Looking for an online tool to do the control of the Community VAT number? Then you must know, that in order to combat fraud and facilitate commercial operations, theInland Revenue a new VAT control service has been made available to taxpayers.
Community VAT check
This online control service that allows you to check VAT number community (VIES, abbreviation of VAT Information Exchange System or Electronic VAT data exchange system), allows commercial operators holding a VAT p who carry out intra-community sales, to check the validity of the VAT identification number of their customers, through the connection with the tax systems of the member states of the European Union.
Keep in mind that the information is available only on weekdays and at a given time, from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 20.00 and on Saturdays from 8.00 to 13.00.
Another novelty, useful for combating VAT fraud and facilitating commercial operations, concerns the possibility of verifying the activity of all national VAT numbers and knowing more significant data. Also in this case, the consultation of VAT numbers is governed by a law, to be precise by the article 35-quater of Presidential Decree 633 of 1972.
The service has the purpose of providing information relating to the state of activity of the entered VAT number and to the name of the subject or to the surname and name of the natural person holder.
As for the control Community VAT number, the operation is not that simple. There verification of a VAT number takes place through the connection with the tax systems of the member states of the European Union, which could cause problems.
However, the Revenue Agency makes available on its website a guide to obtain clarifications on the results of the application and a link to check the status of the connections. Another problem could be that the Member State decides not to disclose information on a particular VAT number.
How to check the Community VAT number
Let's see how the Revenue Agency checks VAT through the new VAT verification service.
To check a VAT number, all you have to do is enter the VAT number in the appropriate box and check its accuracy and above all its existence. If the VAT number is duly registered in the Tax Register, a reply message will be displayed which contains the identification data of the owner, those relating to the activity status of the entered VAT number and the dates of start of activity or of any suspensions and terminations. The only constraint is linked to the insertion of the antispam control code, required to avoid improper use of the service.
for verification of Community VAT number linked to this page and click on the button Verify VAT number. A new window will open in which you will have to enter the VAT number of the customer you want to get information about. In the box Security code copy the illustrated characters and then press the button Send.
If the VAT number is active, the message VAT number active will appear on the next screen. Below the message you will see all the information concerning the company associated with this VAT number: Denomination o First name & Last name e Activity Start Date.
On the same page you can also carry out another type of verification regarding whether the VAT number is of a person authorized to carry out intra-community transactions or not. In that case you will need to use the service Community match control. Click on the link pointing to this second service.
In the window that appears choose Spain, as Member State, and press Change by typing the VAT number you want to verify. Finally, click on Send and wait for the data of the associated company to be displayed.
How to verify a non-Spanish VAT number
To verify a foreign VAT number, the process is very similar to the previous one. In practice you have to connect to the page of the Revenue Agency website which lists the online services without registration. Here you click Tax Services and then on the link Control of community VAT numbers. In the screen that appears, choose it State member that interests you and then enter your VAT number.
Click on the button To verify and cross your fingers.
