VAT ID (VAT Identification Number)

The VAT identification number (in German USt-IdNr., internationally VAT ID) identifies businesses in intra-Community EU trade vis-à-vis the tax authorities. In Germany it begins with “DE” followed by nine digits, in Austria with “ATU” followed by eight digits. It should not be confused with the plain tax number used nationally for general taxation.

In a legal notice you quickly encounter three different numbers that are often mixed up. The tax number is issued by the tax office for ongoing taxation and is not a mandatory item in a legal notice. The commercial register number (for example HRB 123456) evidences the company’s entry in the register. The VAT ID is intended solely for cross-border trade. Only the latter two can be checked publicly – which is exactly why they are interesting for a plausibility check.

For Germany and Austria, a VAT ID can be checked for formal validity via the EU Commission’s VIES system (whether the number is currently assigned to a business). Switzerland is not an EU member; Swiss businesses instead receive a UID (company identification number, format “CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx”), which is checked not via VIES but via the Swiss UID register.

What a VIES query returns differs by country. Some member states also disclose the name and address of the business behind a valid number, others – including Germany – report only “valid” or “invalid”. A German VAT ID therefore cannot readily be matched to a company name. Anyone wanting to check whether the number really belongs to the shop should combine the query with the register entry and the address from the legal notice.

Two typical patterns with fake shops: first, entirely invented numbers in the correct format, for example a neat run of digits that VIES reports as invalid. Second – considerably more common and harder to spot – a genuine, copied VAT ID belonging to an existing company. The check then dutifully reports “valid”, even though the number belongs to a bakery in a different town. That only becomes apparent when the associated company has nothing whatsoever to do with the shop’s product range.

The reverse direction matters just as much: a missing VAT ID is not a warning sign. Small businesses under § 19 of the German VAT Act and purely domestic merchants do not need one, and many never apply for it. A small workshop-style shop without a VAT ID in its legal notice is entirely unremarkable – as long as name, address and a means of contact are complete.

The query itself is straightforward: on the EU Commission’s VIES page you select the country and enter the number without the leading country code. Spaces, dots or hyphens that some shops insert for looks are left out. The result is a plain statement about validity at the moment of the query – not a certificate and not an assessment of the company.

A frequent misconception is to equate the VAT ID with the commercial register number. The two say different things: the register number evidences legal existence and names the seat and the authorised representatives; the VAT ID only evidences registration for VAT purposes. A shop can hold a valid VAT ID and still appear in no commercial register – as a sole trader, for instance. That is perfectly lawful, but it makes the register comparison necessary as a second check.

In Switzerland the UID plays this role. It can be researched via the public register and, unlike the German VIES response, usually returns the company name as well. For shops with a Swiss legal notice the UID is therefore the more informative check – provided the company purpose stated in the register fits the products being sold at all.

Where one statement contradicts another, that is the real finding. An example: the legal notice names a GmbH based in Hamburg, the VAT ID begins with a different country code, and the bank details given during checkout are in a third country. Each of these could be explained on its own – together they form a picture that hardly fits a regularly operated business.

In practical terms: use the VAT ID as a quick counter-check, not as a clearance. A “valid” costs you twenty seconds and rules out the crude form of forgery. Everything beyond that is decided by comparison with the register entry, the address and the payment methods – and, when in doubt, by choosing a payment method that lets you get your money back.

A valid VAT ID therefore proves no legitimacy on its own – it only confirms a tax registration, not the seller’s intentions. It is one building block alongside the legal notice, the register entry, payment methods and domain age. Only when several of these blocks fit together does a coherent picture emerge – and only when several contradict each other does a red flag become a well-founded suspicion.