VAT ID in international invoicing

This article concerns the OP Light Entrepreneur service (with a business ID).

A VAT ID indicates whether a company is registered for VAT. When invoicing a foreign company, you need the buyer's VAT ID. You should usually request the VAT ID from the buyer, but it may also be available on the company's website or in their billing details.

When sending an invoice or creating a sales settlement for a company in the EU through our service, you must enter the VAT ID in the form. The service verifies whether the VAT ID is valid, i.e. whether the buyer is registered for VAT. If the VAT ID is missing or invalid, contact the buyer if necessary or create the invoice or settlement using the consumer option.

Note that a company is treated as a consumer if it does not have a valid VAT ID.

Checking the VAT ID

When creating an invoice or sales settlement, first select the buyer's country and then enter the VAT ID in the designated field. Our system checks the validity of the VAT ID. You can also verify the VAT ID yourself via the EU VAT Information Exchange System.

Example messages from VAT ID verification in the service

  • The VAT number is valid.

If the VAT ID is registered for VAT, you will receive confirmation after entering it that the ID is valid. You can then invoice using the reverse charge mechanism, meaning the buyer is responsible for the VAT.

  • VAT number not found in VIES registry. Please check the number and try again.

If the VAT ID is not registered for VAT or is invalid, you will receive a notification after entering it that the VAT ID is not valid.

  • The VAT number verification service (VIES) is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

Sometimes VAT ID verification may not work, for example due to outages or heavy load in the national tax services that are part of the verification service. In such cases, you will receive a notification that the service is currently unavailable. Wait a moment and try again later.

National VAT databases may also be temporarily under maintenance, and some countries have set times when queries cannot be made. Most national VAT databases are generally available 24/7, so for example Swedish and Estonian VAT IDs can usually be checked at any time.

However, there are known interruptions, for example:

  • German VAT IDs cannot be checked between 23:00–01:30
  • Italian VAT IDs cannot be checked in the mornings around 06:00–06:30
  • Romanian VAT IDs cannot be checked from Saturday 21:50 to Sunday 21:50

You can find a full list of availability times for all countries on the help page of the EU VAT Information Exchange System.