iTunes Connect…

    Thanks for your post on how to fill out the forms and who to contact, by the way. I found them a great help when I was going through the process.

    I’ll keep you updated if I hear any news.

  • dermdaly
    April 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    Hi Toad,
    Thanks for your comment. Please do keep me updated.
    Glad to hear the blog posts have helped.
    By the way, I assume you know about http://devdays.info tomorrow? Registrations are closed, but you can still come along.
    I’ll be speaking there. Feel free to say hello.
    Cheers,
    Dermot

  • Terenn
    May 21st, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    Hi,

    How does the story end ? Did you send anything to Apple ?

    Has your contract been validated ?

    Thanks for sharing your experience.

  • dermdaly
    May 22nd, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Hi Terenn,
    My contracts eventually got resolved. On the evening of Wednesday, 13th May the contracts went active. They have an effective date of March 06, and March 19, which gives you an indication of how long they were “stuck in the machine”.
    This was after making many, many calls to ADC support.
    Cheers,
    Dermot

  • Nathan Shaughnessy
    May 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    Hi Dermot,

    Do Apple email you your W-8BEN contract with the printing instructions after you submit your tax info to them?

    Cheers,
    Nathan

  • dermdaly
    May 29th, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    Hi Nathan,
    Yes. That’s precisely what happens. Some time after you’ve filled it in on line, you should get a mail with 3 attachments from “do-not-reply@apple.com”. The attachments are the Inland Revenue Services Instructions, Apple’s own tip sheet, and your own, pre-filled W8-BEN. You need to then sign this and return it to Texas. All of this is explained on the first page of the pre-filled form.

    Just in case you missed it, do a search through old mails for “iTStax@apple.com”. Don’t forget to check spam folders in case its languishing there.

    Good luck,
    Dermot.

  • Nathan Shaughnessy
    May 30th, 2009 at 11:28 am

    Hi Dermot,

    Cheers. I just submitted the tax info yesterday evening and got the email about 30 minutes later I think. Signed the contract and mailed it this morning :D Thanks for the clarification!

    -Nathan

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