EU VAT regulations require businesses to validate their customers’ VAT numbers
Are you conducting a cross-border supply of goods or services? Then be aware that it is mandatory to verify the VAT identification/registration numbers of your business customers before applying the zero VAT rate or the reverse charge mechanism. Failing to do so might expose you to serious VAT risks/assessments, audits, and penalties.
What is the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES)?
As a Supplier of goods or services, you can apply zero-rated or reverse charge mechanism only when certain requirements are met. One of those requirements is that the customer must have a valid VAT registration/identification number. This number can be validated through the VIES portal. VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) is the European portal used to validate VAT registration/ identification numbers.
Challenges of using the VIES Portal
Although VIES is a very useful platform, it has its limitations. As VIES has only the possibility to check one number at a time (no bulk/batch check possibility), this becomes inefficient and time-consuming for businesses that have a lot of customers. Furthermore, the validation process will be disrupted whenever VIES‘ server has downtime. These issues are resolved when our VIESurance is brought into play!
VIESurance features
VIESurance allows the unlimited bulk/batch upload of VAT numbers and provides you with a detailed validation result report along with information about the status of the numbers and confirmation codes. You simply need to upload your VAT numbers list or integrate VIESurance with your ERP system. Once this list is uploaded, your results report will be immediately generated. If certain VAT numbers cannot be validated due to server downtime, VIESurance will automatically re-establish the connection. There is no need to re-upload the batch. VIESurance is equipped with a repository facility to store your result report which will result in easy retrieval whenever it is needed.
By letting VIESurance run in the background the whole time, you can continuously perform the VAT check and ensure that VAT registration/identification numbers of Customers and Vendors are valid. Having the valid VAT registration number is crucial for e-invoicing and real-time reporting process. It is prudent that master data teams get the necessary tools to monitor whether data relevant for tax are stable, consistent and above all validated.
What can VIESurance do for you
VIESurance can help you comply with the VAT regulations and avoid VAT risk. If you are interested in using VIESurance or should you have any questions, please reach out to us via this link and request a free trial and demo. We will help with the set-up and customization according to your business needs and preferences.
