VAT Package Changes

Requirement to validate VAT registration numbers

VAT package legislation changes, effective from January 1, 2010 include a requirement for organizations to validate the VAT registration numbers that they hold against their customer lists. The VAT number validation exercise must be carried out by all EU registered organizations that have business customers in other EU jurisdictions.

Each jurisdiction will likely apply their own interpretation of the requirement which may include validating not only the number but also the customer name and address. At a minimum it is expected that customer VAT numbers will be validated and that this validation is carried out on a regular basis (every 6 - 12 months).

Valid VAT registration numbers must be sought  for instances where a number is found to be 'invalid' or missing from the record. This is a time-consuming manual task for organizations, which could be subject to error.

The magnitude of the task is compounded for organizations that issue large volumes of invoices, resulting in the amount of VAT numbers to be validated, running into the thousands. Current findings on completed projects indicate that on average 17% of VAT numbers entered on to ERP systems are incorrect.

Complete Validation and Correction Solution

Batch validation service

The Meridian International VAT Consulting (MIVC) validation service provides a complete validation and correction solution. Currently VAT numbers can only be validated on-line one at a time through the VIES system. MIVC is providing a batch validation service for clients who have large numbers of VAT numbers to validate.

VAT registration numbers will be validated on our clients’ behalf and where agreed, the acquisition of valid numbers will be sought.

For further information regarding this service, please contact Meridian Global Services today.  We will be happy to discuss your requirements and our service in further detail
Email: sales.us@meridianglobalservices.com.