VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the free checking service of the European Commission that tells you whether a VAT number is valid. If you trade within the EU, this is how you confirm that your customer is a registered VAT-liable business, which matters because you need that confirmation to apply the 0% rate on an intra-Community supply. In this article you can read what VIES is, how it works, what the legal basis is and how accounting packages build the check into their software.
Table of contents
What is VIES?
VIES stands for VAT Information Exchange System. It is a free service of the European Commission that lets you check quickly whether a VAT number is valid. You enter the number and the system confirms its validity straight away. The EU introduced VIES in 1993, together with the internal market, because checking a number in another member state used to mean contacting that country’s tax authority and waiting. You can run a check directly in the official VIES tool of the European Commission.
Why check a VAT number?
If you supply goods or services to a business in another EU country, you can often apply the 0% VAT rate, known as an intra-Community supply. The condition is that your customer holds a valid VAT identification number, and VIES is how you establish that. As a result you know you are dealing with a legitimate VAT-liable business, you reduce your exposure to fraud, and your VAT return holds up if the tax authority asks about it later.
The legal basis
EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC sets the framework for VAT rules across the Union. Businesses that supply goods and services within the EU must hold a valid VAT identification number, and you have to be able to show that your customer holds one too. National tax administrations in the member states supply and maintain the underlying data, so the answer VIES gives you comes from the country that issued the number rather than from a central database.
VIES checks in your accounting package
Many accounting packages have a VIES check built in, so you do not have to look numbers up on the VIES website by hand. Here is where that stands for the packages that connect with TriFact365:
| AFAS | Built-in VIES check that validates VAT numbers within the European Union automatically. |
| Exact Online | Integrated VIES check, so you can validate a VAT number inside the accounting system. |
| King Finance (formerly iMUIS Online) | Supports VIES checks and validates VAT numbers automatically. |
| King ERP | We do not currently know whether King ERP has a built-in VIES check. |
| SnelStart | Built-in VIES check for validating VAT numbers inside the package. |
| Twinfield | We do not currently know whether Twinfield has a built-in VIES check. |
| Boekhoud Gemak | We do not currently know whether Boekhoud Gemak has a built-in VIES check. |
| AccountView | We do not currently know whether AccountView has a built-in VIES check. |
| Visma eAccounting | Built-in VIES check that validates VAT numbers automatically. |
Automating VIES and invoice processing with TriFact365
TriFact365 recognises your purchase invoices automatically, including the supplier’s VAT number, and prepares a booking proposal in your TriFact365 portal. Once you have checked it and sent it through, the entry lands in your accounting package, which is exactly where the VIES check runs (see the table above). In other words, TriFact365 handles the pre-accounting step and your package handles the validation. Have a look at the accounting software we connect with, or read how processing incoming invoices works from arrival to journal entry.
Frequently asked questions about VIES
Yes. VIES is a free service of the European Commission. You enter the VAT number and the system tells you immediately whether it is valid.
Ask your customer to confirm the number and the country code first, because a typo is the most common cause. Until you have a valid number, do not apply the 0% rate to the supply.
The VAT Directive does not prescribe a fixed interval. In practice you check at the start of a business relationship and again when something changes, such as a new company name or a long gap between orders.
Often it can. AFAS, Exact Online, SnelStart and Visma eAccounting have a VIES check built in, so you do not need to validate numbers by hand.
No. TriFact365 recognises purchase invoices automatically, including the supplier’s VAT number, and sends the booking proposal to your accounting package. The VIES check itself runs in that package.
In closing
VIES is a small step with a large consequence: a free check that establishes whether your trading partner holds a valid VAT identification number. Combine it with an accounting package that has the check built in and with invoice processing that no longer needs retyping, and your VAT records stay in order without extra work.
