Compliance
What is an automated VAT number validator?
An automated VAT number validator queries official tax authority databases (VIES for EU, FTA for UAE) to confirm that a VAT identification number is structurally valid, registered, and active. Validation runs before invoice creation or transmission, preventing compliance failures caused by invalid counterparty tax identifiers.
Capabilities
- VIES Query
- Queries the European Commission VIES database to verify EU VAT numbers in real time.
- FTA Lookup
- Verifies UAE TRN (Tax Registration Number) against the Federal Tax Authority database.
- Structural Validation
- Checks VAT number format against country-specific regex patterns before querying external APIs.
- Reverse Charge Detection
- Flags cross-border B2B EU transactions where reverse charge applies based on validated VAT numbers.
- Validation Audit Log
- Records every validation result with timestamp, queried number, and authority response for audit trail purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happens if a VAT number cannot be validated?
- If a VAT number fails validation (invalid format, not found in VIES/FTA, expired registration), the invoice is flagged for review before transmission. Issuing invoices with invalid VAT numbers creates tax liability risk and may result in invoice rejection.
- How current is the VIES database?
- VIES reflects member state databases which are updated at different frequencies. Some member states update in real-time; others update periodically. A successful VIES query reflects the current registration status as of the last member state update.