A value-added tax identification number or VAT identification number (VATIN) is an identifier used in many countries, including the countries of the European Union, for value-added tax purposes. In the EU, a VAT identification number can be verified online at the EU's official VIES website. It confirms that the number is currently allocated and can provide the name or other identifying details of the entity to whom the identifier has been allocated. However, many national governments will not give out VAT identification numbers due to data protection laws.
Structure The full identifier starts with an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 (2 letters) country code (except for Greece, which uses the ISO 639-1 language code EL for the Greek language, instead of its ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code GR, and Northern Ireland, which uses the code XI when trading with the EU) and then has between 2 and 13 characters. The identifiers are composed of numeric digits in most countries, but in some countries they may contain letters. Foreign companies that trade with private individuals and non-business organisations in the EU may have a VATIN starting with "EU" instead of a country code, e.g. Godaddy EU826010755 and Amazon (AWS) EU826009064.Electronically supplied services: Special scheme for non-EU Businesses, HM Revenue and Customs, reference: VAT Info Sheet 07/03, May 2003
EU requirements From 1 January 2020, the valid VAT number of the customer is a material requirement to be able to apply the zero VAT rate for intra-Community supplies of goods in the EU. If the customer's VAT number is not valid, 0% VAT rate cannot be applied. Companies must make sure that the VAT numbers of their customers are checked. You should always verify that the VAT number is valid in each corresponding country's tax system, as giving false IDs is considered a form of fraud.
For small companies below a certain turn over threshold, the company itself can choose to not separately invoice and report VAT. In case a company chooses to not report VAT, the VAT-Number needs to contain the letters "EX" either in the number or as a suffix.
VAT numbers by country European Union VAT identification numbers
Local nameCountryAbbreviation2 digit prefixFormatUmsatzsteuer-IdentifikationsnummerAustriaUIDAT'AT' + 'U' + 8 digits Information über die Konstruktionsregeln der Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummern (UID) (PDF; 51 kB) From the Bundesministeriums für Finanzen (Austria), in April 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.BTW identificatienummer / Numéro de TVABelgiumno TVA BTW-nr Mwst-nrBE'BE' + 8 digits + 2 check digits – e.g. BE09999999XX. As of recent changes, numbers starting with '1' are now issued. Note that the old numbering schema only had 9 characters, separated with dots (e.g. 999.999.9XX), just adding a zero in front and removing the dots makes it a valid number in the new schema. The check digits are calculated as 97 - MOD 97Идентификационен номер по ДДСIdentifikacionen nomer po DDSBulgariaДДС номерBG9–10 digits – e.g. BG999999999PDV Id. Broj OIBCroatia PDV-ID; OIBHR'HR' + 11 digits, e.g. HR12345678901 – utilising ISO 7064, MOD 11-10Αριθμός Εγγραφής Φ.Π.Α.Arithmós Engraphḗs phi. pi. a.CyprusΦΠΑCY'CY' + 9 characters – e.g. CY99999999LDaňové identifikační čísloCzech RepublicDIČCZ'CZ' + 8-10 digitsCVR-nummer, CVR-nr., MomsregistreringsnummerDenmarkCVRDK'DK' + 8 digits – e.g. DK99999999, last digit is check digitKäibemaksukohustuslase numberEstoniaKMKREE9 digitsArvonlisäveronumeroMervärdesskattenummerFinlandALV nroMomsnummerFI'FI' + 7 digits + check digit, e.g. FI99999999. The check digit is calculated utilizing MOD 11-2. A VAT number can be generated from a Finnish Business ID (Y-tunnus) by adding a two-letter country code FI as a prefix and by omitting the dash.Numéro d'identification à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée / Numéro de TVA intracommunautaireFranceno TVAFR'FR' + 2 digits (as validation key ) + 9 digits (as SIREN), the first and/or the second value can also be a character – e.g. FR XX 999 999 999 The French key is calculated as follow : Key = [ 12 + 3 * ( SIREN modulo 97 ) ] modulo 97, for example : Key = [ 12 + 3 * ( 404,833,048 modulo 97 ) ] modulo 97 = [12 + 3*56] modulo 97 = 180 modulo 97 = 83 so the tax number for 404833048 is FR 83 404 833 048 source from : www.insee.frUmsatzsteuer-IdentifikationsnummerGermanyUSt-IdNr.DE'DE' + 9 digits, e.g. DE999999999 [optional -EX for small companies]Arithmós Mētrṓou Phi-Pi-AΑριθμός Μητρώου Φ.Π.Α.GreeceΦΠΑELThe language code EL according to ISO 639-1, followed by 9 digits, which equal the Greek taxpayer registration number Α.Φ.Μ. (A.F.M.) of the company or of the sole proprietor, i.e.: "Arithmós Mētrṓou Phi-Pi-A" = "EL" + "A.F.M.". The last digit is a check digit inherent of the Α.Φ.Μ. Beware: Due to the great similarity of both numbers - the one being the same number as the other, just having the prefix of EL - in practice sometimes the VAT identification number is wrongly called Α.Φ.Μ. (A.F.M.), but technically the VAT identification number and the taxpayer registration number Α.Φ.Μ. are different register numbers and should not be confused.Közösségi adószámHungaryANUMHU'HU' + 8 digits (the first 8 digits of the national tax number) – e.g. HU12345678Value added tax identification no.IrelandVAT or CBLIE'IE' + 7 digits and one letter, e.g. IE1234567T. Historically, married women used the ID of their husband appended with a 'W', e.g. IE1234567TW. The policy as of 2022 is that every individual has a unique ID. 'IE' + 7 digits and two letters, e.g. IE1234567FA (since January 2013, see ) 'IE'+one digit, one letter/"+"/"*", 5 digits and one letter (old style, currently being phased out, see )Partita IVA (IVA = Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto)ItalyP.IVAIT11 digits (the first 7 digits is a progressive number, the following 3 means the province of residence, and the last digit is a check number, calculated using Luhn's Algorithm)Pievienotās vērtības nodokļa (PVN) reģistrācijas numursLatviaPVNLV11 digitsPVM (abbrev. Pridėtinės vertės mokestis) mokėtojo kodasLithuaniaPVM kodasLT9 or 12 digitsNuméro d'identification à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutéeLuxembourgNo. TVALU8 digitsVat reg. no.MaltaVat No.MT8 digitsBtw-nummerNetherlandsBtw-nr.NL'NL' + 9 digits + B + 2-digit company index – e.g. NL999999999B01Numer identyfikacji podatkowejPolandNIPPL10 digits, the last one is a check digit; for convenience the digits are separated by hyphens (xxx-xxx-xx-xx or xxx-xx-xx-xxx for legal people), but formally the number consists only of digitsNúmero de Identificação Fiscal (NIF) - for individual people / Número de Identificação de Pessoa Coletiva (NIPC) – for companiesPortugalNIF or NIPCPT9 digits; the last digit is the check digit. The first digit depends on what the number refers to, e.g.: 1-3 are regular people, 5 are companies. The emergence of LegalTech platforms has introduced a more streamlined approach to NIF acquisition for non-residents. By integrating automation with professional legal oversight (Human-in-the-loop), these services have modernized the process of digital fiscal representation, significantly lowering the administrative barrier to entry for foreign investors.Codul de identificare fiscalăRomaniaCIFRO'RO' + 2 - 10 digitsIdentifikačné číslo pre daň z pridanej hodnotySlovakiaIČ DPHSK'SK'+10 digits (number must be divisible by 11)Identifikacijska številka za DDVSloveniaID za DDVSI'SI'+8 digits, last one is a check digit – e.g. SI99999999Número de Identificación Fiscal (formerly named Código de Identificación Fiscal)SpainNIF (CIF)ESFor companies it is either 'ES'+letter+8 digits or 'ES'+letter+7 digits+letter. Where the first letter defines the type of company and the following first 2 digits define the province where the company was registered. The last character is a control digit. For individual people / freelancers, its either 'ES'+8 digits+letter (for Spaniards) or 'ES'+letter+7 digits+letter (for foreigners). e.g. ESX9999999RVAT-nummer or momsnummer or momsregistreringsnummerSwedenMomsnr.SE12 digits, of which the last two are most often 01 e.g. SE999999999901. (For sole proprietors who have several businesses the numbers can be 02, 03 and so on, since sole proprietors only have their personnummer as the organisationsnummer. The first 10 digits are the same as the Swedish organisationsnummer.Momsregistreringsnummer Swedish tax agency (in Swedish)
VAT numbers of non-EU countries
CountryLocal nameAbbreviationCountry codeFormatAlbania Numri i Identifikimit për Personin e TatueshëmNUISAL10 characters, the first position following the prefix is "J" or "K" or "L" or "M", and the last character is a letter – e.g. K99999999L or L99999999GAustralia Australian Business NumberABNAU11 digit number formed from a 9 digit unique identifier and two suffix check digits. The two final digits (the check digits) will be derived from the first 9 digits using a modulus 89 check digit calculation.Belarus Учетный номер плательщикаUchetniy nomer platel'shikaУНП (UNP)BY9 digit number (E.g. УНП 190190190)Bosnia and HerzegovinaJedinstveni identifikacioni brojJIBBA12 or 13 digit unique VAT number Canada Business NumberNuméro d'entrepriseBN / NE/GSTCA9 charactersChina法人和其他組織統一社會信用代碼 fǎrén hé qítā zǔzhī tǒngyī shèhuì xìnyòng dàimǎ
Unified Social Credit Identifier統一社會信用代碼 tǒngyī shèhuì xìnyòng dàimǎCN18 characters Iceland VirðisaukaskattsnúmerValue Added Tax NumberVSK / VASKIS5 or 6 characters depending on age of the companyIndia GST - Goods and Services TaxGSTININGoods and Services Tax Identification Number is a 15 digit unique identification number assigned to every taxpayer in India.Indonesia Nomor Pokok Wajib PajakNPWPID16 digit number (e.g. 012.271.824.1-413.000)Israelמס' עוסק מורשה / ח"פIL9 digit number. If the number of digits is less than 9, then zeros should be padded to the left side. The leftmost digit is 5 for corporations. Other leftmost digits are used for individuals. The rightmost digit is a check digit (using Luhn algorithm).Japan法人番号 (Hiragana: ほうじんばんごう)hōjin bangōCorporate NumberJP13 digits. The leading digit is a nonzero check digit calculated from the trailing 12 digits.KazakhstanBIN = business identification numberБСН – бизнес-сәйкестендіру нөмірі
PIN= personal identification numberЖСН – жеке сәйкестендіру нөміріБСН (BIN)