VAT identification number

The tax identification number (abbreviated VAT Reg. In Germany or UID ) is a unique EU - wide labeling of a company in the sales tax purposes.

Purpose and benefits

It is used within the European Union for the settlement of intra-Community trade in goods and trade in services for VAT purposes. It is therefore needed by every entrepreneur who participates within the territory of the European Union on trade in goods and services between the Member States.

A delivery in another EU country is exempt from VAT ( tax-exempt intra-Community supply ) when the item is delivered to another EU country and reaches its delivery, to an entrepreneur in the sales tax purposes. The business status of the beneficiary can be checked using the VAT identification number. By this destination principle taxation by way of intra-Community acquisition is shifted in the recipient country.

For services ( other services ) to businesses in the EU, it is possible through the use of a VAT identification number by the recipient if other preconditions to shift the taxation in the Member State of the European Union, issued the market tax identification number used by the recipient. The beneficiary has in the way of the so-called reverse charge procedure ( in Germany: reversal of tax liability under § 13b UStG) to tax the power there.

Confirmation

Whether a tax identification number is valid, the European Commission can be checked by the VAT Information Exchange System ( VIES). With doubts about the validity of a VAT identification number a qualified request to the Federal Central Tax Office ( Federal Central Tax Office ) is set to confirming whether the sales tax identification number is valid and is assigned to the specified business. There is also the possibility to have several value added tax identification numbers in a Confirm this request. However, it is important to ensure that these offers come from private, partly not clearly identifiable party. The German courts have had so far only cases to decide to trust protection in intra-Community supplies, where a confirmation of the Federal Central Tax Office was present.

Grant ( Germany / Austria )

In Germany, business is holding a VAT identification number on request free of charge by the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt ) in revenue for tax purposes. The application may also be made online at tax number. In the case of small business regulation, the Federal Central Office needed before a special signal from the competent tax office. In Austria the tax office assigns the UID automatically to business people who provide supplies or other services with the right to deduct. Others may apply when required.

The legal bases are in Germany § 27a Sales Tax Act ( UStG) and in Austria Article 28 Sales Tax Act 1994 ( VAT Act 1994).

Structure of the identification number

VAT identification numbers always begin with a prefix consisting of two capital letters, usually with the two -character ISO 3166 alpha-2 code of that EU country in which the company has its seat. This is followed by up to 12 alphanumeric characters whose validity by digit method or by any other error detection methods (eg, the Danish, British and Portuguese UID) is ensured.

The VAT Reg. a Germany-based company that is always starts with DE. Austrian UID beginning after the AT prefix always with the letter U This often leads to confusion, because even if every Austrian UID-Nr. begins with ATU, the country code for Austria AT, and thus is in double digits.

The European Commission makes no binding information on the format of the VAT identification number but has a table as information. However, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance 2008, corresponding to the European Commission requirements list with design rules for tax identification numbers.

Sales tax identification number in invoices and Contacts

An invoice must contain according to § 14 UStG either be paid to the contractor assigned by the Tax Office Tax number or granted to him by the Federal Central Tax Office tax identification number. The specification of a tax identification number (if available ) is often preferred because it offers less potential for abuse.

According to § 5 TMG has the VAT identification number, if available, are displayed in the Imprint of a website.

Further, both the VAT identification number of the supplier and the recipient must be an invoice, in the settled through an intra-Community service may be included pursuant to § 14a para 1 sentence 1 UStG. Missing an invoice with these contents, lacks the necessary for the intra-Community supply accounting evidence ( § 17a para 2 No. 1 UStDV ).

Swiss company identification number

The company identification number has nothing to do with the tax identification number for the European Union and must not be confused. With a business identification number from Switzerland can not be performed, evidence of the tax exemption of an intra -Community supply. The UID in Switzerland has the format CHE - 123.456.789 and the VAT number ( VAT number) is composed of the UID with the words " VAT " - the new, from 2014 valid VAT number thus has the format CHE - 123.456.789 VAT. The Department used the old VAT VAT number to the end of 2013 and is called new reference number. Since mid- 2011 until the end of 2013, Switzerland had thus two VAT numbers and you could by then both use (CHE - 123.456.789 MWST and VAT 799 000 ).

European identification numbers

An exception to EU VAT IdNrn is: These are tax identification numbers that begin with the letters EU and awarded to persons not established in the European Union area businessman working in the territory of the European Union as being liable only other services electronically ( § 3a Section 4, No. 13 UStG ) to EU based non-entrepreneurs provide. The legal basis is the 4c and 4d UStG § 18 para 1 July 2003 introduced special that goes back again to European legal requirements. So EU VAT numbers come only between non-European companies and European non-enterprises to use; they therefore need not to be validated by the Federal Central Tax Office from the VIES system, which is not even possible. These numbers are only valid in the EU. Non -EU countries do not have a ST ID No.