The European Commission has launched the a facility for a taxpayer to get a certificate proving that he checked the validity of the VAT identification number of a client at a given time.

According to the Commission press release, this certificate can be used as one of the elements of evidence supporting the non-application of VAT on supplies to business customers in other Member States. It will therefore constitute one element for a compliant trader to prove his good faith in case he is involuntarily involved in a fraud (in particular carousel fraud) organised by his client.

The new service is seen as an improvement on the already existing VAT database VIES on the Internet. The new service is available http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do?selectedLanguage=EN.