Check the VAT ID number in the VIES database

Within InvoiceOcean, you can issue documents related to business transactions that involve the delivery of goods between suppliers who are active VAT payers in the EU from two different EU countries. To help you verify your supplier, we have added a Check tax number in VIES database button, which allows you to verify whether the supplier is an active VAT payer in the EU. In this article, we will show you how to use the EU VAT number verification option.

What is the VIES database?

Collaboration between tax authorities of countries that are members of the European Union has enabled the European Commission to create the VIES (VAT Information and Exchange System) search engine, allowing you to find information about VAT payers in the EU.

Thanks to this system, InvoiceOcean will show you, when issuing an invoice, whether your customer is registered as a European VAT payer, including verifying whether the sales to this business can be included in the document related to the intra-community supply of goods.

Check the VAT number in the VIES database

The option to check the VAT number in the VIES database is available for the following types of documents:

• Invoices;
• Proformas;
• Currency invoices.

The option to check the VAT number in the VIES database is available in the VAT number field under the buyer's details when you select an EU member state in the Country field.

If you select a country that is not part of the EU in the Country field, the system will not display the option to check the VAT number.

What happens when you check the tax number in the VIES database and don't enter the buyer's VAT ID number?

To use the VAT number verification option, enter the EU VAT number in the relevant field in the buyer's details. Otherwise, if the VAT number field is empty and you use the option to Check tax number in VIES database, the system will display the message 'Missing VAT number for verification.

What happens when you check the tax number in the VIES database and fill in the VAT ID in the Buyer's field?

After entering the buyer's VAT ID number, you can verify whether the buyer is registered in the VIES database as an active VAT payer.

Click on the phrase 'check the tax number in the VIES database, and the system will verify the data and display the following messages:

• The entrepreneur is registered as a European VAT taxpayer if the VAT number is active in the VIES database.

 

• The entrepreneur is not registered as a European VAT taxpayer if the VAT number is not available in the database.

 

Additionally, the system will display the result of the VAT number check in the VIES database, which you can find under the invoice.