What is VIES and how is it different from a national VAT register?

VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the European Commission's federated gateway for VAT validation. It does not maintain its own database. When you submit a number, VIES forwards the query to the issuing country's national tax authority and returns whatever that authority reports. A national VAT register is the actual source of truth held by each country's tax office; VIES is the access layer that lets you query 27 of them through one interface. Checking a VAT number via VIES is functionally equivalent to checking it on the issuing country's official portal, and is the EU-standard control for cross-border B2B transactions.

Why is the VAT number marked invalid even though the buyer says it is correct?

Three common causes. First, the buyer typed the number with extra spaces, missing prefix, or a transposed digit. Re-check the format against the country pattern. Second, the buyer is VAT-registered in their country but has not requested inclusion in VIES; some EU countries require a separate opt-in for cross-border visibility (Germany is the most common example). Ask the buyer to contact their tax office and confirm VIES enrollment. Third, the buyer's VAT registration was suspended or revoked; this happens after non-filing or restructuring. In all three cases, do not apply reverse charge; either resolve the registration or charge your local VAT.

Why does VIES return a valid result but no name or address?

Some EU member states (Germany, Spain, Italy, and a few others) do not publish company name and address through VIES. They confirm whether the number is valid but withhold the details, treating them as private business information. A valid result with empty name and address is still a valid VAT number; the registration is confirmed, just not the identifying details. For your records, save the buyer's name and address as they declared them on the invoice; the validation timestamp from VIES is the audit-trail signal.

How many VAT numbers can I check at once?

Up to 20 numbers per batch, pasted as one number per line. Each line is validated against the country-prefix format regex first to catch typos cheaply, then forwarded to VIES one at a time. The VIES system itself does not officially document a hard rate limit but does throttle high-volume requests; staying within 20 per submission and not hammering the form repeatedly is the safe pattern. For larger one-off cleanups, run multiple batches with a few seconds between them.

Can I check UK VAT numbers (GB prefix)?

Not through VIES. Since Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the VIES system, so UK VAT numbers (GB prefix) cannot be validated through this tool. UK VAT validation requires HMRC's separate API and is not currently supported here. For UK B2B trade, validate the buyer's VAT number directly on the HMRC portal at gov.uk and keep the screenshot or printout with the invoice for audit purposes.

Does a VIES validation timestamp count as legal proof of due diligence?

In most EU jurisdictions, yes. Tax authorities accept a VIES validation timestamp as proof that you verified the buyer's VAT registration at the moment of issuing the invoice, which is the standard for applying reverse charge under Article 138 (intra-EU supplies of goods) and Article 196 (cross-border services) of the VAT Directive. Keep the timestamp with the invoice record. The exact evidentiary standard varies by member state, so consult your local accountant for high-value or contested transactions.

What if VIES is down when I need to issue an invoice?

VIES occasionally goes down, usually because one specific country's database is temporarily unreachable. The checker will return an error or timeout when this happens. Two options: try again in a few minutes (most outages last under an hour), or check directly on the European Commission's VIES portal at ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/. If the buyer is recurring and you have a previous valid check on file, most tax authorities accept that for short windows; for first-time buyers, wait until VIES is reachable before applying reverse charge.

Is the VAT checker free, and is registration required?

Free with no sign-up, no account, no rate limit beyond the EU's own VIES throttling, no premium tier. The same applies to the rest of the BlueInvoice toolkit: the invoice generator and My Invoices workspace are also free, with an optional free account if you want to save and reuse invoices.

Do you store the VAT numbers I check?

No. VAT numbers and the VIES responses are not stored on the server. Validation requests pass through the BlueInvoice endpoint to VIES and the result returns by the same path; only standard request metadata (timestamp, status) is kept for diagnostics. No account is required, no email is collected, no third-party tracking is attached. To save a check result with an invoice record, use the optional free account and the My Invoices workspace.

When should I apply reverse charge instead of charging VAT?

For B2B services sold to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, the default rule is reverse charge: you do not charge VAT, and the buyer accounts for it in their own country. The invoice must show both VAT numbers, include an explicit reverse-charge note (for example Reverse charge, Article 196 VAT Directive), and reflect a zero VAT amount on the line. Reverse charge does not apply if the buyer is not VAT-registered, if the supply is to the buyer's private address rather than their business, or if the service is one of the exceptions under the place-of-supply rules (real estate, events, restaurants). Validate the VAT number first; if VIES does not confirm registration, charge your local VAT rate instead.

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